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 “And David Danced before the Lord in a Lightweight Kilt”

  1. Angela Millar Avatar
    Angela Millar

    Really missed your blogs – glad they are back on line – thank you!

    Reply
  2. Pam Avatar
    Pam

    Yes, I’ve missed your blogs too. Welcome back.
    David got into a bit of trouble with his wife for dancing in the street – I think she was more concerned about his dancing in front of other women than concerned about his dignity. Marriage can be like that. Still a great institution though.
    In certain situations dignity can be important. But I agree that our Lord doesn’t care if we let our dignity slip, he wants authenticity. By the way, as a mother of four children I can reveal that birthing suites in hospitals are no place for dignity!

    Reply
  3. Ender's Shadow Avatar
    Ender’s Shadow

    I’ve never heard any explanation other than the idea that David was letting it all hang out. As such it is a challenge to all of us from a strict liturgical tradition: is it really providing space for us to express over the top enthusiasm for God? Of course for some people it does; Thomas Merton’s excitement at being allowed to say Mass THREE TIMES on Christmas Day is… different. But in a culture where noisy dancing is the norm for a ‘night out’, it should be no surprise that the likes of ‘Hillsong’ make a major impact. Is there space for that in our churches, or are we marginalising such people?

    Reply

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