Leading liturgy, following Freud

Notes: The author, a retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, reflects on the experience of worship in the light of a recent experience as an actor in an amateur theatrical production in his parish. The director said: "As a public performer ... you've got to assume responsibility for a ceaseless self-critical examination of what you're doing. For what you're doing relative to the other players on stage. For what you're doing, from moment to moment, to advance the momentum and meaning of the performance of the play". Similarly, the author agrees with Soren Kierkegaard that worshippers should feel and be active, not passive, participants in liturgy. "[E]very worship who walks in the door should feel invited 'on stage'. You may not want to accept the invitation. You may prefer to sit in the last role and observe or even judge. But you should feel invited on stage, as one of the participants. Christian worship is radically participatory."