Matthew's Journal

Yesterday was the Fresh Expressions National Pilgrimage, which was about "forming fresh expressions of the church in a sacramental and contemplative tradition", as well as the feast of the conception of the BVM. Conveniently, it was held at Coventry Cathedral, so I thought I'd go along. I wasn't really quite sure what to expect...

There was quite a lot of faff! Three hundred people is quite a lot to cat-herd around, and I don't think the organisers had quite appreciated this. It was also a shame, I felt, that we had to sign up for the afternoon workshops the minute we arrived - I would have rather done so at lunchtime, after a chance to reflect. But, never mind!

Things started with a renewal of baptismal vows, including full prostration in the middle of the declarations (after the things one rejects, before the things one turns to), which was an opportunity to be grateful for Coventry's under-floor heating! We then all moved to sit "in the round" around a Nave altar (I'm not sure where that came from, they don't normally have one in Coventry), where the Dean led the litany of reconciliation. That was followed by two addresses, by Rowan Williams, and Abbot Stuart Burns OSB.

I've not heard ++Rowan preach before, and he certainly wasn't the obscure academic some would have you believe. He even told pretty good jokes ;-) I didn't take notes. After a brief introduction on how the meanings of evangelical and catholic had changed over time, the bulk of his address was on what the catholic understanding of Church might mean in contemporary society. He identified four(! :) things: that God often speaks through events rather than words, and that catholics understand that importance of signs and symbols (whilst not neglecting the words!); that catholics understand that church is about what we do, rather than simply what we say; that catholics appreciate that Christian discipleship is a journey that takes time - each year we re-tell the story of Jesus from awaiting his coming, to his birth, ministry, suffering, death, resurrection, and glorious ascension, and each year we get to know Jesus a little better in the process, and hopefully, to conform ourselves to him a little more; and that catholics appreciate that church is a community not an individual thing (this is paradoxically both counter-cultural in an increasingly individualistic age, and also resonant with many peoples' desires to rediscover community).

The Abbot's reflection discussed briefly the Oxford movement, and the zeal for the Gospel that made that movement assert that the Church wasn't just an arm of the state, and lead to both a flowering of liturgy, and costly service in the inner cities (where you will still find many anglo-catholic parishes). He thought that a catholic understanding of fresh expressions of church should be under-pinned by a similar spirit as drove the Oxford movement.

It was then time for Mass, a liturgy that the fresh expressions team had obviously spent a lot of time on. I think most people found some parts inspiring, and others...not. In a way, I think that was part of the point - they threw far more new things at the liturgy than would be practical or wise in a usual setting, and thus provided a resource for people to draw ideas from. It took the congregation a while to get used to following the projector screens rather than an order of service! That, combined with dots that were far too small meant that the opening magnificat worked less well than it might (the recorded/amplified singer sang admirably, with an electric accompanyment, and images projected of sperm cells, an egg, growing foetus, through to icons of Madonna and child; we were meant to sing a chorus, I think). The readings were from Luke (1:26-38) and John (the beginning thereof), which were read interspersed by two readers (both with candles, thurifer and appropriate top- and tailing); that worked better than I expected, but I suspect is only a viable approach with a carefully-selected pair of readings.

The visual intercessions were probably the innovation that worked best. A series of little braziers with a few burning coals in were laid out, with incense next to them. Images of things one might wish to pray about were displayed on the screens, as well as (from time to time) Psalm 141 v 2, and the congregation (well, those on the ends of rows, or sat at the front) could go forwards and add more incense to the coals. I think we could have done without the sound-track, but otherwise I thought this would be a good thing to do for a small gathering. The offertory passing of the bread and wine from the West to the East (and the passing of cloths to put on the altar similarly) was fine in theory, but didn't work so well in practice. During the prayer of consecration, the projection was from a camera filming ++Rowan from one side - almost what you'd expect if the Beeb were broadcasting the service or somesuch. There was a really large bucket-brazier of incense going at this point, too, and I suspect the beeping I heard was the cathedral's smoke detector system ;-)

A slightly hurried lunch (we were running pretty late by this point) preceeded a 45-minute quiet hour, where one could pray quietly in two of the chapels (one of which had the Blessed Sacrament exposed), or visit stations set up by some of the "fresh expressions" involved in the day. I seem to have accumulated papers from Moot and Dekhomai, but I think the URL above lists all of those present. I co-incided in the chapel of Christ in Gethsemane (where the Sacrament was) with the archbishop, who just occasionally looked like he might have been nodding off. I'm reassured that it's not just me who that happens to! There were then the hour-long workshop slots (my discussion group with the Archbishop's Missioner on why one should bother with fresh expressions felt like it needed another hour to really get going, but did at least skirt topics of whether young people really want "modern, relevant" worship, how fresh expressions groups interact with the regular congregation, and how some evangelical fresh expressions have been re-discovering the sacraments).

The finale of the day, and the only bit we got a service sheet for, was Benediction, a service I've not often been to (it always felt a bit rushed at LSM). I happened to be in the right place to get a spot in the choir stalls, which helped! We began with "My soul proclaims you, mighty God" (tune: Amazing Grace), then the Blessed Sacrament was brought to the altar amidst clouds of incense (and, I think, a dry-ice smoke generator behind the high altar); we sang "I cannot tell how he whom angels worship" (tune: Londonderry Air), then there was a period of silence, and prayers. Following the Lord's prayer (the modern-language version), "We bow down and confess" (which worked less well, as only a few people knew the tune), the collect, and a procession to the font during which we sang "Christ triumphant, ever reigning" (tune: Guiting Power), which you could tell that everyone really knew! Finally, there was a sending out and more sprinkling with water (calling to mind the Benedictine custom of the Abbot sprinkling the monks after Compline).

When the Bishop gave the blessing during Benediction, he was back-lit with a coloured light (almost disco-style), which worked better than it sounds! I found the Benediction liturgy particularly moving, though I think that might just have been having given the service more time and space than it sometimes gets.

I'm not sure what to make of the day as a whole; after all, I'm not going to be leading worship any time soon! It was inspiring in parts, though, and it's reassuring to see the CofE taking seriously what the catholic tradition within it may have to offer for mission. As I turned to leave, I looked back and the entire void of the cathedral was filled with incense smoke - that should surely happen more often! :-)