preview

St. Timothy's Analysis

Decent Essays

All priests know the hassle they will face whenever they make even minor changes to congregational worship. They know they must inevitably endure bitter assaults on their character and motives. Just such an experience, shortly after I left St Timothy's, left Reverent Fran again feeling confused, hurt, and frightened. A few young people had requested a livelier brand of music in the liturgy instead of the staid old organ-based Elizabethan hymns the parish was familiar with. Immediately, she began to re-feel the memory of the previous episode she and I went through. Her heart started racing. She began to sweat. Her muscles tensed up. Cautiously she began introducing new music again, but sparingly. Eventually, she felt compelled to move the guitars and guitarists down to the basement of the church where the complainers couldn’t see or hear them. …show more content…

She had also reinforced the sorts of division that prey most powerfully on every pastor's mind - the divide that festers between the institutional Church and the un-churched; the gulf between adults and young people; the rift between congregations and the proper use of apostolic authority. These fears left her feeling paralyzed. But Jesus didn't condemn fear. He simply commanded, “Go. Do not be afraid.” Indeed, only cowardly priests ask their parishioners, "What do you think?” and then give the response they receive equal weight to the Biblical Tradition. Only cowards go directly to the people before going to the root of apostolic authority. Only cowards seek political solutions to spiritual

Get Access