Goth priest stirs up staid Cambridge
-19/01/06
With fresh and experimental forms of ch
Goth priest stirs up staid Cambridge
-19/01/06
With fresh and experimental forms of church life top of the agenda for many of the traditional denominations facing declining attendances, the idea of a ëGoth vicarí is perhaps less of a shock to some Christians than to religious observers ñ which may be why the Rev Marcus Ramshaw is having to get used to a minor frenzy of media attention.
Mr Ramshaw, a priest in the Church of England who serves his title at St Edward King and Martyr Church in Cambridge, has devised a worship service especially for members of the local ëgothí community and others on the local dance and club scene.
Goths wear black, dress in a ritualistic fashion and enjoy doomy music. But they often incorporate Christian iconography, like crucifixes into their attire, too.
Part of the impetus for the initiative came from informal conversations about the meaning behind the imagery.
So the enterprising clergyman, whose inclinations span both Anglicanism and gothdom, has devised a liturgy which incorporates the music of bands like the Sisters of Mercy and Joy Division, as well as candles and other goth-friendly symbolism.
Though the newspapers have only recently started to take interest, Mr Ramshaw points out that the worship service has been running for a year. His aim, he says, isnít to patronise or Bible-bash, but to build genuine bridges for and with spiritual seekers.
Cynics are interpreting ventures like this as a sign of desperation. But others see it as a sign of the church recovering its subversive and alternative roots, and redefining itself for cultures which have lost a handle on the message of Jesus.
Both ecumenical and denominational bodies are increasingly investing resources on ìfresh expressions of churchî. Many of these are community rather than church-centred, but it is inevitably ëodd goings oní in traditional buildings that excite the press.
As top-down, Christendom forms of church lose their appeal among generations loosed from what some call ëchurchianityí, the growth of small, alternative forms ñ both inside and outside the historic institutions – is mushrooming.
Followers, critics and documenters of the ìemerging churchî movement say it is difficult to quantify, because it is mobile and fast-changing by nature. And there are intense debates about how ìinheritedî and ìemergentî ideas fit together.
Cambridge is better known for its historic architecture and academic than for its Goth heritage. But the experiment at St Edward is attracting attention from people who go to the Kambar nightclub and other venues.
The Greenbelt arts festival is one of the focal points for alternative church movements in the UK. Theologian Theo Hobson is among those who believe that ëinstitutional religioní needs to be supplanted by a carnival Christianity.
[Also on Ekklesia: bishop says emerging church faces watershed moment; Emerging Church, The The Emerging Church, by Brian McLaren; Spirituality encountered more effectively outside institutional church; Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Communities in Postmodern cultures; Conference to focus on making church more inclusive; Church announces £6million post-Alpha college; Church After Christendom, by Stuart Murray; Make the institutional church history, says theologian; C of E disestablishment debate gathers pace; Against Establishment: An Anglican Polemic – Theo Hobson; Anarchy,Church and Utopia: Rowan Williams on the Church – Theo Hobson]
Goth priest stirs up staid Cambridge
-19/01/06
With fresh and experimental forms of church life top of the agenda for many of the traditional denominations facing declining attendances, the idea of a ëGoth vicar’ is perhaps less of a shock to some Christians than to religious observers – which may be why the Rev Marcus Ramshaw is having to get used to a minor frenzy of media attention.
Mr Ramshaw, a priest in the Church of England who serves his title at St Edward King and Martyr Church in Cambridge, has devised a worship service especially for members of the local ëgoth’ community and others on the local dance and club scene.
Goths wear black, dress in a ritualistic fashion and enjoy doomy music. But they often incorporate Christian iconography, like crucifixes into their attire, too.
Part of the impetus for the initiative came from informal conversations about the meaning behind the imagery.
So the enterprising clergyman, whose inclinations span both Anglicanism and gothdom, has devised a liturgy which incorporates the music of bands like the Sisters of Mercy and Joy Division, as well as candles and other goth-friendly symbolism.
Though the newspapers have only recently started to take interest, Mr Ramshaw points out that the worship service has been running for a year. His aim, he says, isn’t to patronise or Bible-bash, but to build genuine bridges for and with spiritual seekers.
Cynics are interpreting ventures like this as a sign of desperation. But others see it as a sign of the church recovering its subversive and alternative roots, and redefining itself for cultures which have lost a handle on the message of Jesus.
Both ecumenical and denominational bodies are increasingly investing resources on ‘fresh expressions of church’. Many of these are community rather than church-centred, but it is inevitably ëodd goings on’ in traditional buildings that excite the press.
As top-down, Christendom forms of church lose their appeal among generations loosed from what some call ëchurchianity’, the growth of small, alternative forms – both inside and outside the historic institutions – is mushrooming.
Followers, critics and documenters of the ’emerging church’ movement say it is difficult to quantify, because it is mobile and fast-changing by nature. And there are intense debates about how ‘inherited’ and ’emergent’ ideas fit together.
Cambridge is better known for its historic architecture and academic than for its Goth heritage. But the experiment at St Edward is attracting attention from people who go to the Kambar nightclub and other venues.
The Greenbelt arts festival is one of the focal points for alternative church movements in the UK. Theologian Theo Hobson is among those who believe that ëinstitutional religion’ needs to be supplanted by a carnival Christianity.
[Also on Ekklesia: bishop says emerging church faces watershed moment; Emerging Church, The The Emerging Church, by Brian McLaren; Spirituality encountered more effectively outside institutional church; Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Communities in Postmodern cultures; Conference to focus on making church more inclusive; Church announces £6million post-Alpha college; Church After Christendom, by Stuart Murray; Make the institutional church history, says theologian; C of E disestablishment debate gathers pace; Against Establishment: An Anglican Polemic – Theo Hobson; Anarchy,Church and Utopia: Rowan Williams on the Church – Theo Hobson]