I watched every moment of the service this morning for Queen Elizabeth at St. Pauls Cathedral.  The Church of England once again assured us that a dignified quiet worship of a holy God can still occur.  Everyone quietly listened, waited, reflected, and  spent an hour of quiet and somber recognition of things that are holy, unchanging, and eternal.  

We Americans can no longer wait.  We need immediacy.  Now.  Do something.  Don’t waste time doing nothing but sitting in a pew to meditate.

Hymns...traditional...gave a sense of peace and comfort.  In most of our churches today, we have a new ditty every week or two.  Those of us who gain comfort in the words of the ancient hymns...words that ring true through the ages...are disturbed by the yah, yah, yah of the repetitive current songs that are sung, forgotten in a few weeks and replaced by the latest hit.

I couldn’t do it every Sunday, but I would like a worship service from time to time that includes reflection and silence.  There is a place in our churches for continuity and ritual.  Sometimes it brings peace in a clanging world.  And we desperately need peace in our lives.