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The Changing Practice of Methodist Worship 1958-2010

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The Changing Practice of Methodist Worship 1958-2010 View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository THE CHANGING PRACTICE OF METHODIST WORSHIP 1958‐2010 By ANDREW HAMILTON LYONS A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham November 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Over the second half of the 20th Century and the beginning part of the 21st Century, major change has occurred in the worship practice of many churches. Within this time frame enormous change has occurred in the social, economic, political, technological, scientific and religious framework of British society. Worship practice has been influenced by these changes. This doctoral dissertation sets out to explore how British Methodist worship has changed over the same time period. The focus of this dissertation is on change in the practice of non‐Eucharistic worship in British Methodism. This is the form of worship practiced most frequently in the British Methodist Church. It examines the form, content, style and ordering of worship and explores how the very ethos of worship has altered. In this time period there has been expressed discontent about worship. This thesis examines what the Liturgical Movement has promoted as a way toward renewal of worship, and explores how British Methodism might appropriate from the Liturgical Movement ideas and lessons that would aid the renewal of worship in the Methodist Church. Acknowledgments I wish to record my gratitude to a number of people and institutions who have supported, guided and nurtured me during the writing of this doctoral thesis; and indeed through life. Firstly, Rev. Dr. Stephen Burns, formerly of The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, inspired me to begin to study liturgical theology. He altered my academic direction through his own love and commitment to the teaching and practice of liturgy. My gratitude goes to all the staff at Queen’s, for in my sojourn there I grew in faith and understanding far beyond expectation, and have continued to receive support and help, even though I am no longer a student there, particularly from Dr. Anthony Reddie. During my training I was fortunate to undertake placement work with Rev. Don Pickard, who, as a lover of liturgy too, discussed many issues and ideas with me. And I record a special thanks to the Principal, Rev. Canon Dr. David Hewlett, who finally persuaded me that I should write a Doctoral Dissertation. When Stephen left the shores of England for a post in Australia and I was very fortunate that Martin Stringer, Professor of Liturgical and Congregational Studies, University of Birmingham agreed to become my supervisor in the later part of my work. His help has been greatly appreciated. The Methodist Church has been my spiritual home all my life and I am deeply grateful for the financial support the church has given me during my training for ministry, continuing through my initial years in the presbyteral ministry, as I continued to work on this dissertation; and to the people of the Bromsgrove circuit, where I am stationed, for their support, as I have tried out some of my ideas in practical situations. I am further grateful to those presbyters and local preachers who have provided me with their thoughts and ideas through correspondence, conversation and questionnaire responses. I am also grateful to the Methodist Publishing House who made available to me their archive of Worship and Preaching journals. Finally, I thank my parents, Derek and Pat Lyons, for all their love and support offered to me throughout my life; and, especially during the last few years as I have trained for ministry and undertaken my studies – my father even did the proof reading – love indeed! Table of Contents Chapter 1 ‐ The Purpose and Scope of the Work 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 The Author’s Beliefs and Committs 4 men 1.3 The Practice of Worship and the Ecumenical Ordo 7 1.4 Methodist Worship Practice, the ordo and the Current State of Play 19 1.5 Exploring the Form and Ethos of British Methodist Worship 27 1.6 The Contribution of this Thesis to the Study of British Methodist Worship 35 1.6 Other Writing on British Methodist Worship in the Recent Past 39 1.7 Conclusion 44 Chapter 2 – Methodist Worship in Cultural Context 2.1 Some Opening Comments about Methodist Worship 47 2.2 The Influence and Legacy of John Wesley on the Liturgical Tradition of Methodism 48 2.3 The Development of the Preaching Service 52 2.4 The Theology and Ethos of Methodist Worship 55 2.5 The Consolidation of the Preaching Service 57 2.6 Challenges and Changes to Methodist Worship and its Ethos 60 2.7 Methodism Moving Toward Change 64 2.8 Cultural Change, Religious Change and Cultural Context 67 2.9 Changes in Theology and Biblical Studies 73 2.10 Worship and its Relationship to Culture 78 2.11 The Charismatic Movement 82 2.12 Hymnody 83 2.13 Language and Prayer 89 2.14 Preaching and Preachers 91 2.15 Children, Young People and All‐Age Worship 94 2.16 Ecclesiology 99 2.17 Conclusion 104 Chapter 3 – The Development of the Liturgical Movement and Liturgical Theology 3.1 Liturgical Renewal and Restoration 107 3.2 Liturgical Renewal in and through the Liturgical and Ecumenical Movements 109 3.3 The Outcomes of Liturgical Renewal through the Liturgical Movement/s 113 3.4 Methodism and Liturgical Renewal 117 3.5 The Dynamics of Worship and Theology in Methodist non‐Eucharistic Worship 124 3.6 (The) Liturgy 110 3.7 Questions for Methodists about (the) Liturgy 132 Chapter 4 – Reports, Service Books and Training Materials and their Engagement with Liturgical Principles 4.1 The 1960 Conference Committee Report on Worship 135 4.2 The Methodist Service Book 142 4.3 Groundwork of Worship and Preaching 148 4.4 The Response to Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry 151 4.5 The 1988 Report – Let the People Worship 154 4.6 The 1994 Report – All­Age Worship 162 4.7 The Methodist Worship Book 163 4.8 Faith and Worship – Local Preacher Training 172 4.9 Reviewing Methodism’s Understanding of Worship and Liturgy 174 4.10 The Lectionary and Preaching 179 Chapter 5 – Change in Methodist Worship Practice 5.1 The Practice of Methodist Worship – Changing Text and Ritual Action 184 5.2 The Order and Content of Preaching Services 187 5.3 The Primacy, Purpose and Place of the Sermon 191 5.4 Hymnody 208 5.5 Prayer 216 5.6 Other Significant Change in Methodist Worship Practice 5.6.1 The Conduct of Worship Services 219 5.6.2 The Issue of Language 221 5.6.3 Informality and Flexibility – The Dynamics of Worship 224 5.7 Theology and Ethos in Methodist Worship 228 Chapter 6 – Authenticating British Methodist Worship 6.1 Introduction 238 6.2 The Idiosyncrasy of Methodist Worship 239 6.3 The Confusion of Methodist Worship 241 6.4 The Purpose of Sunday Worship 244 6.4.1 Historical and Ecumenical Matters 248 6.5.2 Pastoral and Ecclesiological Matters 252 6.5.3 Theological Matters 256 6.5 Authenticating non‐Eucharistic Worship 6.5.1 Context 265 6.5.2 Re‐naming Worship and Changing Ethos 268 6.5.3 Re‐evaluating Scripture and Preaching 272 6.5.4 Offering Praise and Prayer 277 6.6 Concluding Remarks 280 Appendices Appendix 1 – Services audited by participant observers Appendix 2 – Service orders of Methodist Preachers in the Bromsgrove Circuit Sept‐Nov 2007 Appendix 3 – Hymns sung from Hymns and Psalms Appendix 4 – Hymns and Songs from other sources Appendix 5 – Written correspondence Appendix 6 –Survey work Appendix 7 – Hymns and Songs sung in a family‐friendly’ church Appendix 8 – A hymn of praise and thanksgiving for the ‘Response’ section of Methodist Worship Bibliography 1 CHAPTER 1 – THE PURPOSE AND THE SCOPE OF THE WORK 1.1 Introduction How does a Christian community evaluate its worship? How do Churches renew, deepen and intensify their worship? Are there marks of authenticity of Christian worship? These questions emerged for me as I trained to be a Methodist Presbyter at The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, an ecumenical theological college, whose principal sponsors were the Methodist Church, The Church of England and the United Reformed Church. They continue to be for me questions of utmost importance as a presbyter in the Methodist church as I lead worship week by week. They are the questions that this thesis addresses in specific reference to worship in the Methodist Church. One location in which these questions emerged was in The Queen’s Foundation community meeting, a gathering of the students held once a week to discuss college life. In an ecumenical training setting students are exposed to alternative ways of conducting public worship from that of their own tradition.1 This exposure led to questioning the validity of some of the forms of worship offered, as well as clear expressions of personal preferences for certain styles and content in worship.
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