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Message from Pastor Matthew Marohl

Trends and Traditions

We follow worship patterns and traditions that have grounded Christians for centuries

By Pastor Matthew Marohl

ventriloquist

Trends come and go. That observation is perhaps too obvious. Whether we are 16 or 36 or 96, we can look back at old photos and smile at trends that were “hot” and, now, are very much “not.” Perhaps you lived through the era of bell-bottoms. Perhaps you survived the short-lived season of leg-warmers. No matter our age, we all have many memories (and too many photos) of us sporting the latest trends.

I have recently discovered a trend (albeit a very limited and odd trend, I’ll admit) from the late 1960s and early 1970s that both makes me smile and confuses me. This was the era of “ventriloquist albums.” Let’s step back in time to a period before the mp3, the CD, the cassette, and the eight-track. This was a time when 12-inch circles of vinyl ruled the airwaves and our home turntables. LPs moved at 33 1/3 rotations per minute and filled our ears, our hearts, and our minds with everything from rock to polka.

But, ventriloquist albums must be the strangest of all musical “genres.” Here, stories and songs for children and adults were led by ventriloquists and their little wooden friends. Duos such as “Jimmy Ruth and Rusty” and “Dan Betzer and Louie” offered hours of entertainment. I am told that even if you listened closely, you couldn’t see their lips move.

It didn’t take long before new trends arose. Stores in the mid to late 1970s saw scores of records by “family bands” trying to cash in on the success of The Partridge Family, The Osmonds, and The Jackson Five. Ventriloquist dummies had been replaced by matching polyester outfits. The times kept on, and keep on changing, and we are hard pressed to find either trend today. Every season offers a new trend and every trend finds a new audience.

This leads to an important and interesting question: How has worship changed in past decades and even in the past hundreds of years? Are we a church swaying in the breeze of the latest trend? Are we a church that is inflexible, resisting change at all costs? How does the church today resemble the church in 1950? 1850? 250?

I find great strength and comfort in knowing that Christian worship has changed very little since the time of the earliest churches. I also find great strength and comfort in knowing that Christians all over the world, regardless of differences in culture, worship in very similar ways. The earliest known “handbook” on Christian life and worship was written less than 100 years after the death of Jesus.

This book, The Didache (The Teaching), instructs people on prayer, worship, baptism, and communion. We are told to pray the prayer that Jesus taught, “Our Father…” Regarding worship, scripture is to be read, prayers are to be offered, psalms and hymns are to be sung, and someone may offer a message to those gathered. We are to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Finally, communion is explained in detail. Bread and wine are to be offered to those gathered and all are to enjoy this meal of grace.

Does this sound familiar? Our worship experience at St. Paul is rooted in a tradition that is not limited to a denomination (e.g. Lutheran, Catholic), to an expression of nationality (e.g. Swedish, German) or to a single place in time (e.g. 1950, 2010). Rather, we follow patterns and traditions that have grounded Christians for centuries.

However, I find great strength and comfort in knowing that Christian worship is also innovative and fresh and engaging. The 2,000-year-old book, The Didache, does not offer instructions on the proper use of projection screens. We were not offered advice on the use of electric guitars during Open Spirit worship. While screens and guitars are hardly “trends,” the worship experience must constantly seek to meet the spiritual needs of worshipers. And so we continue to grow in new ways. We release balloons during our celebration of Easter. We worship under blue skies at JuneFest. We praise God through jazz in the mid-summer.

Trends will always come and go. Thankfully, ventriloquist albums are long gone. But today we celebrate a powerful balance in our worship lives. Through long-held traditions and through recent additions, our worship experiences feed us and encourage us in our spiritual growth.

Pastor Peter Marty,

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