Thursday 27 August 2015

Stinking Pews

Hatred of Le Pew.
 
Fr George Rutler doesn't have a very high opinion of pews. An interesting and enlightening article on "The Problem with Pews" over at Crisis Magazine. To be read as much for Fr Rutler's excellent turn of phrase as much as anything else.
 
Pews contradict worship. They suburbanize the City of God and put comfort before praise.
 
 On Islam: a desiccated offshoot of Christianity.
 
Filling churches with pews was chiefly the invention of the later Protestant revolution that replaced adoration with edification.
 
Solemn Mass
as a Sacred Dance, though a thing far different from the embarrassing geriatric ballets called “liturgical dancing.”  
 
Worse than plain wooden pews are those that are upholstered. Goodbye acoustics.   And anyone who gives priority to the softness of his seat rather than the sound of song, should humbly ask forgiveness of St. Cecilia who died suffering from more than the lack of a cushion, but was comforted—and eternally so—by good music.
 
 I pass along my unsolicited views to polish my credentials as an earnest curmudgeon.
 
 
 



2 comments:

Sixupman said...

If you want to experience 'Protestant Pews' in a Catholic Church, visit the Langholm Church in Scotland. Ex 'Free Church' completely renovated: two long tables down the centre two tiers of benches around three sides and the Celebrant at one end. Very costly to renovate. The then bishop espoused a preference for 'house churches' and preached in a derogatory fashion as to the 'ordained priesthood' and the Dean who dream't up the Langholm travesty was an ex CofS or whatever - subsequently left under a cloud. I wonder if the place has now been re-ordered into the semblance of a church? BTW a major parish in the deanery was closed down and the dispossessed sent to a shared CofS where that CofS incumbent was an ex Catholic priest. Of course the diocese was and is dying on its feet.

I suppose this is largely off-topic, but it does demonstrate the background to the unusual situation at Langholm.

FrB. said...

1. Father Campbell was a former Episcopalian minister.
2. Oh yes, Langholm's Catholic Church was definitely re-re-ordered (sic) vide: https://www.facebook.com/juliedumbartonartist/photos_stream?ref=page_internal