And All God”s People Said . . .

“But this is a slander of liturgical worship, a slander, unfortunately, that is made by those on both sides of the debate. Those against liturgical worship will often caricature it as lifeless, cold, and dead. But too often the friends of open liturgy do everything they can to confirm the many prejudices. They mutter the creed, instead of wanting to shout it from the housetops. They mumble through psalms or hymns, rather than singing them the way they were written to be sung. The organist thinks her job description is to be a ball and chain attached to any hymn that threatens to get too robust. Instead of roaring amen at the conclusion of prayers, the corporate sentiment appears to be huh” (Mother Kirk, p. 151).