What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Sermon preached on 4 August 2013

    I used to work in a church with murals. Well one mural. It wasn’t this church and it wasn’t these glorious murals. It was somewhere else entirely.

    (By which I mean Edinburgh).

    Throughout the late fifties, the sixties and early seventies, a sustained period of liturgical reform had happened. The altar had been pulled away from the wall. The priest now faced the people. The peace was shared and communion started to happen every Sunday. Those of you who have been around for a bit might remember that story from all kinds of contexts. Those who are new to Episcopal worship might be surprised to learn that how we do things is not in fact as old as the hills at all.

    Anyway, these liturgical reforms in this church had left a big space to fill. Somewhere along the way, the East Window had been bricked up and whitewashed over and now there was a giant wall to fill.

    And, of course, just as we can be sure that someone was heartily trying to encourage the congregation to sing Kum By Yah. so, inevitably, someone got to paint a mural.

    Unlike Gwyneth Leech’s paintings, which surround me here in this church. this was a rather less successful piece. (more…)

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3 responses to “Recorded music in the liturgy”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Re: Recorded music in the liturgy
    Dennis Potter has an awful lot to answer for.

    Reply
  2. Avatar
    Kelvin

    Re: Recorded music in the liturgy
    After the death of George Harrison I was at a Sunday Eucharist where the Rector played a tape of My Sweet Lord and based his sermon on it. Don’t think it was really appreciated but I didn’t hear any complaints either.

    Reply
  3. Avatar
    Kelvin

    Re: Recorded music in the liturgy
    The only time I can remember this really working was when the Piscy College was at Coates Hall and after the Friday evening Eucharist the student who had been leading that week’s services, Kevin Bean, turned on a cassette of Boney-M singing Rivers of Babylon. I still recall the surprised grins on people’s faces and Gian Tellini practically skipping out of the chapel

    Ian Burdon
    (Coates Hall 1977-79)

    Reply

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