Thursday, November 01, 2007

The Use of Voice and Posture in Worship, IV

This is the last part of the seminar I gave at the St. Michael Conference at Redeemer in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in late September. It is not a finished paper, only lecture notes.


IV. Practical Consideratons

When conducting the service,

stand Erect
don’t sway or slouch
fold hands properly
whenever possible, do not hold your own book.
do not get personal
be iconic (think of yourself as an icon)
avoid giving directions, page numbers, etc.
do not smile (ever seen a smiling icon?)
do not seek to endear yourself to the people; seek, rather, to emulate Christ. That is to say, get out of His way.

When preaching,

do not be bound to the page, but do not look people in the eye
avoid rocking
do not emote
do not shout
do not whisper
do not mumble
do not stammer
avoid “ah,” “um,” etc. Cf. Ronald Reagan, who was a master at this
do not be afraid to use pause
speak slowly
be iconic (be Christ for the people)

+ BF Eckardt Jr.
Fort Wayne, Indiana
24 September 2007

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why don't you look people in the eye?

--Jeremy Husby

Fr BFE said...

Mainly because it would be a distraction, both to them and to me.

In addition, the way in which Christ is communicated is verbally and visually, but to say "visually" is not to say through the eyes of the celebrant/preacher, but through the eyes of the people who look upon him and his vestments as he serves.