The Book of Alternative Services Rite wrecked my Sunday
I had not realised how steeped in High Churchery I had become until I arrived at Mass this morning. "Hmm," I thought, "no incense, how strange." Then I thought " What on earth are they doing with this psalm?". And then "These reponses are all wrong... hang on... NOOOOOOOOOO....! It's the modern rite!" Absolutely horrible, I could barely listen. And what on earth have they done to the Lord's Prayer? I'm afraid that at about the time they announced the peace (complete with ghastly stilted handshaking and forced uncomfortable smiles), I was forced to leave. This put me in a bad mood. At least I got some extra Horace reading done, I suppose. Now I will have to go to Evensong to get my weekly dose of solemn ritual. I should add that there was no warning at all in last week's intimations that the slight change of the Mass time would also involve a very major change of Mass liturgy, and I'm sure I can't be the only person whose Sunday has been ruined by this bit of sneakery on the part of the Rector. I do hope they aren't trying to convert us to these barbaric services: give me incense or give me death, oppressors.
posted by Scarlet at 9:50 pm
7 Comments:
Coulld have been worse - could have been a family service, with tambourines!
What DID they do the Lord's Prayer? I'm curious, though I may not want to know. I wrote a book on it: how have they slaughtered my muse?
You think you've got it bad? Try a bleeding Druid ceremony where there are no set words and the legions of the deeply stupid and under-read are invited to *express what they feel*. (Gag). Which as usual means that what they feel is a mixture of the ill-expressed, the facile and the utterly utterly banal. I once had to listen to a woman called 'Rainbow' invoke 'Sprits of fire, of the buzz, the buzz and the positivenessness of summer'. I nearly smacked her one.
xx
What they have done to the Lord's prayer is use some funny translation which sounds all wrong. It began "Our Father in heaven" and procedded to some rot about forgiving 'sins' instead of 'trespasses' and 'give us today' instead of 'give us this day' and other aberrations which sound minor but in fact completely destroyed the familiar rhythm and tone of the thing. Ghastly.
the "buzz"???
Well written article.
Get in the 21st century (or at least the 20th). The days of rote prayers and rote prayer books is over. To be relevant you need a community, and the BAS speaks to Christians as a community.
Try common language if you want to appeal to the young....cause Sunday's won't be anything but another day without young there too.
It's not about what book you use, just that you praise God. And he love the BAS. I know that because he loves whatever praises and glorifies him. No matter what century it was written.
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