Priest Idol
So I just finished watching a television show called Priest Idol. I first saw it in the TV guide a few weeks ago, and of course, being the nerd I am, had to check it out. After the first episode, I missed a couple of weeks, and saw the last episode tonight (it only ran for 3 or 4 weeks). It follows this new Anglican priest who comes into a dying church somewhere in the north of England (based on the accents...not sure where exactly this village is). The village is in bad shape and the Anglican Church had trouble getting any priests to take this particular parish. In the end, they brought in an American Episcopalian to take the position. They then hired a secular marketing firm to put together a snazzy campaign to try and lure in folks. They even came up with the catchy slogan "Church Lite" (with the T in the shape of a cross)...'50% less stuffy than before' and 'more easily digestible' were some of the sub-slogans, if you will. It worked. At the beginning of this guy's tenure, there were 8 in the church on Sunday. About a year later, they had 52. Not a huge number, but something to be proud of.
So now I'm torn. Of course, I'm thrilled that the church is looking to fulfill the needs of the people in that village and that people, including children, are now participating in God's Kingdom. At the same time, I absolutely detest the slogan and secular marketing they did. The slogan is awful. They even had t-shirts and billboards with the slogan (it didn't help their cause any that the t-shirts were carolina blue...). A friend of my cousin (who was at the Thanksgiving meal) made a good point when she said that the slogan "Church Light" might have been more appropriate. I tend to agree...at least it has a deeper theological meaning and still has ties to what the church believes.
The other good thing this church did...it didn't apologize for its tradition or its symbols. They had icons in the church, the priest wore the cassok and chaucible (though he went shopping for a "church lite" robe), and they still processed and still did things liturgically. They were in no way apologetic for who they were--except for the 'church lite' bit.
So I guess the question becomes, how do we reach out where we to proclaim the Good News without selling our soul?
So now I'm torn. Of course, I'm thrilled that the church is looking to fulfill the needs of the people in that village and that people, including children, are now participating in God's Kingdom. At the same time, I absolutely detest the slogan and secular marketing they did. The slogan is awful. They even had t-shirts and billboards with the slogan (it didn't help their cause any that the t-shirts were carolina blue...). A friend of my cousin (who was at the Thanksgiving meal) made a good point when she said that the slogan "Church Light" might have been more appropriate. I tend to agree...at least it has a deeper theological meaning and still has ties to what the church believes.
The other good thing this church did...it didn't apologize for its tradition or its symbols. They had icons in the church, the priest wore the cassok and chaucible (though he went shopping for a "church lite" robe), and they still processed and still did things liturgically. They were in no way apologetic for who they were--except for the 'church lite' bit.
So I guess the question becomes, how do we reach out where we to proclaim the Good News without selling our soul?
posted by RevSarah at 9:31 PM
1 Comments:
Unfortunately I managed to miss the whole series. However I'm glad to hear that they successfully grew without throwing out their traditions.
It always frustrates me that there is the impression that it is only the evangelical and charismatic Churches that are growing.
For example the church I attend in Finchampstead is one of the fastest growing in the area, but is largely traditional with a choir and organ at major services, and Book of Common prayer in use week by week alongside Common Worship.
Contrary to the usual media spin on a declining Church, the problem we have is finding the room for everyone - we had 150 at our morning service yesterday, and come Christmas we will run the Christingle service three times on Christmas Eve with 200 free tickets for each to try to get everyone in. Even BCP matins can bring in 80 or 90 people.
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