Standing in a sunlit church, the People’s Gospel Choir of Montreal begin their song with slow formality. Then the tempo picks up, the piano rumbles, and the choristers dance and clap. One woman breaks loose in a kind of frenzy, boogying to and fro with her arms swaying.
All this in an online video to promote the 2008 Anglican-Lutheran worship conference, where the theme is (as you may have guessed) “Order and Chaos.”
From June 25 to 28, 2008, Montreal, Que. will host the third biennial, national Anglican-Lutheran worship conference. Keynote speakers will be Gordon Lathrop, liturgical scholar from Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, and Karen Ward, pastor of Seattle’s Church of the Apostles.
“These conferences are wonderful learning experiences. They bring together really good people who talk both intelligently and critically about liturgy,” said Dean Peter Wall, the conference’s Anglican co-chair. “I think we have a lot to learn from each other, both Anglicans and Lutherans.”
If this were a gathering of orthodox believers, it might actually be an interesting conference. I don’t know anything about the principal players mentioned in this piece, but I get the sense that this will be more on the revisionist end of things…
“The People’s Gospel Choir.” How appropriate.
Lathrop has been known in our church as a fairly moderate fellow, mostly concerned with liturgical renewal. Perhaps he’s the “order” of the presenters. It’s a Lutheran thing. 🙂
Brian
Why, if the title includes Episcopal or the Episcopal Church, do people have to assume automatically that it is about revisionism and heterodoxy? And please do not say that it’s because that’s where TEC is at because there are plenty of us who believe, profess, and try to live the Christian faith; who believe the Scritpural witness; who celebrate the Sacraments; who pray. And while the Elves may censor me, I must say that I’m getting tired of the Episcopal Church being attacked. Maybe KJS and David Booth Beers and all the other 815’ers are the Episcopal Church but so am I!
I should be arriving in Montreal for my annual summer vacation right around that time, and thought it might be interesting to attend, but I also have the feeling this is going to be on the revisionist side of things. The reason for this belief, Will B, is not simply the fact TEC is involved, but more precisely that Karen Ward’s church is a joint venture of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, WA, and the Lutheran equivalent. That dio has to be the most extreme revisionist of TEC.
Of course another reason not to attend is the $275 registration fee… though I’d be happy to go as a T19/SF reporter if you guys want to foot that bill !
…that Karen Ward’s church is a joint venture of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, WA, and the Lutheran equivalent. That dio has to be the most extreme revisionist of TEC.
Aw, thanks 🙂
Ross (Diocese of Olympia)