They aren’t exactly giant papier mache puppets, I don’t think. Well, maybe one or two of them. Rather, they seem to be giant animal costumes meant to make a congregation of mostly older white Presbyterians feel like Native Americans, or something. The video quality isn’t great, but if you want to know what those wacky Presbyterians are doing out in Minneapolis, check out the opening worship service from this year’s General Assembly:
The Layman Online has a couple of pictures (none of the skunks, unfortunately):
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July 5, 2010 at 11:35 am
That buffalo better watch out. The wolf is right behind him. Metaphor, perhaps?
July 5, 2010 at 12:14 pm
I see the Layman’s theology of derision is as intact as ever. Perhaps they’re at least happy that a layperson has been named moderator?
July 5, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Christine:
Sometimes the best thing to do in the face of such foolishness is to point and laugh.
July 5, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Those animals and giant puppets are creepy. And silly. And stupid. There are many reasons that I’m glad that I’m not there, but among them is there’s no way I could keep a straight face in the midst of such foolishness.
July 5, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I am flabberghasted. What are they worshipping/preparing to worship? Theology of the incredulous is more like it! Do these folks really believe this leads to worship of the Creator? Of Jesus? Draw them to the cross? More like worship of creation. Down-right paganistic and coming from a church this is offensive.
July 5, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Whatever happened to just singing some hymns (including modern ones), hearing the Word preached and partaking in the Sacrament?
July 5, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Doesn’t give the liturgy geeks enough flexibility to show off their creativity, imagination, and “edginess.”
July 5, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Are these performers paid? If so, that might explain why singing some hymns is not done. They need to keep starving artists from starving. Following the money answers a lot of questions.
That being said—Three Ring Circus comes to mind as the best phrase to describe the PCUSA General Assemblies.
July 5, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Interestingly, after the article’s initial snide remarks about the Native-American inspired elements of the ceremony, it neutrally describes a fairly orthodox worship service. I guess the Layman also thinks that public ridicule is an appropriate Christian response to something liturgically unusual. Minneapolis has a relatively large Native American population; perhaps it didn’t occur to the Layman folks that those elements might have been an acknowledgment of that fact.
July 5, 2010 at 9:46 pm
What were the figures supposed to be? The one in green and the one in white or yellow with green around the top. Or the one in the back of the first photo here.
July 6, 2010 at 10:22 am
So…the Twin Cities has a large native population? And that justifies this foolishness? One of my Native American classmates had no idea when she saw these things that they were trying to ‘honor’ them.
Also, Minnesota is also home to a lot of people of Scandinavian descent. Where are the puppets in honor of the Norwegian bachelor farmer, for instance?
July 6, 2010 at 10:58 am
Well, as all of us sinners know, it’s much easier to be derisive than charitable; I suppose we can’t expect the Layman folks to be any better than the rest of us. Perhaps the Layman thinks its sarcasm and vitriol pass for Christian piety; if so, I’ll throw my lot in with the skunks.
July 6, 2010 at 11:03 am
I’m sure you’ve read passages such as Matthew 23. Jesus didn’t hesitate to call foolishness foolishness. Neither should we. And you might want to actually respond to the comments directed at you, rather than just repeat your point ad nauseum.
July 6, 2010 at 11:33 am
Rev. Fischler: I apologize if I made anyone nauseous. I thought comments were supposed to be directed at the subject of the blogpost rather than at other commentators, and so I confined my comments to the Layman article in question.
As far as I can tell, only Rev. Dave addressed me directly. My response to him is: I disagree with you that it’s foolishness, and I also disagree that pointing and laughing publicly is ever the best response to foolishness.
In Matthew 23 Jesus doesn’t ridicule anyone; he forthrightly denounces the pharisees as hypocrites, blind, etc. I would have more respect for the Layman if it were similarly honest in its disapproval, rather than relying on sarcasm, insinuation and mockery. Scoring cheap rhetorical points does nothing but coarsen the conversation among Christians.
July 6, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Comments are supposed to be directed at the subject of the post–replying to a point made about the post by another commenter certainly qualifies.
As for the nausea, no apologies are needed–just don’t repeat yourself over and over. To wit:
I see the Layman’s theology of derision is as intact as ever. Perhaps they’re at least happy that a layperson has been named moderator?
Interestingly, after the article’s initial snide remarks about the Native-American inspired elements of the ceremony, it neutrally describes a fairly orthodox worship service. I guess the Layman also thinks that public ridicule is an appropriate Christian response to something liturgically unusual.
Well, as all of us sinners know, it’s much easier to be derisive than charitable; I suppose we can’t expect the Layman folks to be any better than the rest of us. Perhaps the Layman thinks its sarcasm and vitriol pass for Christian piety; if so, I’ll throw my lot in with the skunks.
You think the Layman is snide. We get it. As far as preferring “forthright denunciation” to ridicule, that’s your choice. I can accommodate that as well: this display was at least vaguely idolatrous. Worship isn’t about the region its taking place in, or about the population of that region (especially when you’re selective about it, only acknowledging the portions of the population that fit whatever your agenda is); it’s about the God of Abraham and Jesus. What do Amerindian totems have to do with that? (My Amerindian wife, I might add, gets really offended by the sight of white Christians pandering to traditional Indian religion the way they do in the mainlines. She says they should keep their hands off what doesn’t belong to them, especially if it involves puppets or cheesy costumes.)
July 6, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Amen!
July 6, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Actually, not only do I think the Layman is snide, I also think it needs to lighten up. A few puppets and people in costumes do not represent a creeping, incipient paganism any more than praying for military chaplains (which the article also reports) represents a creeping, incipient theocracy.
Worship is about God; I absolutely agree. But I also think it is naive to believe that liturgy is not at least in part culturally based. The traditional liturgy of the PCUSA is almost purely a product of 16th and 17th-century European interpretations of the Bible. If the Layman wishes to remove all pagan accretions from Christian worship it will have its work cut out for it. Gospel music is rooted in non-Christian, West African musical traditions; surely that would have to go? We might well start with the cross itself, which was originally nothing more than a mode of capital punishment employed by the most pagan power of them all, the Roman Empire.
The Layman clearly found the opening elements aesthetically and liturgically unappealing. Fine, we’ve all seen acts of worship in all kinds of Presbyterian churches (liberal and conservative) that have made our eyes roll. I simply think it’s both disingenuous and uncharitable of the Layman to cloak its disapproval in careless insinuations of paganism.
July 6, 2010 at 1:02 pm
This made me cry. And were those people walking out during the middle?
Where was Jesus?
(PCUSA Elder who has about seen enough)
July 6, 2010 at 5:29 pm
On the flip side, I’m traveling back today after being at Presbyterians For Renewal’s Christian Life Conference in Montreat, NC. My family and I shared in a life-giving experience where the Gospel was preached and the Word and Sacrament shared, where music (both ancient and contemporary) moved us, and where I had a taste of what this wayward denomination could be like. No animism wrapped up in “art,” no false respect of other cultures as I saw in that video — just a presentation of how all peoples in all cultures are welcomed by Christ as He cleanses us from sin and invites us into relationship with Him.
July 6, 2010 at 10:35 pm
I saw a production like this at Disneyworld once(a la Lion King), only this is a really sorry substitute! Its just like a church to take something done well outside its walls, appropriate it for religious reasons (though what those reasons are in this case are dubious), make it ridiculous and then say they are honouring God with it!?! Please do God a favour and spare Him this effort. I believe the Hebrews tried the same thing while waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, if memory serves their effort ended badly. Leave the theatre productions to the professionals and try worshipping God in the way He ordained it to occur as dictated in Scripture. One would think Presbyterians would remember what the concept of “Regulative Principle of Worship” meant and at least show it a modicum of respect just for old times sake.
July 7, 2010 at 9:02 pm
I saw a letter to the editor on the Layman website that supported this parade by pointing the reader to the words of the hymn “All Creatures of our God and King”. It’s a great attempt at justifying this madness. However, unless something happened after the video to link it to the hymn, the hymn reference is not that helpful, though a good effort. This, as I understand it, was a processional for worship. Worship, and that includes the processional, should point to Christ. Unless I missed a Christian symbol that “Native Americans” (as opposed to native Americans who were born here) use, then this processional doesn’t look like it pointed to Christ. Yes, the Layman was a little snide in its remarks, but the PCUSA has done a lot to earn those type of remarks, though this parade is not that big a deal in the end. It is just a symptom of a problem. Christine, the cross is part of the gospel because it is in scripture, not because it is a Roman symbol. The cross stays as a Christian symbol, even if used by a pagan society for capital punishment. We are celebrating the death of Jesus with the cross as a symbol, and His literal resurrection from the dead.
July 11, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Read 2Samuel Chapter 6. To the end of the chapter. Don’t the critics at the Layman (and commenting here) remind you of Michal? If it’s different, make fun of it. If it gives you an opportunity to provide withering criticism, jump on it. If it brings joy to someone else, point out what strange people those folks are. If it’s different than the way you’d do it, whine about it. Shoot, there are so many things that are in critical condition in this denomination, and you’re spending your time being ungracious about animal costumes.
July 11, 2010 at 6:27 pm
If you can find a parallel between David’s dance before the Lord, and the use of animal totems from a non-Christian religious tradition , more power to you. You’re obviously a lot more clever than I am. Oh, while you’re being clever, you might want to try reading 1 Kings 18:1-19:18. To the end.
July 11, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Kristine,
Maybe this is less like Michal’s complaint about David than it is about Uzzah. He clearly sinned greatly, compounding a sin of parading the ark of God in an wrong way. However, I do agree that with all the sin and evil of the PCUSA, the parade of people in animal costumes is not their biggest problem. Like I said, one Layman letter to the editor defended the parade with “All creatures of Our God and King”, but from the video, I saw no evidence of a Christian setting to the parade. So, if they didn’t put the parade in a Christian context, with Christ being the only way, this is not Michal, it is Uzzah. Your point about it being differnt is fair, in that there may have been an attempt to put the parade in a proper Christian context and we didn’t see it on the Youtube video. I visited a PCA church a couple of weeks ago that served communion in an unusual way that I had never seen before outside of that particular church. I participated, though I didn’t think it was a great way to serve it, but it worked for that smaller congregation. So, I’m open to some new ideas, even some modern music in worship which seems stranger and stranger to me as I get older (a terrible thing for someone who grew up listening to rock music against my parents wishes – though they didn’t forbid me).
July 13, 2010 at 12:28 pm
I was at this worship service. When the goofy animals started processing, I thought, “Oh God, the Layman will be all over this.” Thankfully, the rest of the service contained a pretty good mix of singing, prayers, preaching and both sacraments. Conisdering how misguided some of the past GA worship has been, this wasn’t so bad – just a little weird in the beginning.
September 24, 2010 at 1:36 pm
This is not The Layman theology. This is the theology of the PCUSA. The Layman is actually a good source for truth.
But the important thing to ask is what does God say:
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” Romans 1:22 – 25