The theology and experience of worship : Kansas City, Mo. : November 28-30, 1977


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THE THEOLOGY ANO EXPERIENCE

OF WORSHIP

Midwestern Regional Conference

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

NOVEMBER 28-30, 1977



1



THE THEOLOGY AND EXPERIENCE
OF WORSHIP

Southern Baptist-Roman Catholic

Midwestern Regional Conference

Kansas City, Missouri

November 28-30, 1977

Sponsored by

The Home Mission Board

Department of Interfaith Witness

and

The Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical

and Interreligious Affairs

of the

National Conference of Catholic Bishops

1978

Publications Office

UNITED STATES EATHDLIE EDNFERENCE

1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005



Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2016

https://archive.org/details/theologyexperienOOsout



Foreword

The fifth in a series of Southern Baptist/ Roman Catholic regional
conferences was held at Midwestern Baptist Seminary, Kansas City,

Missouri, November 28-30, 1977. Over 80 persons attended the

gathering.

Among them were bishops, state convention and association direc-
tors, pastors, professors, interested laity and staff workers from the two

sponsoring groups. These conferences are jointly sponsored by the

National Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical

and Interreligious Affairs together with the Department of Interfaith

Witness of the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

To those who planned the conference, to those who attended and to
those who served on the scene, very special gratitude is extended. Ex-
pressions of appreciation for growth in awareness and understanding of

each other, as a result of this conference, were made by those who par-
ticipated in the three-day event.



CONTENTS

Foreword 1

Section I: OPENING REMARKS

Dr. Glenn A. Igleheart 5

Most Rev. James D. Niedergeses 7

Section II: ADDRESSES

The Preacher Dr. Calvin Miller 11

The Theology and Experience
of Worship Rev. Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin 27

Section III: REPORTS OF SMALL GROUPS

1. Trends in Worship Styles Today 35

2. Pastoral Preparation of the
Worshiping Community 36

3. From Worship to Service 37

4. Worship in the Family and in Small Groups 39

5. The Role of Art, Music and Symbols in Worship 41

6. Forms of Spirituality Expressed in Worship 43

Osaekitft^''
2



SECTION I

OPENING REMARKS





Opening Remarks

By

Dr. Glenn Igleheart

Baptist-Catholic Dialogue, Kansas City, Missouri

Interfaith conversation is a new experience for many people. There-

fore I would like to suggest some guidelines for us to follow as we come

here together for these days. I will call it an acrostic for dialogue.

D is for DESIRE. You do not stumble into an interfaith conversation.

You are here because you wanted to be here. That mutual desire for

meeting is a grand foundation for our conversations.

I is for INTERCHANGE. Genuine dialogue demands two-way conversa-
tion. When two people deliver monologues, speaking past each other,
that is not dialogue. There must be real exchange of experience and view-

points for dialogue to occur.

A is for ACCEPTANCE. I speak here of an attitude of respect. This
acceptance has several dimensions. It must first be self-acceptance, an

inner attitude of self-integrity. It includes acceptance of one's own tradi-

tion. Without parroting a denominational line, we try to represent our
own tradition fairly and accurately. Further, dialogue means acceptance
of the other person we meet here. It also means respect for his or her
tradition as a faith that has captured his/her belief and commitment.

L is for LISTENING. Most of us are good at talking; many of us here
are professional communicators. Therefore dialogue is extremely difficult

for us, for it demands listening. It requires really trying to hear what
the other is saying. It means waiting to fashion a reply until we have
truly listened.

0 stands for OPENNESS. I refer here to a readiness to learn new
things. Many of our stereotypes about Baptists and Catholics will be
destroyed or modified here, if we are willing. I call for an openness to
ask questions in order to learn more. I appeal for the openness even to

challenge one another in loving concern for truth. I hope for the open-

ness not to feel threatened when such questions or challenges come
to us.

Dialogue should contain an openness to the future. Both Baptists and

Catholics tend to define themselves by their past, not by their present,

or their future. We need to look beyond today to tomorrow, and to
search for the effect our conversations here will have on both our

Churches in the future.

5



G is for GIVING. Dialogue is an occasion for sharing "an account of
the hope that is within you," in the words of 2 Peter 3:15. Dialogue

means giving a witness, of permitting each person to express his or her
commitments and convictions in a setting that makes such sharing

natural.

Dialogue means all of these things: desire, interchange, acceptance,
listening, openness and giving . . . and none of these is easy.

But the hard work which dialogue demands is worth it, for God is in it,
and His desire that these three days be meaningful for us is even

greater than our own. So these days are ours; let’s use them well.

6



Opening Statement

The Most Reverend James D. Niedergeses

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus:

With our sincere gratitude to the President and all at Midwestern

Baptist Seminary, I wish to express, if I may, the great joy on the part

of all Roman Catholics who are here to participate in this conference.

It is truly a joy to greet you as brothers and sisters in Christ. Because

we all recognize Christ as Lord, we have received a great power from

the Holy Spirit. “No one can say Christ is Lord except by the Holy

Spirit.” 1 We are grateful for this great grace given to us both as South-
ern Baptists and Roman Catholics.

We are happy that we are not only able to say Christ is Lord, but that
we are able to know that He is powerfully present with us in this con-

ference. We have His word for this fact. The promise of Christ is: “For
where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst
of them.” 2

We have come here as Christians in His name in His love for us, in
ours for Him and in love of each other. Where love and charity prevail,

there is God; for as the Apostle John tells us: “God is love, and he
who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 3 May we all
grow in His love.

We have come here to share with each other our theology and experi-
ence of worship—our reasons for and manner in which we acknowledge
and celebrate the reality of God in our life for time and eternity. What-

ever we have that is pleasing to God in a way that is special to us as
Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics—that specialty is from God. As
we try to share with each other our theology and experience of worship,
we can be witnesses through whom God will reveal Himself more fully
to each of our ecclesial communions. Thus, as we both receive a greater
revelation and experience of God theologically and liturgically, we shall
also grow closer to that unity with Christ and one another for which

our Lord Jesus prayed, “That they may all be one; even as Thou, Father,
art in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be in us, so that the world
may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” ^

With this vision and hope before us, may we all rejoice In the blessing
of our coming together. May we show ourselves joyful and grateful. May
God’s grace guide those who will contribute to our program and make

7



each moment to each of us one that is truly fruitful for our growth

theologically and liturgicaliy for our experience in worship. Thank you!

' 1 Cor. 12:3.
2 Matt. 18:20.
5

I John 4:16.
“ John 17:21.

8



SECTION II

ADDRESSES





The Preacher

Dr. Calvin Miller

Pastor

Westside Baptist Church

Omaha, Nebraska

INTRODUCTION

The age of the artists has come! We are back home from Disney
World, now! We are ashamed that we ever thought the River Jungle
Cruise really belonged in adventureland: there is grease and dust on

the plastic banana leaves. The hillbilly bears have lost their plush, and

there’s a kind of technological lumbago in the great moments with

Mr. Lincoln. Someone has slipped Minnie a “Mickey” and the pink Is all
gone from Tinkerbelle.

And did the pulpit survive? And did worship go on? Yes, we even had
the year of the evangelical, complete with a Baptist President and

Charismatic Catholics. There was a new kind of vulgate at Notre Dame,

and it was the same kind they were using at Melodyland, Angelus
Temple, and the Charley Doaks Miracle Healing Crusade.

Yes, the pulpit survived! But as I said, the age of the artists has

come, now. And again we feel the same threat we once felt when Milton
Berle first came upon our security with the threat of black and white
video. It was all so magic to have the stars right In our homes. Those

were the early days, when we left our Bibles and missals on the tele-
vision stand and could never find the TV guide. Now we always know
where the TV guide Is.

But at every point of cultural encroachment, we felt uneasy about the
pulpit. Could it compete? With Charlton Heston looking so much like
Moses and Jeffrey Hunter reconstructing a $3 million Messiah, what

hope was there that we could make the theology and experience of wor-
ship really attractive. Yes, we often were boring by comparison. I
couldn’t help but wonder that Burt Lancaster, who was so stunning as
Rev. Gantry, might not have made the perfect pulpit, had his commit-
ment been in a different direction.

Now, again, we are Insecure. The elite artists, the men of Immacu-
late Imagination have all the world of cameras and microphones and

studios at their disposal. And they leave us reeling under the impact of
their powerful images. If 1976 was the year of the evangelical, what of

11



1975—the year of the shark? The shark? I ask you. For one bloody year
everywhere we turned we were staring into teeth! We felt like orthodon-
tists. And why was our culture locked in the giant jaws of intrigue be-
cause of the $400 million myth of Peter Benchley?

And what of 1974? We paid $300 million to be frightened into
asylums by Pazuzu, a magnificent demon whose ferocity made Bella
Lugosi look like a Sunday School teacher.

And now it is 1977, and Lucas has made R2-D2 into squat enchant-
ment. Will they really listen to us lead them in worship? Alderon has

been destroyed. Obi-Won Kenobbi, the last of the Jeddai Knights has

been cut down by laser of Darth Vader. Do you not understand? Most

of the young people of our youth choir have seen Star Wars, half-a-

dozen times, and yet complain if they have to sit through two services a

month at church.

I have a fear for the church at the end of the 20th century, when

the current emotional indulgence Is spent and the religious fad is dis-

sipated. Where then, will worship be? My fears are genuinely coupled
to the expanding prominence of the video and theater arts. It is clearly

widescreen versus the monologue. Can worship survive as a kind of

indistinct hologram in a world of magnificent light?

For many churches there is currently a poor show going on. The

attendance like the show is poor. And as we might suspect, the “show”

and the “attendance” have a direct relationship. Like an uncapped soda,

the “fizz” is gone. Richard Quebedeaux has suggested that the average

church is dying because of a problem of weak amperage. He refers to

this weak current as the “flashlight” church, and says that they must

clearly have more voltage or die. His solution is the charismatic move-

ment:

The “flashlight church” does not have enough to offer. The

high voltage religious experience is a breakthrough phenome-

non because it is needed. If churches are not open to an

infusion of high voltage, they are In real trouble. . . .

God is upping the voltage in many places. He knows that it
could be dangerous but he knows that It is needed, and that

is the new Pentecostallsm.^

Quebedeaux perhaps overrates this idea as a way of restoring the

lost “fizz” to the church’s worship. I am not sure of all that the Charis-
matic movement means, but even if Michael Harper has broken Into
tongues while in his bath, I cannot believe that the force of his experi-

ence will restore the lost vitality of the church. Nor do I think that the

protestant offering of Pat Boone or the Catholic offering of Maria Von

Trapp, will bring any real return of Interest. When the spotlight falls so

12



intensely around show-biz charismatics, it is most difficult to measure

the Intensity of their Inward illumination. I have the feeling that when

the glitter has faded, we will still see a great deal more genuine illumina-

tion in the pages of Thomas a Kempis than Demos Sharakian.

But what immediately can bring the “fizz” back to worship? We
will need a worship so dynamic that In the midst of this entertainment

revolution, we can hold interest. But holding interest Is not the only

goal of our worship—Grace is the business of worship! Changing the
world through the dissemination of the Grace of God is the commission

of each of us who stand before a congregation.

Protestantism has erred most seriously at this point. We have sinned
by moving entertainment to the church. Concerts by religious artists are

now ever-so-many dollars per seat. It is all for Jesus—and the record
sales, of course. But most of the unwary Church has yet to realize that

applause is not the evidence of worship, but the cry of the pentitent

heart, “Lord, what will thou have me to do?”

I have often thought that what C. S. Lewis said in “A Grief Observed”

ought to apply to our worship. It was Lewis’ tribute to his years with

his wife, but what joy might dawn upon the Church if it be said of our

worship:

For those years ... I feasted on love, every mode of It

—

solemn and merry, romantic and realistic, sometimes as dra-

matic as a thunderstorm, sometimes as comfortable and un-

emphatic as putting on your soft slippers. No cranny of heart
or body remained unsatisfied.

^

But worship is not an indulgence in the warm and finished abun-
dance of God. It is pulling the cowl about our faces and entering the

storm of life. We have not worshipped, until like St. Francis, we have
sung barefoot in the snow. Oh, I have gotten the impression at a dozen

college rallies that worship is pitching our tube-socks and tennies and

taking our tambourines and praising God barefoot in the park—but it
is not. It Is definately barefoot in the snow.

I have a dear friend who serves God in Africa. My greatest worship
experience to date, occurred the night I helped him pack his mission

boxes for the next tour of duty overseas. To clasp him at the airport,
and see his family going with him for four long years, was worship

—

ripping, tearing worship, but wholly proper. I do not find this sort of

fullness in tambourines and religious concerts. At such moments, I
have known the full presence of Christ, and the half-torn theater stubbs
were gloriously missing from my pockets.

But I realize that the kind of worship that we are here to consider
is neither of these—show-biz nor the missionary extremes. We are

13



considering worship and experience within the church building. And

here our problems probably have to do with predictability. The com-

municants know what we are going to say ahead of time. Like Holiday
Inn, we have no surprises for them. In the Catholic church the experi-
ence of the Eucharist has for its greatest strength its greatest weak-

ness; its sameness. The same thing is also true of protestant worship.
Its greatest strength is also its most blatant liability: the sermon. Ser
mons by the millions pour forth each week, blit few are coming for the
Indulgence.

Eric Berne and the Transactional Analysis have made us blatantly
aware of the psychological transactions which they have called script-

ing. Perhaps in all worship, scripting has become the drab sport. Wor-
ship goes on with the same unchanging lack of appeal.

Worship has an immensely different character in Catholic churches

than in Baptist churches. In Catholic worship the drama of the Mass
and surrounding liturgy holds the central place of piety; in Protestant

churches (and indeed throughout protestantism) the central event of

worship is the sermon. Since it is so central to our own experience of
worship, I would like to deal specifically with this part of our worship.

The sermon suggests the strong centrality of human personality that
has come to characterize Baptist and Protestant services.

In this sense, the pastor of the church, himself, is channel to wor-

ship. As the mediator of worship, I would like us to see how important
he is to the life of the Church as a whole and the individual communi-

cants which come to him. It seems to me that pastor has a three-fold
role as leader of worship. Therefore I do not want to deal with the

sermon as such, but the person of the pastor as he mediates the experi-

ence of worship. His roles come as Counselor, Warrior, and Shaman.

I. THE PASTOR AS COUNSELOR

As far as I know, Harry Emerson Fosdick was the first pastor to con-

ceive of the sermon as counseling on a group basis. To the current

time, there have been a host of pastors who have come into prominence
because they became very serious In this specific use of the pulpit.

Protestantism’s positivism was most dynamically heralded by Norman
Vincent Peale. In Peale the forces of psychological deliverance often

usurped the power of scripture Itself. Peale’s messages often addressed

themselves to some Biblical principle, scripture or slogan. But most of
the time, his sermons were so psychologically oriented that they were

not very close to the dynamic of scripture. This cleavage of the sermon

from the Bible led many of his critics to coin the new slogan: “Paul is
appealing, but Peale is appalling.”

Peale’s west-coast devotee. Bob Schuller, preached an even more psy-

chological gospel than Peale had done. As Peale before him, Schuller

14



came under the scrutiny and attack of biblicists for his shallow positiv-

ism. For the building of his multi-million dollar Chrystal Cathedral

seems to most not so much a tribute to Christian worship, as to the
motivational psychology which his ardor pursues.

For this motivational psychology, void of both Scripture and social

concern, the Wittenburg Door recently awarded him the “Green Weenie

of the Month.” Because he has been so often under attack for his psy-

chological salvation, he has offered the following defense of his ministry:

We are trying to make a big, beautiful impression upon the
affluent non-religious American who is riding by on the busy
freeway. It’s obvious that we are not trying to impress the
Christians! . . . Nor are we trying to impress the Social
Workers In the County Welfare Department. They would tell

us that we ought to be content to remain in the Orange Drive-
In Theatre and give the money to feed the poor. But suppose
we had given this money to feed the poor? What would we
have today? We would still have hungry poor people and God
would not have this tremendous base of operations which he

Is using to inspire people to become more successful, more
affluent, more generous, more genuinely unselfish In their giv-

ing of themselves.3

I am one who sees Schuller’s use of the pulpit as counsel to be so
divorced from the Christian Scriptures as to be lacking a real authority.

While It may not be proper to quote Luther at this conference, he
saw human life as a battlefield between the freedom of servitude and
the bondage of Indulgence. Schuller may need to take some time and
study these categories. Should he manage to do that, he might see a
more authentic offering of himself as counselor. He might be less popu-
lar with Luther’s model, but he might mean more to the culture.

Helmut Thielicke has certainly described the psychological plight of

modern prodigals who throng our worship, whenever our worship is
thronged:

“I wanted to be free,” says the prodigal son to himself

—

perhaps he cries it aloud. “I wanted to become myself; and I
thought I would get all this by cutting myself off from my
father and my roots, fool that I am! I have found nothing
but chains.” And bitter laughter goes up from the pigsty.^

Assuming the Scriptures really are the book of authority out of which
we offer our counsel, what then shall be our psychology? It certainly
cannot be the psychology of the Transactional Analysts, who build se-
curity into their clients by teaching them to foregive their own sins and
bypass repentance by saying, “I’m O.K.—You’re O.K.” Nor can we

15



claim that Freud’s psychotherapy is a biblical model since it dismisses

human responsibility in proclaiming healing by transference. And the
current popular Rogerian model is of no help. It begins and ends with

man making his own way: this is totally unacceptable to any grace-
oriented worship. And what of the lofty model of Viktor FrankI? Logo-

therapy is a magnificient concept but it runs aground in its definition of

“the logo” part of its therapy. I’d feel more comfortable if it saw human
meaning implicit in Jesus Christ and called itself “Logos’’ therapy.

But it at least understands the greatest human need is in terms of
meaning. Carl Jung confesses in Modern Man in Search of a Soul:

Among my patients from many countries, all of them edu-
cated persons, there is a considerable number who came to
see me, not because they were suffering from a neurosis, but

because they could find no meaning in life or were torturing

themselves with questions which neither present-day philoso-

phy nor religion could answer. Some of them perhaps thought
that I knew of a magic formula, but I was soon forced to tell

them that I, too, had no answer to give.

Jung's admission is disturbing. Understanding the human drive for
meaning, he confesses with all of his education that he does not have

the answers.

Jay Adams has been criticized by advocates of main-stream phy-
chology for his “nouthetic’’ counseling. But it seems to me that his
evangelical suggestion does live in truth at the very heart of the pastor

as a counselor. This consideration I will call in the last part of the

paper, a “Liminal’’ consideration. Still, I consider Adams’ suggestion

to be a very real suggestion for all of those who wish to make the pulpit
a place to disseminate the counsel of God to those who really are
starved for meaning in our culture. Pope John XXIII had a magnificent

emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Although his emphasis might have been

more liturgical than Jay Adams’, Adams has put us in touch with a prop-
osition which is the dynamic of the entire Christian Faith. The Kingdom

of God is within us. Its very Inwardness is a result of the Holy Spirit of

God indwelling the life of the believer, and “instructing’’ him from his

very heart. The Holy Spirit’s inward counsel, is the most magnificent

form of direction and meaning and is based, says Adams, upon the very

fact that the name of the Holy Spirit is Parakalesis—one called along
side—that is, COUNSELOR:

Counseling is the work of the Holy Spirit. Effective counsel-

ing cannot be done apart from Him. He is called the paraclete
(counselor) who in Christ’s place came to be another coun-
selor of the same sort that Christ had been to his disciples.
Because unsaved counselors do not know the Holy Spirit, they

16



ignore His counseling activity and fail to avail themselves of

His direction and power.^

The indwelling counsel of the Holy Spirit of God is nourished and

made effective by the sine qua non of all spirituality: intimacy with God.

Here is both the missing dimension of our spirituality and of our

counsel. Intimacy best thrives in mysticism, and the Catholic Mass

therefore in some regards provides the best womb to nourish the inner
life that can be imagined. While Tolstoy participated in the orthodox

observance of the Eucharist, he was truly born again. In his Memoirs

of a Lunatic, he describes his agony of spirit, until he came to that
wonderful time when he was joined In spiritual intimacy to the source

of meaning.

While the categories are widely separated, I believe that sexual inti-

macy and spiritual intimacy provide the same kind of mortar for rela-

tionships. Speaking in this assembly, perhaps the illustration is not ap-

propos. Still, I believe that the missing dimension in the life of most

communicants is a sense of intimacy with God.

Most worship seems to develop in an atmosphere of exhibitionism.

We put forth our best soloists, musicians, and orators. The result, as
we have said, is usually applause. Jesus' admonition to spiritual inti-
macy lies In the prayer closet. Whatever counseling is done in worship
is still predicated upon that principle. Only when the preacher has been
alone with God, feeding upon his own intimate affair with Christ, will

he have any counsel value. And, of course, only when he can induce
the habit of spiritual intimacy within the Individual members of his
flock, will they find the inner source of power.

Intimacy usually goes under the traditional name of communion.
We recognize that communion and communication are from the same
root. The principle of intimacy is communication. To track back to the

sexual metaphor a moment, we speak culturally of this sort of intimacy
as Intercourse, and by doing so, indicate that we are speaking of a sort
of Intimate communication. In the word communion, we are again refer-
ring to communication of an intimate nature.

But we are now at the zenith of the relational movement. Let us
remember this and remember that there are two kinds of communion
which occur in public worship. God-intimacy, Catholics are masters at.

With hundreds of years of mystical and devotional traditions, they speak

well to this vertical, transcendent intimacy with God. But evangelicals

have better understood the horizontal, human communion of worship.
Baptists, specifically, have made much of “Fellowship” as an obliga-
tion in worship. It is a relational day, and since evangelicals in their

short traditions have propagated a relational faith, they are faring quite

well at present.

17



Horizontal relationships certainly may obscure the vertical, and leave
the Baptist worshipper with a cheap second-rate devotional humanism.

But many Catholics are incapable of achieving the basic mysticism they
need to acquire the vertical intimacy and hence are amputated from the

communion they seek.

The horizontal intimacy of Baptist worship can be a frightening item

for Catholics. In our church, we often link hands and sing “The Lord’s
Prayer,” or “We Are One in the Bond of Love.” Linking hands, 1 feel,
provides a desperately needed ministry of touch among the lonely and
alienated city dwellers of our day. But this ministry of touch is often

undesirable to some, who feel awkward holding hands with someone
they don’t know.

As the counselor of my flock, I think that the horizontal communion
which we enjoy can provide a dimension to the spiritual communion.

There is more than a casual relationship between coping with the prob-

lems of a complex society and the intimacy that my people have with
God and each other. And their worship will be meaningful if they con-

sistently participate in this communion. As a pulpit counselor, therefore,

I am constantly working to be sure that I am disseminating this psy-
chology of intimacy.

II. THE PASTOR AS A WARRIOR

Why a warrior? Because there is lurking behind every part of our
existence, the demons and beasts, which ail primitive religions origi-
nated to deal with. How then, can the sermon and the pastor best act
to deal with the beasts? Christianity has for one of its best attributes,

the ability to take the fear out of the living. There are the standard

academic fears: Death, hell, the judgment. Christianity is an immediate

antidote to death, hell and the judgment.

But the other fears continue lurking around existence long after the

believer has accepted these basics. The fears of the future: cancer, job

loss, loneliness, financial reversal, embarrassment, failure, the heart-

break of psoriasis, acne. Incapacitation, fire, loss of loved ones, flu,

automobile accident, inflation, old age, tooth decay, etc. Week after
week they bring these little fears to church and regularly hope that

they can have the little hounds put to sleep by the warrior.

Let us not assume that these little grievances are unimportant. Six-
hundred people drag them to my congregation each week. They have
fought the little beasts and lost and they are crying for help. They would

like for me to fight the beasts with them and put them all to sleep.
No matter the station in life, they are all fighting beasts. Remember
Arthur in Camelot as he anticipates his marriage? He confesses that
after having slain the great beast of his existence, he is intimidated by

18



the little fears; he fashions his people pondering what the king must be

doning on his bridal night:

I wonder what the King is doing tonight;

What merriment is the king pursuing tonight?

What occupies his time while waiting for the bride?

He's looking high and low for someplace to hide . . .

You mean that a King who killed a dragon,

Chopped him in two and fixed his wagon

Goes to his wedding terrified with fright?

Right!

A warrior who’s so calm in battle,
Even his armor doesn’t rattle.

Goes to be wed in terror and distress?

Yes!

You mean that appalling clammering
That sounds like a blacksmith hammering

Is merely the banging of his royal knees?

We are all afraid. We all want the various dragon and goblins to be
slain. We all admire the dragon-slayer. Throughout medieval times they
were the widely heralded. They were the liberators. The maidens were

no longer devoured. The sword was in the scaly plates, and life was

again free.

Thus it is the job of the pastor to liberate. The problem is that the

church is often itself the beast. How many times in my ministry I have
caught people refusing to join the church because they thought the

Baptist church was kill-joy. They saw Christ as a kind of orge set

against playing cards, wine and Pepsodent. How many times in my
ministry have I seen Catholics refusing to go to church because they

didn’t believe in birth control, or resented the “Mythocide” of St. Chris-

topher, or missed the mystery of the Latin Mass.

These dragons are harder to slay. Take the immense dragon of ex-
clusivism. Fresh from my little province In Oklahoma, it was so hard
for me to grant eternal life to those who were not Southern Baptists.
Only in recent years, have I been able with tears to admit that John the

Baptist was not John the Southern Baptist. It will take Catholics even
longer to confess that he was not John the Catholic, since they have
so many more years of institutional tradition to overcome. The agony of
it all may prove as hard as loving Masons and Lutherans. But you will
identify with your Baptist brothers who only lately have been able to
say R...R...R... ome, without stuttering.

There is no need to make a fetish out of fighting the beast. Remem-

19



ber Pelinore in The Once and Future King. He deserted his pursuit of
the monster Glatisant and found that the monster was soon dead;

. . Poor creature,” said King Pellinore indignantly. “It

has pined away, positively pined away, just because there was

nobody to take an interest in it. How could I have stayed all
that while . . . and never given my old Beast a thought I really
don’t know.” ^

But the beast is not that easily slain for most people.

It is interesting that Paul so often described the pastor in terms of a

warrior. Here is the knight errant of the pulpit:

Finally, my brethen, be strong in the Lord . . .
Put on the whole armor of God
that you may be able to stand against the
wiles of the great beast . . .

Stand, therefore, having your loins gird about

with truth.

And having on the breastplate of righteousness,
And having your feet shod with the preparation of
the Gospel of Peace:

And above all, taking the shield of faith.

Wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery

darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of

the spirit, which is the word of God.^

Is it any wonder that the great paintings of the final conflict show

Michael and the beast locked in the struggle to the death.

Perhaps we have some fear that to attempt to be warriors at wor-
ship, we shall appear quixotic. Yet it is absolutely Imperative that the
Man of God appear to be clothed with integrity and honesty and righte-
ousness in an evil and fallen world. If those who come to worship see
us in the warrior configuration, they will feel secure in our churches.

It is the weaponry of our struggle from which the worshipper will

draw strength as he sits in the assembly. What is the sword that we

shall plunge into the various dragons of existence:

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper

than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asun-

der of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a

discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

^

Here is a bit of Greek word study. The machaira is the sword men-

tioned here. The machaira, was the short infantry sword that the Roman
legions made famous, for while it was a short sword. It was double-

20



bladed and excellent in close combat. With its excellent maneuvera-

bility, Rome had conquered the world.

The machaira is the dragon slayer. Maneuverability in the close ranks

of dreadful circumstances that come upon us like advancing armies of

droids and orgs. We shall win. The beast will be slain! Our anthem like
Martin Luther King's will be victorious:

We shall overcome! We shall overcome!
Deep in my heart, I do believe.
That we shall overcome someday.

Yes, there must be a warrior in the pulpit. He does not have to be

obermann, but he does have to be a slayer of defeat. He must be a man
of power who can take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing,

end them. And, of course, the symbol of the warrior is he who stands
behind the cross and says to these who are always tilting at the beast,
“In Hoc Signo.” In this sign shall you conquer.

III. THE SHAMAN

The shaman, said Theodore Roszach, ought to be the model for the

man of God. The reasons that he offered, was that modern man in the
technological environment needs to tough the world of the spirit. The

shaman, he said, represents that other world. He used the term “limi-
nal.” The world of the liminal refers to that world that is barely dis-

cernible. The word liminal comes from the Latin word, limen, limen
meaning threshold.

There is an entire world beyond the threshold of scientific and ma-

terial experience. As men of God we represent that world, and it is a
substantial part of our calling to make that world substantial. I think
this is what Robert Frost is hinting at in his great poem which served
as a frontispiece to In The Clearing:

But God’s own descent
Into flesh was meant
As a demonstration

That the supreme merit
Lay in risking spirit

In substantiation.

Spirit enters flesh

And for all it’s worth
Charges into earth

In birth after birth

Ever fresh and fresh.

We may take the view
That it’s derring-do

Thought of in the large

21



Is one mighty charge

On our human-part
Of the soul’s ethereal

Into the material.

I am sure that this is what I had in mind when I wrote in Poems of
Protest (It sounds like it might even have been written by a Shaman):

Amber flame, and murky night;
Cavorting shadows and yellow light;

Wails of terror, cries of fright!

Hail Otombu!

Tongues of orange and black silhouettes;

Naked braves with black hearts set

On, sacrifice for atonement’s debt.

Hail Otombu!

Beat the bones on the jungle drum;

The warrior screams—his life is done.
Otombu, smile—and the black God come.
Hail Otombu!

(Meanwhile in another part of the world)

Genuflect, bow, circle the cup:

Down on your knees, lift the censer up.
In fire and reverence all must sup.

Hail to the church.

Kneel and stand; speak the litany;

Go through the form of piety.
Turn a page of the liturgy.

Hail to the church!

The Orgna thunders; the candles burn;

The robed man speaks, and then he turns
And prays the God-grained words he’s learned.

Hail, Hall, Hall to the church.’

I think that Roszak Is right. Our function in worship is much like that
of the witch doctor. We are trying to make real the world not discernible.
I believe his doctrine because it sets beside that of C. S. Lewis, who
taught that discipleship was really the belief in two separate worlds.

Lewis taught that those who believe in only one world, end up being
disinherited; having no world of their own. Only those who believe in
two worlds have a destiny.

It is therefore our job to make real that limlnal world, that is barely
obvious above the material threshold. If we are unable to do this, then
we leave the communicant imprisoned in a material system. When he

22



is imprisoned in such a world, he will seek the values of that world

since it is the only one that he knows. Jesus told a parable about a rich

man who was imprisoned in a material system: the world beyond the
threshold was not very real to him:

The land of the rich man brought forth plentifully; and he
thought to himself, “What shall I do, for I have nowhere to

store my crops?’' and he said, “I will do this: I will pull down
my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my
grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul. Soul, you have
ample goods laid up for many years; take ease, eat, drink and
be merry." But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is

required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will

they be?" So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is

not rich toward God.^°

In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness

(pleonexia): for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his

possessions." What is pleonexia? It Is the delight of the one-worlders.

Covetousness is the obsession of those unacquainted with the limen,

the threshold. It is our job to so believe in that world that we can help
our world with its obvious problems of pleonexia. But we cannot deliver
our world if we indulge in its values. It is impossible for those who are
afflicted with pleonexitis, to heal pleonexia. When we truly are ambassa-
dors of liminal world, then we may become of help.

It is in this regard that the Charismatic revolution may have helped.
People who found their behaviour unexplainable In terms of this world’s
psychology and science, may at least suggest the Invasion of God, or the
“descent into flesh,” as Robert Frost said.

Deliverance must come! Deliverance from the concerns of petty earth!

Deliverance from the material and finite. Again, Helmut Thielicke has

stated the terms of our worship and preaching. He has defined the
task well:

Ah, there is only one problem, only one in all the world. How
can we restore to man a spiritual significance, a spiritual dis-
content; let something descend upon them like the dew of a
Gregorian chant.

. . . Don’t you see, we cannot live any longer on refrigera-
tors, politics, balance-sheets, and crossword puzzles. We
simply cannot.”

To catch hold of this magnificent reality of the Spirit, requires the

realization that the material is transient and the spiritual, forever.

It Is a difficult step to manage for it Is literally a being born again
Into the higher realm, having split the old chrysalis and escaped the

23



narrow confinements of the ego. Henry Miller was not right about a

lot of things but he well described the prison of the materialist:

When our very lives are threatened we begin to live! Even
the psychic invalid throws away his crutches in such mo-

ments. For him the greatest joy is to realize that there is

something more important than himself. All his life he has

turned on the spit of his own roasted ego. He has made the
fire with his own hands. He has dripped in his own juices. He
makes himself a tender morsel for the demons he liberated
with his own hands. This is a picture of human life on this
planet called earth.

How do we deliver those who are roasting in their one-world prison?
It is by making the real world an option.

CONCLUSION

There are moments when it looms large and in our desperation we
have the whole world pondering It at once. Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile

Crisis, the Russian military threat. At such moments of threat, as
Henry Miller says, we do begin to live. But most of the time it lies sub-
merged and quiet.

Is there a chance you can waken the world from its lethargy on Sun-

day morning? There is a chance. It probably is still the best chance

that the world has. But the Commitment must be obvious. St. Francis
kissed the leper, and said clearly, “My affections are not hidden in the
values of my material countrymen.” Since you and I never run into
lepers, we will have to find other ways to take our stand for the greater
reality.

In Carthage in 252 A.D., the plague raged and the bodies of
dead stacked up in the streets, continually worsening the con-

dition and the infection in the city. Finally Cyprian, the bishop,

called upon the Christians to form a kind of Parabolani and

cartage away the corpses and try to save the city from com-

plete decimation even at the personal risk. They did! And the

city was saved from the worse ravages of plague. ^3

The parabolani, Christians who worked with the diseased, who risked
death because it really was a promotion to die. The parabolani (derived

from the Bathhouse or hothouse servants) knew how to bear the heat of

their commitment. Yes, they did get the plague and some of them even

died, or did they?

But had we been watching these strange creatures laying the wooden

corpses in the carts, what would we have said of them? I suspect we

would want to know something of their spiritual diet. We would want
to know what drove them and fueled them. And had they been Baptist

24



parabolani we would have learned the importance of our worship as we

saw them filling the drayage wagons, and stacking the funeral pyres.

For we would have heard them singing on the clear mornings:

There’s a land that Is fairer than day,

And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Savior waits over the way

To prepare us a dwelling place there.

In the sweet by and by.

We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
In the sweet by and by.

We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

To those of you in the Catholic tradition, our populist hymns may
seem quaint and folksy. But they are nonetheless the worship of free

men. For the free man, like St. Paul really is;

In a straight betwixt two,

having a desire to depart and be

with Christ which is far better . . .

Anyone whose desire is union with Christ In the immediate is not

so much prepared to worship. Indeed, he has already been at worship.
His heart lives in the constant adoration of his one great affection.

Remember St. John the Divine? Old with years and exiled. Yes, his
eyes have searched the vacant skies long enough. He is weary with
emperors and Roman hedonism! He has seen indulgence and depravity
and pleonexia close at hand. He has seen a thousand rich fools tearing

down their barns and building bigger ones. And he has been hungry

to set himself upon the newer plane. And when he weeps that Patmos
is still rigid and dusty beneath his literal feet, he cries out for the finer.

And in a starburst of fire, the old warrior sees it and marvels through

those old lips:

And I, John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem coming

down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned

for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying,

“Behold the tabernacle of God is with men,
and he will dwell with them,

and they shall be his people,

and God himself, shall be with them
and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
And there shall be no more death.
Neither sorrow nor crying.

Neither shall there be any more pain.

For the former things are passed away.”

25



If we can make the old man’s vision
as relevant as the Wall Street Journal

as absorbing as Star Wars

as crucial as the Red Cross Handbook,

Then we will have achieved as leaders of
Worship

Then,

They will hear our counsel

and accept our defense

and through us they will have

discerned the world of reality

barely visible in their ordinary

moments—It will in the
counsel and the victory be

the only world they see.

“Even so, come quickly. Lord Jesus.’’

' Richard Quebedeaux, The New Charismatics (New York, Doubleday and Company,

1976)

, p. 168.
2 C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed (New York, The Seabury Press, 1961).
^ Ronald J. Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger (Downers Grove, Illinois, IVP,

1977)

, p. 55.
^ Helmut Thielicke, The Waiting Father (New York, Harper and Row, 1975) p. 26.
5 Jay E. Adams, Competent to Counsel (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book House,

1970), p. 20.
* T. H. White, The Once and Future King (New York, Berkeley Publishing Company,

1939), pp. 152-153.
^ Ephesians 6:10-17.
® Hebrews 4:12.
’ Calvin Miller, Poems of Protest and Faith (Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, Baker Books,

1968), pp. 8-9.
'0 Luke 12:16-21.
'

' Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “Letter to a General” in The Waiting Father by Helmut
Thielicke (New York, Harper and Row, 1975), p. 11.

Henry Miller, The Rosy Crucifixion, Sexus (New York, Grove Press, 1965), pp. 425ff.
Fritz Ridenour, It All Depends, p. 223.

'*

* Revelation 21:2-4.

26



The Theology and Experience

of Worship

Rev. Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin
Pastor

Holy Family Church
Fulton, New York

THE THEOLOGY AND EXPERIENCE OF WORSHIP

I would like to put my more theoretical remarks today in the frame-
work of an annual Thanksgiving Day 10:00 a.m. Mass we celebrated last

Thursday in our parish of 750 families.

Six hundred people came to this eucharistic celebration which has
become one of our most popular and joyous liturgies of the year. That

attendance alone on a so-called free day for Roman Catholics speaks of
its meaning and relevance for contemporary Americans.

These believers arrived at the church laden with gifts, each member
of every family bringing some item of food for the poor. In the pews
they found a green leaflet designed by an artist parishioner and run off

on an A. B. Dick offset machine by another volunteer of the church. The

music had been reproduced with copyright permission, in case you

wonder if we are being sued by the F.E.L. publishers. The procession
began from the rear of the building with the priest concelebrants wear-

ing vestments designed and made by several talented women of Holy
Family. After a “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone” from the celebrant and
a similar response from the congregation, all were invited to turn and

introduce themselves to those around them.

After an opening prayer composed by the American bishops and

approved by the Vatican for Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a lay

reader, who had in the entrance procession carried the large lectionary
held high in the air, proclaimed the first two scriptural readings, a text

from Deuteronomy and one from Colossians. In between the choir and

congregation alternated with the antiphon and verses of a responsorial

psalm.

After an appropriate Alleluia sung by all, the priest proclaimed the

Lucan account of the ten lepers. The sermon, better now termed a
homily, was a bit different on this day as is our custom for Thanksgiv-
ing. The preacher sat down and gently took the congreation through a
quiet, reflective review of the past year and the many gifts God has

27



given each person. One could detect a few tears here and there as the
memory of especially cherished blessings struck responsive chords in
the heart. At the conclusion of the 5-10 minute meditative homily, the

priest invited them to respond in litany fashion to a portion of Psalm

136, “Give thanks to the Lord of Lords, for his mercy endures forever.”

The highlight of the liturgy every year seems to be the presentation of

food offerings for the poor. Following the homily, every person comes
forward to the altar and gives to the two priests his or her gift—a jar of
peanut butter, a homemade loaf of bread, a bag full of canned goods,
even a bottle of cocktail onions from one thoughtful soul. These are

piled in front of the altar for later sorting and distribution to the needy

of our area. The procession takes ten or fifteen minutes, but no one

seems to mind. The choir sings several appropriate numbers including

classical religious pieces and current secular songs suitable for the oc-

casion. The huge mound of material Is always impressive, being $1,000
in store value and filling 35-40 cases.

As the liturgy of the Eucharist continues, the celebrant consecrates

small, circular loaves of unleavened bread baked by a parishioner.

These are divided just prior to Communion and distributed by the two
priests with assistance from two nuns. On this special occasion, four
other lay ministers of Communion offered the chalice to those who
wished to receive the Lord’s body and blood under both species.

“The Star Spangled Banner” and “Now Thank We All Our God” con-
cluded the service and accompanied the recessional. The priests stood

at the door and greeted the happy, enthusiastic worshipers who then
headed for home and the turkey feast under preparation. This unique
Mass truly makes the holiday for them a day of thanksgiving to the

Lord.

With that celebration in mind, I now wish to draw up several points or

principles about Catholic theology and experience of worship in today’s

world.

1. Where Roman Catholics are today is another stage in the rather
complex historical development of our liturgy. A dangerously oversimpli-

fied view could summarize the overall worship trends since the time of

Christ in this fashion: The early centuries featured a eucharistic liturgy

which was more informal, less structured, less clerical and more com-

munity oriented. During the medieval period, official worship became

more clericalized, with the altar facing the wall, not the people, the

clergy assuming most of the roles. Communion received seldom and
normally under the sign of bread alone. Just prior to the Council of

Trent and the Reformation, the liturgical scene became somewhat an-

archical, with almost as many styles or forms as celebrants.

The Council of Trent, the missal of Pius V and the Congregation of

28



Sacred Rites tightened up this condition and formalized a pattern of

worship which remained relatively satisfactory, but frozen for the next

400 years. Around the turn of the century, both grass roots Catholics

and Vatican officials saw the need for changes in this rigid ritual.

Piecemeal reforms occurred thereafter, both officially and unofficially,

throughout the first part of the 20th century. With the Second Vatican

Council the Church began a thorough historical, theological, scriptural

and pastoral study of the liturgy. The result has been the publication of

revised ritual books for the entire sacramental and public prayer life of

the Catholic Church. I am sure you are familiar with some or all of
these. The principles which follow are integrated into those revised texts

and were operative in the Thanksgiving Day Mass I described earlier.

2. Unity, diversity and creativity. I believe that history will judge

the current official Roman liturgical books a stroke of genius. The many
experts who contributed to them have combined a core rite which pre-
serves the sense of unity in the Church with a rich variety of options

from which to choose which adds a diversity to our worship experiences.

Moreover, the general norms for liturgical celebrations and the freer

structure of the rituals themselves provide opportunities for creative

efforts by the local worshiping community.

Those three points are exemplified in our Thanksgiving Day liturgy.

First, the core ritual of an entrance rite, liturgy of the Word, liturgy

of the Eucharist, and dismissal service is followed. Moreover, the other

prescribed texts and actions were observed quite faithfully. Essentially

it was the same eucharistic celebration we have, as Roman Catholics,
maintained for centuries and the identical one now in use throughout
the world.

Secondly, there were a wide range of scriptural texts, prayers and

blessings available in the official lectionary and altar book or sacra-

mentary for this service. We selected those which best suited the here
and now needs of our parish and praying family.

Thirdly, the prayers composed especially for the United States and
the all-inclusive procession with food gifts illustrate the kind of im-

aginative and locally created words or actions now permitted and pos-
sible within the structure of Roman Catholic worship.

3. Liturgy is viewed today as both building the Christian community

and expressing the inner unity which already exists. The Church, when
examined under the model or concept of community, can be termed a

group of persons who are linked together by inner ties of faith, grace,
prayerfulness and love. We express that in worship and try to deepen
those real, interior links with God and one another.

Many of the simple gestures of our special holiday liturgy attempted

29



to achieve those two goals. The introductions, the semicircular church

building which facilitates visual contact between the believers, the altar

facing the congregation, the exchange, sign or kiss of peace, the out-

streatched arms and expressive eyes of the priest—all of these sought
to lift worshipers out of their individualism into the living, loving faith

family gathered for public worship.

4. A blend of the secular and the sacred. We believe our liturgy
should be prayer to the Father above and beyond who loves us and yet
touch the hard-nosed realities of life here on earth. Good worship should
have an element of the sacred, the transcendent, the mystery of the

wholely other in it; but this liturgy must also reflect our awareness that

the Lord of Lords also broke into human history, is Emmanuel or God
with us, and the Lord Jesus whom we follow was a man like us in all
things, but sin.

Those who plan and execute worship try to blend those secular and
sacred, divine and human strains. However, actually achieving the prop-
er balance is more difficult than defining the ideal to be pursued.

Integrating “Now Thank We All Our God" and a Fred Waring arrange-
ment of “America the Beautiful” within the same worship service; reflect-
ing on the very specific blessings the Father bestowed upon us during

the past year and then thanking the supreme giver of all good gifts;

praying for President Sadat and for peace between Arabs and Jews

while at the same time asking that all men and women might come to
accept Jesus as savior: those are practical illustrations of an attempt

to fuse the secular and the sacred in our liturgies.

5. Sounds and silence. Our pre-Vatican II Roman Catholic Mass was
in Latin, prayerful, mysterious, formal, but very, very quiet with almost

no congregational response in word or song. That has changed dramat-

ically in the past decade or so, more or less successfully depending

upon the enthusiasm and energy of the parish leaders in a particular

parish.

The reaction to silent liturgies of the past, however, may have gone a
bit too far. Many liturgical people today feel that our American penchant
for activity, work and productivity has led us into a trap. Silent liturgies

have become noisy liturgies. There was too much silence before and not
enough sounds from the congregation. At the present moment we may
have too much sound and not sufficient silence.

Official documents cannot be blamed for that development. The

directives carefully stress the need for periods of silence within every

liturgy. In our own parish and during that Thanksgiving liturgy, for

example, we ask our readers to pause for the period of an Our Father

before moving on to the responsorial psalm. That pause keeps us from

making worship too much like a MacDonald’s production line in which

30



we hurry up and eat or rush, rush, rush to the next part of the service.

A proper use of silence within public worship can, perhaps more than

any other factor, make it truly a liturgy which is prayerful, reverent and

faith filled.

6. Importance of the Word. Dr. James White, professor of Christian

worship in the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist Univer-

sity, writing for the September 28, 1977 issue of The Christian Century,

observed: “More scripture is being read at Roman Catholic Masses
these days than in most Protestant services.”

I quote this not in a triumphalistic way, but simply to show the growth

among Roman Catholics of our appreciation for and use of the Bible in
worship. Sunday liturgies include three passages from scripture; week-

day Masses, two. It would be reasonable to state that no Catholic public

worship service in 1977 is without some passage from the holy book.

The dignified lectionary used at the Thanksgiving liturgy, the manner

with which our well trained lay reader carried the book itself, and the

inclusion of three selections in the Mass are practical examples in a

specific, but typical situation of the importance given to the Word.

Theologically, the liturgy of the Word is seen as a preparation for the
liturgy of the Eucharist. Christ’s presence in the Word stirs up our faith
and helps us recognize the Risen Lord’s presence later in the sacra-

mental action of the breaking of the bread.

7. A more sensitive awareness and use of symbols. We worship a
transcendent God who is beyond our comprehension. That Lord God
almightly has come to us, has been revealed in signs and symbols, in
the word of the scripture and in the flesh of the Father’s Son, Jesus.

We in turn externalize our inner thoughts to the Father of us all
through visible, tangible, sensible signs and symbols.

There is today in Roman Catholicism, a greater appreciation for those
symbols through which Christ comes to us and through which we reach
out to the Father.

Baptism by immersion is presented as the ideal in the official ritual

book. Altar breads which truly can be broken and eaten are encouraged.

Communion from the cup is common for feasts like Thanksgiving and is
a daily practice at smaller weekday Masses like ours at Holy Family. The
laying on of hands in various ritual ways, forms part of every sacramen-

tal gesture.

8. The Church as a servant of others. Bringing up food for the poor
and distributing those items to the neighborhood’s needy is, in a sense,
Band-Aid service to others. But it does ease some pain and, perhaps
more importantly, raise the consciousness of parishioners to the dimen-

31



sions of Christian worship which calls us to be servants of others,

particularly those less fortunate.

Our own parish has just finished a tithing program. The tensions and

opposition from parishioners was enormous—the greatest in my six
years as a pastor. But the collection rose from $1,700 to $3,000 on the

first two given Sundays. The message of five percent for your parish

and five percent for the poor was quite clear and forceful. My dream
is to ask parishioners in six months or a year to take 10 percent off the

top of the Sunday offering and give this to 52 different hurting parishes

throughout the world. That would be good in itself, but more significant-

ly the process would expand their vision of the Church’s universal

character.

Once a month we now have a glass collection. The ton we obtain
every 30 days, taken to a local Owens-Illinois plant for recycling, brings
in a modest amount, a little over $30. But the energy saving impact is

substantial—a ton of glass is a sizeable amount of junk for the waste-
pile—and the consciousness of our people has again been elevated.

This week we will, we hope, be resettling our second Vietnamese fam-
ily of a father, mother and seven children. The programs have involved

enormous expenditures of volunteer time and talents. But the smiles

and happiness of our first family, now, two years later, alone justifies

the effort. However, it was not without opposition. I received a clipping

critical of the Vietnamese resettlement concept soon after we launched
our own project with the added notation: “I will not donate to the church

again.” It very likely was penned by a Sicilian or Irish immigrant who
came to this country, or whose parents did 50 years ago.

All of these are basically stop-gap measures and do not' do much
about sinful social structures. But they do help some people and surely
lift up the eyes of our Christian people.

Through such programs we trust they gradually learn that liturgy
must flow over into life and worship into the world. Prayer in church on

Sunday which does not move on to the needs of others beyond the
structure’s walls lacks something. Unless a basic change occurs in that

approach, parishioners will very likely discover their worship in time has

become dry and dead. On the other hand, when we bring the hungry, the

homeless and the oppressed in our hearts to the altar on Sunday, the

liturgy has a richer, more fulfilling effect.

Seeing Christ in others helps us to experience the Lord more deeply

in both Word and Sacrament. Experiencing the Lord in scripture and the

breaking of bread eventually and necessarily will lead us to see Jesus

more swiftly in hurting sisters and brothers.

32



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Trends in Worship Styles Today

Worship is the awareness of the Holy which results in our positive

response to His revelation. Catholic and Baptist have worship experi-

ences which may be described as official, formal, ritual, as well as those
worship experiences which may be described as unofficial, non-ritual or
informal.

Catholic and Baptist are experiencing change in formal and informal

worship. The Catholic worship has experienced more change than Baptist

during the second half of the 20th century. Much of the Catholic change

in official liturgy has been the peeling off of the many acretions through
the ages.

Catholic and Baptist are experiencing increased interest in informal

personal expressions of worship, especially related to special small

group interest such as: Marriage Encounter or Enrichment, charismatic

gifts, Bible studies, etc. Both denominations invited increased lay partic-

ipation with women becoming more frequent participants in the wor-
ship services. Among Catholics, laity are reading scriptures, singing and
assisting in communion. Baptist layman share testimonies, scriptures,

prayers and in some churches assist in the planning and preparation
for worship experiences.

Perhaps more important than our discoveries regarding worship

were those regarding one another. Our discussion revealed the great

diversity that exists among Catholics as well as among Baptists. Much
of the diversity within our respective denominations rests upon socio-

economic variables, while other differences reflect the local pastor’s

preferences and freedom within his ecclesiastical circle.

Recognizing the diversity between Catholic and Baptist, it was agreed
that Catholic and Baptist share much more in common regarding critical
ethical and theological issues than either denomination share with more
liberal segments of the Protestant movement. Considerable time was
spent probing one another’s official theology and practical application

of that theology. Both groups dispelled false concepts which led to a

more clear understanding of one another. The free flowing dialogue was
the product of an open fellowship which deepened as each of us strug-

gled to describe ourselves and understand others.

Co-convenors Lawrence Matlock, Recorder

J. Everett Sneed, Baptist

Lawrence H. Wiskirchen, Catholic

35



Pastoral Preparation

of the

Worshiping Community

The points discussed were;

A. Immediate preparation (daily or weekly needs arising from com-

munity).

B. Long-term preparation (growth, spiritual self-realization, ability to

praise, recognition and service of others).

C. Personal preparation (leaders, liturgy teams).

D. Preparation for roles (deepened involvement).

E. Evidences of successful preparation (ownership of worship by all,

witnessing to needs met, acceptance and mutual help, commitment,

decision, service).

F. Effect of involvement in church or parish work on worship (small

groups, Bible study, infrastructure, role of laity).

G. Preparation in use of symbols (taking reverent thing and doing

something with it, actions).

H. Preparation of Southern Baptist pastor (Bible reading, time for

prayer, self-evaluation, where people are, atmosphere of trust, purpose

of service, staff involvement in planning).

I. Preparation of Roman Catholic liturgy (assessing condition of com-
munity, thematic unity, options, criteria, resources, signs within Mass,

e.g.. Cross, entrance song, penance rite, silent prayer, articulated prayer,

options, e.g., Gloria, water rite).

Co-convenors

M. Dale Allen, Baptist

Peter Foote, Catholic (Recorder)

36



From Worship to Service

Although there are many ways and places we can worship God and
many ways to describe it, we seemed to begin with a consensus that the
topic of concern would be the worship of the congregation of our

respective churches.

We are all called to service and somehow we noted a general convic-
tion among us all that worship should stimulate us to greater service
in the world around us and that the very service we perform can in turn
lead us to an ever deepening participation in the worship of our

churches. We realize very soon in our discussion that we have some
basic differences in our ideas of worship as Catholics and as Baptists

because of our different understandings of the very nature of church

and of priesthood and types of worship services. Yet we noted how
frequently we both realized and hoped that the goal of our worship
among Baptists and Catholics would be greater service to those in need.

Each of us described specific areas of service in which our churches,

or we as individual church people, engage. The concern arose that we
were not tackling the root problems of social injustice but that we were
involved most often in alleviating the surface crises. We spoke of a
hope that worship should kindle in us a desire to get at the root causes,

but we did not discuss how this could come about. If we had had time,
this would have been a fruitful topic.

We reminded ourselves that genuine worship requires that we be
faithful people filled with love for God and for each other. We must
struggle to call people to join in worship who feel they are coming
willingly without the threat of commands or social pressure—although
we realized these forces are often present and cannot be totally done
away with.

To worship God we must come in spirit and in truth. And although
we all agreed on the thought, there surfaced once again a difference
between Baptist (seemingly exclusive reliance on direct contact with the

Holy Spirit) and Catholic (seemingly relying on the community of the
Church to bring them to the Spirit and to truth). After much discussion
we saw some of this difference primarily as a point of emphasis in our
different traditions, although there are some notable differences, e.g..
Catholic sacramentality vs. Baptist Biblical emphasis.

We spent much of our evening session discussing practical problems
of social morality, e.g., hunger, self-help projects, problems of the Iso-

lated people, volunteerism by church members, abortion and sexual

37



morality. We agreed that somehow our Christian spirit and principles
must come to bear on these problems and that somehow our church
worship must inspire us to carry on the struggle. We realized that not
all come to church worship and so we cannot reach all through it. Yet
we felt that we must go out to these people in whatever need they find
themselves and administer to them as best we can with what talents we
have.

We spoke of how our financial contributions through the church
services can truly help others—although we realized that we must make
service on a person-to-person basis where we can.

When we come to worship we need to be aware of the people who
come with their gifts and needs. The worship must be concerned with
them and speak to them. Hopefully, all worship will lead people to great-

er values and service both in relationship to God and our fellowmen.

Let us discover the needs, identify the resources, choose our priori-

ties, select our volunteers and frequently evaluate. A genuine worshiping
community will take these steps inspired by its worshiping spirit.

We were pleased with what we heard and learned from each other; we
laughed well at our own foibles, we found genuine points of commonal-
ity amidst our differences.

Co-convenors Paul J. McLaughlin, Recorder

W. Trueman Moore, Baptist

Sister Maureen Kelly, Catholic

38



Worship in the Family and in Small Groups

It takes God's presence and our response for worship to take place.

Therefore it takes two. There is need for meaning in every person’s life.

The importance of worship in the family is that it makes connection with

the meaning of life.

Prayer is urgent; it must pervade as a climate of living. Three com-

ponents or elements need to be present: 1) Wonder-reverence-awe, an

openness to mystery; 2) Gratitude, the sense of indebtedness to God for

the gift of life; 3) Solitude-silence. Each one of us is to find his/her

individual strength in God. Silence Is vital to this. Silence brings much
fullness—corporate silence has great possibility.

One priest shared with the group some maturing and growth in his
parish family in the worship of children. They used the Thanksgiving

season to express the children’s love for their parents and the parents’

love for their children. Thus they were able to show God’s love for peo-

ple even when they were naughty and they could come to God and
experience His love and forgiveness. James Goodson indicated that
there is a crisis in the Protestant family in that there is little usage of

the Bible in family life.

Bob Hastings Indicated that one family has solved the problem of

family worship by getting together once a week for family worship. On
the other days there Is a quiet time for each individual member of the
family. In one community the churches put pressure on the school to
have one night for the family called “at home night.’’ The families used
part of this time as a time of prayer.

One member of the group indicated that there needs to be strong
training of adults in how to conduct some kind of family worship. One
pastor has a marriage enrichment class for families in the church. This

has been very successful. One of the lectures is “Eleven Ways a Hus-
band Hurts His Wife.’’ They have a personal evaluation sheet for the

husband and an evaluation sheet for the wife. The children also are

brought into this evalution. This has enriched family life in their church.

Some people think that the preaching of the sermon Is worship and
think it has to be repeated in the family. Perhaps what we need to teach
our people are the ingredients of worship.

Some things Catholics are having:

1. Family retreats

39



2. Marriage encounters

3. Teenagers encounter Christ (T.E.C.H.)

4. Day of Recollection (hear scripture proclaimed)

5. Holy Hour (each week)

6. Three minutes a day (to read scripture, pray, etc.)

7. Family-centered religious education programs

8. Prayer groups

9. Anniversary service as a family

Co-convenors Robert E. Haskins, Recorder

Robert J. Hastings, Baptist

Sister Maureen Kelly, Catholic

40



The Role of Art, Music and Symbolism in Worship

As leaders in worship, we must be conscious of some problems: 1)
man-made environments in conflict with nature, 2) mobility and loss of

community ties, 3) atomization of community brings in its wake an in-

difference to the past and its power to shape the future, 4) liturgy

(worship) as performance-to-be-watched vs. ritual-to-be-shared, and 5)

work ethic and pragmatic philosophy which questions any functionless,

purposeless activity.

The use of art, music and symbolism in worship can bring about a

sense of community. This usage is only valuable as the congregation

learns to appreciate and accept the art or symbol. Certainly the educa-

tional, ethnic, and cultural background of a congregation will determine

what art forms and symbols will be acceptable and meaningful.

Many Baptists would say that Baptist worship is free from symbols.
However, the following can be considered ritual symbols in worship: 1) a

personal devotional life, 2) Baptism—the baptistry is the focal point in
Baptist architecture, 3) Lord’s Supper and Table—along with the ele-
ments, 4) offertory, 5) pulpit—if it is moved, many people are highly
disturbed, and 6) Bible.

Art usage in the Church incorporates drama, readings, dance, music,

painting, sculpture, etc.

Music in both groups is highly important. There is an attempt to

involve the laity in the act of worship through music. This involvement

may be through instruments, choral music, congregational singing,
handbell choirs. The list could be greatly expanded.

We discussed the fine line between art forms being creative and
appreciated for art’s sake or art forms, however creative, being a means
to experiencing worship. Art for art’s sake can take away from worship.

The group discussed the importance of architecture. It must be wor-

ship centered. Some congregations react against multipurpose build-
ings. They want a recognizable “church building’’—more traditional.
However, a multipurpose building allows for freer movement in worship.
Its practicality is a plus. Financially, many churches must use a multi-
purpose worship center.

The question was asked “Do our congregations understand the sym-
bols that we take for granted?’’ The Eucharist is a meal. But, in reality
people have trouble seeing it as a meal because of their home experi-
ence. Worship helps us to see human beings as symbol—“Christ in

41



you.” Art, architecture, symbols and signs help to link us to our past

and keep us from spiritual impoverishment.

As a “side track,” it was pointed out that Protestants need to build

on the “Kingship of Jesus.” Catholics need to build a more personal/

friendship relationship to Christ.

Due to the great diversity in churches—educational background, etc.
—music appreciation is on many levels. Should we try to raise the
congregation's level of art appreciation? Yes!

The idea was raised that perhaps there is a parallel between the

Baptist invitation and Catholic movement forward in the Eucharist. Per-
haps, we felt, the parallel was more with the old Baptist “mourner’s
bench.”

Possibly there is a need for more gestures and movement in wor-
ship. Baptists have always been reactionary to dance. However, in the

past 10 years, youth musicals have begun to incorporate choreography.

Co-convenors Ronald Coons, Recorder

Nathan Porter, Baptist

Larry B. Gatlin, Catholic

42



Forms of Spirituality Expressed in Worship

Perhaps a common ground for dialogue can be found in exploring the
meanings of various ideas/words which are expressed in a diversity of

thoughts, behaviors and cultures. What we try to say or do in worship

will have a relationship to one or more or all of these three areas of

expression.

A common problem for both Southern Baptist and Roman Catholic
arises when we attempt to associate these three expressions of reality

with religious ideas or experiences.

Worship is both an act and a life-style expressing our beliefs. A

spirituality arises when we focus upon one aspect of our beliefs or faith
and attempt to give it concrete form in our daily life.

More often than not a spirituality or devotional life for a Southern

Baptist centers around the fundamental belief and commitment to

Jesus as personal Lord and Savior. There is contained in this belief and

commitment an intimacy, a sense of immediacy and a conviction of

independence from any mediation through symbols. Worship reflects

this spirituality by way of an unspoken desire to -transcend anything

material. For example, the preacher may attempt to change his natural
voice into a solemn or “other worldly” voice, and utilize religious

language only.

A personal spirituality or devotional life is reflected in the traditional

time for testimony or witness during worship. However, a Southern

Baptist has traditionally equated spirituality with morality and an emo-

tional experience, not necessarily a reflective meditative experience.

There are, of course, exceptions which abound.

Roman Catholics have traditionally had access to numerous spirituali-
ties, e.g., Franciscan monasticism and asceticism, each emphasizing a

particular way of life based on a particular perspective of the Gospel life.

The charismatic movement within Roman Catholicism has reintro-
duced another form of emphasizing spirituality, however there is a need

for a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord and a dependence upon

the power of the Holy Spirit. The uniqueness of charismatic spirituality

can be found in the desire to be particularly receptive to the variety

of gifts from the Spirit and the need for a community life of service
and evangelization, but more especially in a spontaneity and testimony.

The difference between the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern
Baptist Churches in this area of spirituality may lie in the ability to

43



accommodate and adjust to a variety of spiritualities in a local church.
Despite our various problems in accommodation and forms of spirituality

in our worships, the criterion for unity in diversity should be Love.

Co-convenors Kenneth Stofft, Recorder

Jim Berryman, Baptist

Edward M. Hays, Catholic

44



SOUTHERN BAPTISTS

Participants

Dale M. Allen, Th.D., Pastor

Parkway Baptist Church
12465 Olive Boulevard
St. Louis, Missouri 63141

Jim Berryman
Professor of Religion and Philosophy
Ouachita Baptist University
Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71923

Michael D. Brown
Director of Missions

Lakeland Baptist Association
131 W. Layton Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53207

Ronald Coons, Pastor
Cedar Creek Baptist Church
Box 2351
Cedarburg, Wisconsin 53012

James Crookham
US2 Missionary
Pulaski County Baptist Association
1522 West 10th St.
Little Rock, Arkansas 72202

Jim Donohue
Box 20
Nashville, Illinois 62263

Chris Elkins

Consultant on Unification Church
Baptist Home Mission Board
1350 Spring St. N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309

Clifford L. Gilleland, Pastor

Calvary Baptist Church
P.O. Box 75
5515 Fox Street
Schofield, Wisconsin 54476

James L. Goodson
Director of Missions

Missouri Baptist Convention
Baptist Building

400 East High
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

Robert E. Haskins, Director
Department of Cooperative Missions
Oklahoma Baptist Convention
1141 North Robinson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73103

Omer Hancock, Pastor
Highland Park Baptist Church
400 North Blackwelder
Edmons, Oklahoma 73034

C. B. Hastings

Assistant Director

Department of Interfaith Witness
Baptist Home Mission Board
1350 Spring St. N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309

Robert J. Hastings, Director
Office of Communications
Illinois Baptist

Box 3486
Springfield, Illinois 62708

Gene Hawkins, Pastor
First Southern Baptist Church
1912 Gage Boulevard
Topeka, Kansas 66604

Carey Heard, Pastor
Park Hill Baptist Church
201 East “C” St.
Box 4064
North Little Rock, Arkansas 72116

Albert Bean, Baptist Campus
Minister

University of Missouri

1101 University Ave.
Columbia, Missouri 65201

David P. Holden, Jr., Assistant

Director

Iowa Southern Baptist Fellowship
Box 497
Eldridge, Iowa 52748

Fred Holloman, Pastor
1335 Lincoln
Faith Southern Baptist Church
Topeka, Kansas 66604

Evan F. Holmes
Superintendent of Missions
Northland Baptist Association
8400 Lyndale Ave. South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55420

Glenn Igleheart, Director
Interfaith Witness Department
Baptist Home Mission Board
1350 Spring St. N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309

45



Phil Lineberger, Pastor

Calvary Baptist Church
1901 North Pierce
Little Rock, Arkansas 72207

W. C. Link, Pastor
First Baptist Church
P.O. Box 222
Liberty, Missouri 39645

Pierce Matheney
Professor of Old Testament
Midwestern Baptist Theological

Seminary
5001 North Oak Trafficway
Kansas City, Missouri 64118

Lawrence Matlock, Pastor
Portland Avenue Baptist Church
3737 Northwest 12th St.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73107

Calvin Miller, Pastor

Westside Baptist Church
1106 South 139th St.
Omaha, Nebraska 68144

William B. Mitchell

Associate Director

Department of Interfath Witness
Baptist Home Mission Board
1350 Spring St. N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309

Don Moore, Pastor
First Southern Baptist Church
5225 East Division St.
Evansville, Indiana 47715

Trueman W. Moore, Pastor
East Side Baptist Church
2710 Massard Road
Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901

Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Porter, Pastor
First Baptist Church
8th and Pine
Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71923

George J. Sheridan
Director of Interfaith Witness
North Eastern United States

2116 Morris Avenue
Union, New Jersey 07083

Helen Shearer, Missionary
7-4-18 Kamitsutsui

Fukiai, Kobe 651
Japan

Doyle Smith, Pastor
First Southern Baptist Church
19th and Harrison St.
Great Bend, Kansas 67530

Everett J. Sneed, Editor
Arkansas Baptist Newsmagazine
Box 552
Little Rock, Arkansas 72203

Evelyn Tully, Associate Director

of Woman’s Missionary Union
Illinois Baptist Association

Box 3486
Springfield, Illinois 62708

David Turner
Missionary with Spanish Speaking

People

Lakeland Baptist Association
1313 West Layton Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53207

Lloyd N. Whyte
Area Director of Interfaith Witness
Mideastern United States
1452 N.W. 36th St.
Miami, Florida 33142

Bill Williamson

Director of Missions of

South Minnesota
Colonial Building

Methodist Hospital

Rochester, Minnesota 55901

46



ROMAN CATHOLICS

Aletha Adams
7119 Alhambra
Praire Village, Kansas 66208

Rev. William A. Bauman
Vicar for Religious Education

Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
1029 Bennington
Kansas City, Missouri 64126

Rev. Paul Bruening
Ecumenical Officer
Diocese of Belleville

601 S. Mill Street
Nashville, Illinois 62263

Rev. Alex J. Brunett, President

National Association of

Diocesan Ecumenical Officers
305 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48226

Rev. Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin,
Pastor

Holy Family Church
45 West Fourth Street
Fulton, New York 13069

Marilou Coleman
7171 Windsor
Prairie Village, Kansas 66208

Most Rev. William M. Cosgrove, D.D.
Bishop of Belleville
P.O. Box 896
Belleville, Illinois 62223

Thomas J. Feeney
417 Main Street
Davenport, Iowa 52801

Betty Fitzpatrick

2514 Jackson
St. Joseph, Missouri 64507

Peter Foote, Secretary

Ecumenical Affairs
Archdiocese of Chicago
P.O. Box 1979
Chicago, Illinois 60690

Most Rev. Marion F. Forst, D.D.
Auxiliary Bishop of Kansas City in

Kansas
708 N. Fifth Street
Leavenworth, Kansas 66048

Rev. Paul Gallatin, Pastor

Corpus Christi Church
1005 N.E. 15th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73132

Rev. Larry B. Gatlin, Director

Ecumenical Commission
Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
P.O. Box 32286
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73132

Rosemary Harris
2011 Agency Road
St. Joseph, Missouri 64507

Rev. Edward M. Hays, Director
Shantivanam Archdiocesan House

of Prayer

Archidiocese of Kansas City in
Kansas

Easton, Kansas 66020

Vern Hillman

Route 2
Nixa, Missouri 65714

Rev. John L. Hix
Ecumenical Officer
Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
1723 South 12th and Doniphan
Avenue

St. Joseph, Missouri 64503

Sr. Rose Dolores Hoffelmeyer, S.C.L.
Motherhouse
Leavenworth, Kansas 66048

Rev. John F. Hotchkin, Director
Bishops' Committee for
Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005

Rev. John F. Hynes
Ecumenical Officer
615 Marquette Street
Davenport, Iowa 52802

Sr. Jeanne Marie Jette
Catholic Charities

220 South 9th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66101

Peggy J. Keilholz, Executive Director
Missouri Catholic Conference
1204 E. Elm Street, Box 1022
Jefferson, Missouri 65101

Sr. Maureen Kelly, OSF
Ecumenical Officer
Diocese of St. Cloud
Route 1, Box 32
Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372

47



Rev. John Lavrih, Vice-Chairman
Commission for Promotion of

Christian Unity

Diocese of Dodge City
706 East Sixth Street
Kinsley, Kansas 67547

Most Rev. Bernard F. Law, D.D.,
Chairman

Bishops’ Committee for
Ecumencial and Interreligious

Affairs

Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau
410 Landers Building
Springfield, Missouri 65806

Robert E. Martin
128 E. 57th Place
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74105

Rev. Paul J. McLoughlin
117 South Oak Crest Drive
Houston, Missouri 65483

Veronica Neybert
4214 W. 74th Terrace
Prairie Village, Kansas 66208

Most Rev. James D. Niedergeses, D.D.
BCEIA Liaison to Southern Baptist

Convention
Bishop of Nashville
2400 Twenty-first Avenue, South
Nashville, Tennessee 37212

Rev. Joseph O’Donnell
BCEIA Field Representative to
Southern Baptist Convention
P.O. Box 912
Newnan, Georgia 30263

James Owens
P.O. Box 2329
Kansas City, Kansas 66110

Rev. Robert Preisinger
Ecumenical Officer
Archidiocese of Omaha
3020 Curtis Avenue
Omaha, Nebraska 68111

Rev. Thomas E. Punzo
5832 King
Shawnee, Kansas 66203

Rev. J. Warren Regnier
Ecumenical Officer
Diocese of Crookston
P.O. Box 353
Park Rapids, Minnesota 56470

Sr. Mary Austin Schirmer, OSB
Catholic Charities

220 South 9th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66101

Rev. Msgr. Peter SeidI

Ecumenical Officer
Diocese of Joliet

St. Mary’s

Grundy County
Minooka, Illinois 60447

Rev. J. Peter Sheehan, Associate
Director

Bishops’ Committee for
Ecumencial and Interreligious Affairs
1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005

Rev. David W. Smith
College of St. Thomas
2115 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, Minnesota 55105

Rev. Joseph W. Starmann
Ecumenical Officer
Diocese of Jefferson City

P.O. Box 417
Vienna, Missouri 65101

Kenneth G. Stofft, S.A., Staff Officer
Office for Ecumenical and
Interreligious Affairs

Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
P.O. Box 32286
Okahoma City, Okahoma 73132

Most Rev. John J. Sullivan, D.D.
Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph
P.O. Box 1037
Kansas City, Missouri 64141

Rev. Charles J. Swett
Ecumenical Officer
Diocese of Tulsa

1347 East 49th Place
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74105

Rev. Msgr. Lawrence H. Wiskirchen
Ecumenical Officer
Diocese of Springfield in Illinois

1412 Ninth Street
Highland, Illinois 62249

Rev. Msgr. John Zenner
Ecumenical Officer
Diocese of Dodge City
332 North Oak Street
Pratt, Kansas 67124

48



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