Lights, Cameras, Action

I wonder if part of the enormous interest in Barack Obama's local church came from the unfamiliarity of the media-centered nature of modern worship. It must have been a shock to many viewers, religious and secular. The hand-held microphones, the rock music, the hand-clapping, the theatrics--this is not my grandmother's Congregational Church!

Yet spectacle is part of many mega-churches these days, including those on the conservative side as well as the liberal. Even at St. Patrick's Cathedral, cameras are everywhere and applause interrupts the Cardinal's sermons.

As one who likes church to look like church, not a media event, I am feeling well behind the times. On the other hand: among the fastest growing denominations in America are Orthodox Congregations with the most traditional liturgies and few concessions to secular performances.

May God's holy name be praised. --J. Douglas Ousley