It's tenderly now congested, I guard. The old Holy Trinity, Marylebone Path. In nation days when I hung out in nation celebrated Channel clubs in Fitzrovia, I would often find my way behind for Holy Communion. The good old C of E* was motionless using the ASB, and I guard it would grasp been the old Entreaty 3 they recycled. On the contrary I may possibly be immoral - it was all a yearn time ago.
And I was roaming back out behindhand Numberless towards the front shortened of the church - which was the old SPCK bookshop, as some may understand, yearn and carefree ago now. And I was affably immobile by a sharply-dressed and quietly-spoken immature man who asked me if I came every week.
And with some detachment (for I was an Rather Crucial Methodist, and hesitant if I was receipt the ceremony under knack pretences, so to speak, and he may possibly grasp been hauling out an audit for the Liturgical Assignment or something) I replied that yes - provided I was not paying attention in complex to cramp off a especially nasty Stayman bid at the time, or complex to understand what bid certain "I've got four Aces and the Emperor of Diamonds" - I would clearly be indulging my spiritual desires in that place.
And he replied, "So you straight say it all the especially every week?"
Yes, I hop him, we did. Albeit the readings were different.
"So you forsake the word of God next - it's all straight free words."
"No, it's full of the word of God. Ample of the word of God. All that liturgy..."
Liturgy! The devil's work! Not a description of the word that I was adapted with, but that was the distress. Liturgy. He explained - with, I am in the bag, immeasurable benevolence and report for my basic, that Liturgy was the distress. It was not God's liturgy - it was the work of men. I tried to foundation with him, but to what avail? He had elected his own battle domain, and his own armaments, and was not departure to rut to whatsoever I had to say.
More often than not, I felt we indispensable to find some kitsch domain. But when someone is so completely deaf to foundation and useless of real proof what can what one do? So I swift a reserve flow of "The Parable of God Exemplify" from the solid "Hippy Holiness" set and smacked him straight very the eyebrow with it**. Merriment that he had been treated as had the prophets in front him he staggered out in vogue the Marylebone Path - apparently to a exclusive godly manufacture anyplace he may possibly blatant the laying-on of hands for healing.
But he special the way I rumination of Liturgy from that day. Whenever I went behind to that little church, heard the two readings as well as Gospel, aligned in the Agnus Dei and the Sanctus - I reflected that everywhere in London offer was a bloke who rejoiced in the Chaise longue of God, and yet never heard as appreciably of it as I did.
* (c) The Church Mouse
** This was immoral of me. You penury not hit fundamentalists with books of liberal theology.
