LITURGY IN NON-LITURGICAL HOLINESS-PENTECOSTALISM
by
Estrelda Y. Alexander
One of the commonly held perceptions of Holiness and Pentecostal worship is that it is a free-form spiritual exercise, devoid of liturgical structure, ritual enactment, or symbolic presence. Indeed, the Holiness-Pentecostal movement is commonly characterized as a "Spirit" movement-and its worship is assumed to be an emotional religious expression, centered around ecstatic experiences, lacking any recognizable liturgical pattern. It is true that standard concepts of liturgy, ritual, and symbolism typically are not used by adherents of this movement to define what they are doing in worship. Because of the primarily oral tradition of the movement, its adherents often askew attempts to develop codified definitions or formulations for what is happening in their worship. The thesis of this paper is that liturgy, ritual, and symbolism have been and continue be consistently operable components of Holiness-Pentecostal worship, even though adherents often do not recognize or identify them as such. Liturgical concepts and practices do have import for what goes on in Holiness-Pentecostal worship contexts.
Using two churches with which I am especially familiar, I offer specific exam les of how liturgy, ritual, and symbolism operate in two very different settings. The first is an urban, middle-class, African-American "oneness"[1] congregation, which is the mother church of a small denomination. The second is a suburban congregation with a mufti-racial history which is part of a large Southern, Holiness-Pentecostal denomination.[2] Finally, I draw some conclusions about the liturgical elements of Holiness-Pentecostal worship and what this liturgical presence means.
Holiness-Pentecostalism[3]
The most distinguishing feature of Holiness-Pentecostalism is the belief that the "baptism" or "outpouring" of the Holy Spirit on the believer is an essential aspect of Christian experience. This experience of Spirit baptism is understood as a direct fulfillment of the prophecy of the Old Testament passage Joel 2:28-29: "Afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,"[4] which was later depicted in Acts 2:4 as realized on the day of Pentecost when "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." Peter's subsequent speech to the gathered crowd in Acts 2:38 is believed to be the confirmation that "this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel."
The two groups differ in two important ways on this central issue. The first difference is on the purpose of Holy Spirit baptism. For Holiness believers, this "in-filling" of the Holy Spirit endows the individual with a supernatural empowerment to live a "holy" life. For Pentecostals, the emphasis is on empowerment to accomplish "works of righteousness" on behalf of the kingdom of God. Secondly, adherents of both movements seek to establish a personal communion with God through ecstatic religious experience. For Pentecostals, this necessarily includes glossolalia or "speaking in tongues" as an initial and objective evidence of that outpouring and in-filling. For the non-pentecostal Holiness movement, it does not. For both, a fuller understanding of key elements of worship will prove helpful.
Liturgy, Ritual, and Symbolism
Scholars of Christian worship differ on definitions of liturgy, ritual, and symbolism. However, some basic agreement exists among those in ritual studies about fundamental elements comprising each of these concepts. The working definitions for this paper synthesize those of such prominent scholars to capture the most salient points and provide a foundation for understanding what is going on in Holiness and Pentecostal worship.
Liturgy involves the collective actions of the gathered church as it goes about expressing its identity as a people of God and bringing it to a reaffirming and mediative experience of the presence of God. Within this context, liturgical ritual is comprised of those particular elements within the worship life of the congregation that involve repeated formal actions at specifically designated times and which articulate and impart particular meaning about the nature of the self, the church, and ultimate reality for the gathered church and its individual members. Symbol relates to the special meanings which particular objects, language, gestures, and actions convey, meaning generally shared by the worshiping community by way of either explicit or implicit understanding.
Studies of Holiness-Pentecostal Worship
Many scholars focus on the symbolic ritualization of the charismata (especially "tongues" in Pentecostal worship and other ecstatic expressions within Holiness worship).[5] Their studies have generally sought to find and identify liturgical parallels between worship within the Holiness and Pentecostal movements and the broader Christian church. Over the last three decades, however, studies of the liturgical elements in Holiness-Pentecostal worship have been undertaken from the anthropological, sociological, theological, and ritual studies perspectives. One of the more salient findings of these studies is that these two related movements represent a primarily oral tradition. Any attempt to define what is happening in Holiness-Pentecostal worship must keep this in mind. As Walter Hollenweger points out: "Oral liturgy might be expected to be among oral people, whose main medium of experience is the oral form-the story, the proverb, the parable, the joke, the dance, the song...."[6]
Daniel Albrecht attempts to identify elements of Pentecostal worship which function as iconic symbols. Pentecostal icons "are not painted altar pieces or works by pious artists ... [but] a different sort, though [they] function within the ritual field similarly to icons of other Christians to [bring the congregation] to a sense of the Holy."[7] For Albrecht, examples of Pentecostal icons are sound, sight, and movement (Kinesthetic).[8] Within this schema, music becomes an iconic sound, for in Pentecostal worship services music is a constant. It not only accompanies the special and congregational singing, but it is played during prayer, during the collection of the offering, often punctuates and emphasizes strategic points in the sermon, and is an integral part of the altar ministry.[9] As detailed by Hollenweger, music is also used as liturgical symbol, to move the service from one point to another. Stressing the oral nature of the movement, most Pentecostals appear not aware of the liturgical function of musical icons. No formal sacramental theology exists that gives them articulated meaning. Even so, "their functions are clearly observable" and their primary function is as a signal to "indicate the transition from one part to the other of the service... and everyone in the congregation understands these signals."[10]
Though Albrecht also identifies iconic sight as important, the Pentecostal ritual space is "quite austere"[11] when compared to the ornate art that adorns Catholic edifices or many other Protestant churches. There is a minimum of ritual furnishings. What does exist are the pulpit, the altar rail, the communion table, the baptistery, and the pews. Iconic sight comes from other sources. Albrecht suggest that the gathered people act as iconic sight.[12] Kinesthetic icons are integral to the Pentecostal worship service.[13] Not to move, not to raise ones hands, clap, sway, shout, or in some visible way indicate that you are part of what the congregation is experiencing is considered a sign of lack of spirituality or a sure indication that you are an outsider and might be a candidate for evangelism. Wilson and Clow confirm the importance of the body and body movements as symbols in Pentecostal worship.[14]
Kevin Ranaghan's work points out how the Pentecostal crisis experience of conversion and the ordinance of water baptism both function as rites of initiation involving the entire faith community.[15] He specifically identifies these as "rites of public worship ... celebrated in the midst of the congregation."[16] In doing so, he identifies the parallels between these Pentecostal rituals and initiation rites in other contexts.
Other works detail the social implications of ritual within these contexts.[17] Bobby Alexander lifts up the anti-structural dimensions of Pentecostal ritual and its effectiveness in giving Pentecostal adherents the tools to express their feelings of social dislocation. He challenges the view of the ecstatic "ritual" of "socially disadvantaged Pentecostals as symbolic rebellion ... functioning as a catharsis, a safety valve, accommodating them to their condition.[18] Rather, he uses Victor Turner's concept of liminality to describe what happens in Pentecostal worship as "concretizing their opposition to the dominant society ... and being the embodiment of full humanity and personhood."[19]
Jon Michael Spencer is another scholar who pays close attention to the kinesthetic elements of Pentecostal worship. He specifically focuses on such aspects as the shout or holy dance, which he identifies as "ritual dance."[20] Spencer also identifies the anti-structural dimensions of Pentecostal worship, especially as they relate to the testimony service, which he identifies as a rite of intensification. He sees these dimensions as having an identifiable superstructure embodying communitas, coherence, and elements of musical liminality, marginality, and seminality.[21]
Like Alexander and Spencer, Wilson and Clow also discuss Pentecostal worship as a source of self-empowerment for its adherents. But they go on to identify distinct types of ritual which are part of the Pentecostal worship experience and make specific assumptions about the symbolic meaning of these rituals. They see the aim of Pentecostal worship as "receiving and retaining `possession' of the Holy Spirit"[22] and they differentiate between initiation rituals which call down the Spirit and confirmatory rituals (such as Pentecostal speaking in tongues or Holiness dancing in the Spirit) which affirm spiritual power.[23]
Others look at how specific elements which have been generally defined by Holiness-Pentecostals as inherently non-ritualistic have been ritualized.[24] Ruel Tyson specifically looks at the structure of the testimony service, and captures the essence of its significance as a rite of affirmation.[25] In his in-depth analysis, Tyson discusses how the enactment of the testimony functions to constitute a world for the speaker and the congregation, a world which then functions on several levels. He characterizes it as a "formalization of the religious practice and ... understanding of the speaker."[26] He further looks at how words, and the physical gestures accompanying them, act as symbols and have transformative aspects within this setting.[27]
Cheryl J. Sanders deals specifically with liturgical elements of Holiness and Pentecostal worship in the African-American tradition. Some elements of her description of a "typical Sunday morning worship service"[28] in a progressive inner-city Holiness congregation (such as the uptempo beat of the processional hymn or the wearing of white by women "liturgical attendants"[29] and the three-hour length of the service) are more common to the African-American context. However, several ingredients, including numerous prayers, the "praise and worship" portion of the service in which "several choruses and hymns are sung in succession" and the altar call, are recognizable in many Holiness-Pentecostal settings, irrespective of cultural framework.[30]
She then draws on her familiarity with this typical congregation, as well as her knowledge of other works on African-American Holiness-Pentecostal worship, to extract four schemas of the usual components of such worship. In comparing the four schemas (which average 12 elements each), seven recurring components were common to all four: a type of devotional, prayer, scripture reading, congregational or special singing, the sermon, the offering and the benediction. Additionally, three elements, the introit, announcements, and altar call, were found in three schemas. Though four elements, the recitation of a denominational creed, the "holy dance," testimony service, and reading of the sick and shut-in lists were only found on one list each, other studies have shown that these are also common element of Holiness-Pentecostal worship.[31]
Richard Baer, a charismatic Episcopalian scholar, makes a direct analogy between Pentecostal tongue speaking and Catholic liturgy, seeing them as functionally equivalent. For him, although they and Quaker Silence, might appear on the surface to be dissimilar, they share the same goal. All three practices "allow the analytical mind to rest ... thus freeing the spirit for a deeper openness to divine reality." He refutes Wilson and Clow and other scholars who describe Pentecostal worship (specifically tongues) and Holy Spirit baptism as a type of "possession." Baer also refutes casual observers who characterize such worship as uncontrollable expression of emotion, although he admits that the Pentecostal worshiper might be moved by deep emotion, as might the Quaker and the person involved in liturgical worship.[32]
Charles Gaede agrees with Baer that Pentecostal worship differs in form but not in substance from other Christian worship. He says that to define Pentecostal worship in terms of physical activity is "to substitute the form of praise for the substance of praise."[33] Gaede differentiates between ritual and ritualizing or ritualism (in which the ritual is the primary focus of the worshiper's attention).[34] While cautioning against overly ritualizing Pentecostal praise, he lifts up ritual as having a biblical foundation[35] and contends that there is a place for ritual in Pentecostal worship as a tool for providing the "orderly expression of praise."[36] He finally asserts that "method, ritual, and form are essential to the pursuit of God."[37]
Liturgy in Pentecostal Worship
From the start, Holiness-Pentecostal adherents have often objected to use of the terms liturgy, ritual and symbolism. They have associated them with the "unspiritual" and "dead formalism." Early groups deliberately attempted to foster a sense of freedom from formalism and anything ,that smacked of "dead" structuralism. As such, they understood ritual as ritualism-restrictive, repetitive ceremonialism that inhibits the move of the Holy Spirit in their worship experience. Indeed, these terms are not used extensively by Holiness-Pentecostal theologians who prefer "services," "distinctives," and "practices"[38] for what they see happening in their worship.
It is evident however, that such worship contains specific elements of liturgical, ritual, and symbolic presence. Additionally, Baer posits that they are present in almost every aspect, even those which they themselves would declare most "open" to the immediate move of the Holy Spirit-such as Holiness shouting or holy dancing or Pentecostal glossolalia or speaking in tongues.[39] There is a tacit and systematic methodology for doing worship. As within every other ecclesial context, that methodology evolves and changes, has been adapted and modified as the movements and their individual denominations and congregations have redefined themselves over the history of their existence. The essential elements, however, have remained in place, perhaps over the entire life of the movement, though they have been passed down primarily through its oral tradition.
One of the more salient characteristics of the Holiness-Pentecostal movement to outside observers, especially those who have had very little direct contact with such worship, is the seemingly loose liturgical form. From its inception, the Pentecostal movement has defined itself as bringing about a return to apostolic simplicity in worship, and as such, it has continually proclaimed its disdain for anything that it felt may potentially rob worship of spiritual authenticity. Even so, many segments of the movement have moved from sect to church type institutions, they have incorporated more of the formal liturgical practices of their mainline and evangelical counterparts. Modern Pentecostal congregations resemble more and more the mainline or evangelical congregations of their detractors in their style of worship.
Kevin Ranaghan, a Roman Catholic liturgical scholar and observer of Pentecostalism, notes that "at the beginning of the Pentecostal movement the order of Pentecostal meetings was one of complete spontaneity in an atmosphere of intense demonstrative worship."[40] But he concedes: "As the Pentecostal churches emerged. . .and became distinct ecclesial communities with their own buildings, clergy, etc., the free-form... meeting began to be shaped into a definite order of service. This process, slow in some churches, rapid in others, has tended to regulate the elements of Pentecostal worship."[41] However, even within the most "primitive" sect-type Pentecostal bodies, and even within the earlier Pentecostal worship context, vestiges of liturgy, ritual, and symbolism are inherent in the worship. This is especially true when these terms are understood in their theologically broad meaning.
The modern Pentecostal movement is characterized by the variety of its expressions, and there is a certain openness to Pentecostal worship that lends itself to being easily adapted to various cultural and social milieus. A frequent prayer at the beginning of many Pentecostal services is for the Holy Spirit to "have his way," and participants are repeatedly reminded to remain open to the "moving of the Holy Spirit" and "whatever he wants to do" in them. But, as Hollenweger has correctly noted, the openness is only within limits since "the flexible oral tradition allows for variation within a framework of the whole liturgical structure, but only within that structure."[42]
Limited Liturgical Calendar
In general, Pentecostals have little appreciation for the liturgical year and the church-year calendar. Relatedly, though some seminary-trained ministers make limited use of lectionaries for sermon topics or themes, it is rare that a Pentecostal congregation's worship schedule would be based on a lectionary. Instead, preachers are expected to seek God through prayer for the specific needs of the congregation at any given time and to prepare a message specifically geared to meet those needs.
There are only four major events in the Pentecostal liturgical year which, with at least one major exception, are observed uniformly: Easter, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and Pentecost. The major holy day for Pentecostals is Easter Sunday. The most uniform rites of Easter are the Sunrise Service, the Easter cantata, and the Easter morning worship service. While there is no extended Easter season, and specifically no observance of Lent, many Pentecostal congregations do observe Good Friday in some way. Where Good Friday is observed, the "Seven Last Words of Christ" - a service in which seven speakers deliver short sermonettes or homilies related to the last seven recorded statements of Jesus prior to his crucifixion-is one of the more often used thematic motifs. But this is not a particularly Pentecostal form; many Protestant congregations, especially those within the Evangelical tradition, use this.
Christmas is the second most important event observed within most Pentecostal churches. There are some congregations and denominations, however, which do not hold Christmas as a significant holiday, arguing that, since no one knows the date of Jesus' birth, it should not be held as a Christian holiday.[43] Some even forbid observance of the day, seeing it as a pagan holiday. In both cases this is the minority. For those congregations which do celebrate Christmas, the main rituals may include a Christmas Eve service, a cantata, a Christmas play, and a congregational dinner or party which would include several elements of worship such as reading of the Christmas story, a short Christmas homily or drama, and the singing of carols. Though the advent season is generally not observed, throughout December, in the regular worship services, Christmas carols would be sung along with regular hymns and choruses.
New Year's Eve is generally commemorated with a Watch Night service during which the congregation "watches" in the new year in prayer, singing, testimony about what God had done during the previous year, preaching and feasting. Most New Year's Eve services also include communion and many include foot washing.[44] The central component of the New Year's Eve service for most congregations is for all individuals to be kneeling and praying as the clock strikes midnight.
The day of Pentecost, coming seven weeks (49 days) after Easter, is a special time for most Pentecostal congregations since it commemorates the event of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Christians gathered in the Upper Room. This is the event to which most Pentecostals point as the paradigm for their present mode of worship. However, it is observed with more or less formality within various Pentecostal settings. For some denominations this time is set aside for special meetings, with various congregations coming together for camp meetings or convocations. Others commemorate it with a special service emphasizing the "Pentecostal heritage." Some may make note of the day in passing remarks, but not center the service around that theme. Others ignore it completely.
Many contemporary Pentecostal congregations have started holding services to commemorate specific special occasions. For instance, the Church of God "Ministry Planning Calendar" is full of special days with "special preaching emphasis."[45] These include events such as Ministry to the Military Day, Pastor's Appreciation Sunday, Senior Adult Day, etc. Denominational offices sometimes provide resource materials or suggest general worship formats, but individual congregations generally have complete freedom as to whether they participate and/or use the materials.
Limited Use of Liturgical Resources
In entering the Pentecostal ritual field, what is probably most evident is that many of the usual liturgical resources are absent. There is no understanding or use of liturgical colors and no liturgical banners with highly stylized symbols or sophisticated art work (though some storefront churches do hang plaques or hand made banners with Bible verses). There generally are no stained glass windows; neither are there fabric coverings for the altar railings or pulpit, and no large, strategically placed crosses.
Classical Pentecostal congregations whose places of worship (as they would designate the ritual field) are ornately adorned are rare. As Albrecht states, the field is relatively austere, though the worship spaces are not actually stark and many of them are outfitted very comfortably. Indeed, many of the newer Pentecostal places of worship are quite elegant, but it is usually a contemporary, "utilitarian" elegance rather than "liturgical" beauty that they exude. As such, Pentecostals believe a ritual field should reflect a certain quality of dignity befitting the nature of God. The property of utilitarian elegance would be reflected in components such as quality building materials (i.e., brick or stone facades, comfortable pews, upgraded carpets, etc.), high-quality musical instruments and the finest sound equipment. What Pentecostals would generally disdain is ornately decorated ritual space and what many consider as liturgical "trappings" such as stain glass windows, liturgical art, or especially statuary.
Within this primarily oral context, there is no written Pentecostal rite. There is no prayer book or missal. There are no liturgists or liturgical committees. There are no trained lay speakers or readers. More importantly, many congregations provide no formal liturgical training for ministers. Rather, ministers generally learn how to preside over various rites and ordinances through hands-on training within the congregation. This learning starts at a very early age as children are called on to pray extemporaneously, read a scripture, lead a specific segment of the worship service such as the testimony service, or sing or play a song or chorus. The same is true for new converts. They are quickly grafted into the liturgical life of the community through incorporation into non-ministerial presiding functions such as praying for the offering, delivering the pulpit greeting to visitors, or duties similar to those in which children are used.
Even within "formal" ministerial training programs that some denominations provide, emphasis is on practical functions perceived to be pastoral rather than liturgical. This training primarily involves biblical scholarship and understanding, preaching techniques, and specific denominational history and administrative polity (i.e., how church government works, how to hold a church meeting, etc.). Formal courses in liturgy, liturgics, or even corporate worship theory or practice are negligible among offerings of Pentecostal seminaries. For example, the 1994-1996 course catalog of the Church of God School of Theology lists only one elective course related to this area, "Worship and Church Music." Essentially, as described below, the course accentuates the Pentecostal understanding of openness to the Holy Spirit in providing direction in worship: "Sensitivity to the guidance of the Spirit is emphasized. Special attention is given to the crucial importance of music in Pentecostal Worship."[46]
Minister's service manuals, available from some denominational publishing houses, suggest general formats for special services such as weddings, funerals, etc.[47] However, even here, none of these manuals published by Pentecostal denominations in America contain an order of service for regular congregational worship.[48] The greatest proportion of the materials in these manuals consists of suggested Scripture readings and lists of elements that can be included, without any scripting or detailed instruction on how to conduct each rite. Ministers, however, are free to utilize any aids they want. While some ministers might use worship aids in their personal preparation for worship, many would decline their use in the pulpit for fear of appearing "unspiritual" to members of the congregation.
The closest liturgical aid in Pentecostal worship comparable to those found in more formal liturgical settings is the responsive scripture readings found at the back of many hymnals. In actuality, these are primarily suggested scripture passages which can be read responsively by the congregation on any given Sunday, as the minister determines. The presider reads the first verse of the scripture alone, the next verse is read by the congregation in unison. They continue to alternate until the final verse, which is read in unison. In some cases these are a single scriptural pericope, in others they are composites of two or more passages, generally following a theme. They are fairly limited in number and scope, but, since one of the primary "rules" of Pentecostal worship is that everyone brings his or her own Bible with them to worship, this has not previously been seen as a problem. Prior to the introduction of newer translations into Pentecostal worship,[49] responsive readings were generally done directly from the Bible. Because of the variety of translations now present in the worship service, responsive reading has been replaced in many cases with an individual reader.
Even where responsive reading is not employed, each member of the congregation is expected to follow along in a personal Bible whenever scripture is read. This is generally done in at least two places in the service. There usually is at least one opening scripture passage following the call to worship. The preacher will also read the specific passage related to his or her message just prior to preaching. In addition, the sermon itself is often interspersed with short passages and the congregation is usually directed to turn to the respective passage and read along. Scriptural passages may also be introduced into worship in conjunction with other elements of the service such as raising the offering, communion, or baptism. Sometimes individual members of the congregation will read a scripture passage as part of their testimony.
The use of hymnals in Pentecostal worship is relatively limited. Though many Pentecostal denominations publish at least one hymnal,[50] many congregations (especially since the influence of the charismatic renewal) use hymnals only sparingly. Much of the singing is by rote. People generally know by heart the words of choruses and even complicated hymns.
Limited Sacramental Identification
The idea of "sacrament" is foreign to the Pentecostal self-understanding, either in the Wesleyan idea of an outward sign of an invisible grace that is already present in the believer or the Catholic tradition of sacraments as having transformational quality.[51] Instead, rites are viewed as "ordinances."[52] In this sense, they are understood as not having any "self-contained efficacy" as conveyors of grace in any dimension.[53] Rather, they are defined as obedient responses to biblical commands of Christ[54] as relating to the life of the individual and the church. But, just as with a sacramental understanding of these elements, these ritual ordinances are public, participatory affairs. There are primarily two ordinances which all Pentecostal churches regularly observe, water baptism[55] and communion. Baptism does not take place in a private place. Communion involves all the gathered church.
Water baptism is reserved for converts (whether children or adults). Most Pentecostal congregations observe baptism by immersion only.[56] However, nowhere is an understanding of the symbolic nature of rites more evident within the Pentecostal milieu than in language of the following entry concerning baptism from a denominational statement of faith:
We believe that water baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, according to the command of our Lord, is a blessed outward sign of an inward work, a beautiful and solemn emblem...."[57]
At First United, baptism candidates wear special white garments designed specifically for the baptism ritual. The women wear long white bloomers with robes over them and white swimming caps to keep their hair from getting wet. At Harvest Temple, the ritual is no less public, if less formal. In keeping with its less formal atmosphere, no special clothing is worn. People dress in their own casual clothing and bring a change of clothing from home. In both cases, baptism is held as part of the regular worship service. As with every other part of the service, singing is an important element, and the choir or congregation intones a variety of baptismal hymns and choruses as each candidate is immersed, stopping only long enough for the minister to ask the candidate for a confirmation of faith and to pronounce the words of enactment.
In the Pentecostal tradition, communion-also called the Lord's Supper-is observed strictly as an ordinance, an act of obedience to the command of God. It is a time of remembering the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross and a looking forward to His return and reunion with Him in heaven. As Ranaghan states:
The overwhelming majority of American Pentecostals adhere to a Zwinglian theology of Christ's presence in the Eucharist, espousing the bread and the wine only as tokens of a past event and only as symbols of a separate spiritual reality. Yet the universally deep experiences of the presence of the Risen Christ and the power of his Spirit . . . tend to infuse their Eucharist with an intense awareness of the actual presence of Christ in the sharing of the bread and cup.[58]
The schedule for communion is generally set by the individual pastors within a denomination. It is not rare to find a wide disparity in the frequency of communion, even within a single denomination. Church of God (Cleveland, TN) pastors, for instance, vary to the extent that some serve it monthly, some serve it quarterly, some serve it at no regular interval. But it is rare to encounter a Pentecostal church which serves communion on a weekly basis. There is also divergence on when communion is served. While some congregations serve it as part of a Sunday morning worship service, others serve it on Sunday evenings, and some set aside a week night for the observance. For some, it is conducted as a separate worship service, for others it is a part of a standard worship service. Many congregations also incorporate communion into special occasions such Christmas or New Year's Eve or Good Friday.
The observance of foot washing is considered to be the third ordinance by some denominations and is practiced at various times and intervals within local congregations. In the foot washing service, participants are seated in chairs set aside for the purpose, and basins of water are placed at their feet. Another individual kneels before a basin and proceeds to ritually pour water over the person's feet, using their hands to bathe them. They might also quietly pronounce some blessing or prayer for the one whose feet they are washing. Then they dry the feet with a clean towel. They then switch places and repeat the ritual. This process is done until everyone in the congregation who elects to has participated. Many churches incorporate foot washing as a regular part of their communion services. Some only incorporate it into special services such as New Years's Eve and Good Friday. Other congregations rarely practice the rite at all. There is also wide diversity as to whether participation is expected of all members or left to the member's election. Within some denominations all "baptized believers," regardless of age, are expected to participate in foot washing. In others, participation is completely optional, but is open to everyone who wants to participate.[59]
In addition to these ordinances, several other rites are regularly practiced by Holiness-Pentecostal congregations. Dedication of babies replaces baptism or confirmation as the major rite for children. Children-usually, but not necessarily infants - are presented to the church by their parents or a responsible adult to receive a special prayer of dedication and blessing by the pastor. At the same time, the parents, grandparents, and indeed the entire church are charged by the presider with the responsibility for the well-being and religious nurturing of the young child.
The "Right Hand of Fellowship" is a rite that is centered around the accepting of candidates into the membership of a particular congregation. This generally involves some form of public reading and accepting of the doctrines of the church by the new members, an official motion, an informal congregational vote of acceptance of candidates (raising of the right hand) into membership and a ritual greeting of new members by ministers and leaders of the congregation or the entire congregation.
Case Studies: Pentecostal Worship Expressions
Pentecostalism is not a monolith or a denomination with one central governing body. Rather, the Pentecostal community is made up of small to moderate size churches, including inner city store fronts, renovated former synagogues, mainline churches with lower to middle-class congregations, and modernistic suburban complexes with primarily working to upper-middle-class congregations. In sum, the Pentecostal movement is characterized by the variety of its expressions.
Many of the distinctions noted between the two congregations highlighted in this study can be explained by the two different points in time covered by this paper. However, when I initially moved from one congregation to the other in a short space of time, some of the differences were already apparent. The communion and baptismal rituals as well as their modes of praying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit are perhaps the most distinctive; the musical competency and variety was also generally more pronounced at First United.
1. High-Church Holiness-Pentecostalism: First United Church. Many large urban and suburban Pentecostal congregations, especially those whose members have attained some degree of educational and economic upward mobility or those whose leaders migrated into the Pentecostal movement from more upwardly mobile traditions, tend to practice a style of worship which is a mixture of "Old Time Religion" and more traditional Christian worship. Within these congregations, hymns, anthems, and organ music are mixed with impromptu choruses and the electronic keyboard. A robed choir fills the choir loft and the choir director may either have some musical training or is at least "gifted" in music.
First United Church of Jesus Christ (Apostolic) is a part of a small African-American denomination which operates primarily within an urban context. Because the congregation has generally used spaces purchased from existing congregations of other denominations, Albrecht's description of the liturgical space as austere does not apply here. For example, during the period I attended First United (from 1956-1978), its first worship space was an edifice built for a Greek Orthodox congregation, St. Sophia's. The sanctuary was adorned with stained glass windows. Brass pipes for a pipe organ lined the front wall.
When urban renewal forced the congregation to relocate, it did not attempt to build a new structure around its worship style. It located and purchased a facility vacated by a Methodist congregation. The building was all brick, with a large sanctuary, a rear balcony, a rolling green lawn, and stained glass windows. The important issues for the church were not liturgical presence, but whether the facility was large enough and whether they would have to move out of the city, since many of its older members lived in the city and depended on public transportation or car pools to get to and from church. It also had to be ample enough to reflect the middle class status of the congregation and the quality of graciousness that was apparent in the former facility.
The worship service at First United during the time I attended was a mixture of Pentecostal fervor (with spirited preaching, exuberant singing, extemporaneous prayers, and the characteristic ecstatic expression) and Methodist order - represented by a robed minister and choir, a processional and responsive readings. For the several years I attended the church, both the Sunday morning and evening worship services began with a processional of the pastor, other ministers, and the choir. The processional litanies included reciting Psalm 1 for the Sunday morning worship service and Psalm 37:1-11 for the evening worship service, both of which every regular member of the congregation could recite by heart. Additionally, the morning worship service always ended with the same hymn:
God be with you til we meet again;
By his counsels guide, uphold you,
Neath his wings securely fold you;
God be with you, til we meet again.
Til we meet, til we meet, til we meet at Jesus' feet;
Til we meet, til we meet, God be with you til we meet again.[60]
Likewise, the evening worship service had its own format and always started with the same hymn:
If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way;
Dear Lord forgive.[61]
At the close of the evening worship service, just before the benediction was prayed, the same closing chorus was sung:
God be with you, God be with you
God be with you til we meet again.
May God bless you, May God bless you,
May God bless you, til we meet again.[62]
One of the most liturgical memories of First United is the communion service. The celebration of communion was held every fourth Thursday evening since a regular worship service was scheduled for that night each week. Even when Thanksgiving or Christmas or some secular holiday fell on this day, it was still reserved for communion, and most people attended faithfully-not to take communion was a sign that there was something seriously wrong spiritually. Attendance at communion usually rivaled that of Sunday morning worship. However, this was never understood to be an "open" table. Only "baptized believers" could receive communion at First United. Young children were excluded unless they had been baptized. People from other congregations were allowed to partake only if they professed to be "saved," and this was made explicitly clear from the pulpit as the service started.
What was also made explicitly clear in this context was that communion was a solemn occasion, not a celebration in the general sense of the word. People were expected to have confessed to God and repented of all known sin in their lives and were not to approach the communion table unless such confession and repentance had been made. So there were some in the congregation on any given occasion who did not partake, though they attended the service. In fact, just prior to the actual serving of the elements, people were instructed to "examine yourself to see if there is any `hidden' sin in your heart" and to make it right. This was the understanding of "eating and drinking unworthily and eating and drinking damnation to oneself."[63]
Communion was a major occasion and required a great deal of preparation. As the service began, all of the pulpit furnishings had been draped in white. The altar, the communion table, the podium, and the minister's chairs were all draped with white muslin sheets. The elements had been prepared before hand and were in the front center of the sanctuary on the communion table. They too had a single white muslin clothe covering them. All the females of the church were expected to wear white. Since women were expected to wear some type of head covering, most also wore white hats or chapel caps, and many had on white stocking and white shoes. The men wore dark- colored suits. This is the one setting in which color becomes a liturgical icon, signifying the purifying virtue of the blood of Christ. Though some question may be raised as to why only the women wore white, in a conservative congregation such as First United it might have been considered "worldly" or flashy for men to wear white. However, in many contemporary Pentecostal congregations that still maintain this symbolism, men also dress in white shirts and white trousers, and sometimes even white shoes.
A regular worship service preceded communion with singing of hymns, testimony, and maybe a short sermon. But the serving of communion was the highlight of this service. It took up the greatest portion of the time. At the start of the serving of communion, the white-robed minister approached the back of the communion table from the pulpit area. Two "mothers"[64] of the church approached the table with him and lifted the white covering that had been draped over the elements. They held this panel between the minister and the congregation (as if to preserve some kind of mystery about what was going on),[65] and the minister proceeded to ritually wash and dry his hands, using a linen towel that had been folded neatly on the table. Once the ritual cleansing was completed, the minister signaled the choir to begin singing, and the serving of communion commenced.
Starting with the ministers seated on the rostrum, followed by the deacons and then the "mothers of the church," each row of pews was invited to the altar railing. Each individual knelt, waited and held the elements until each person at the altar railing was served. As they waited, the choir sang one of the hymns designated in one of the church's four hymn books under the subheading of communion. It would be a hymn like:
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins
And sinners plunged beneath the flood
Lose all their guilty stain.[66]
Then they all partook of the elements together as the minister intoned the words, "This is my body that was broken for you and my blood that was shed for you. Take, eat ye all of it. As often as you do this you show forth my death, burial, and resurrection until I come. This do in remembrance of me." As he did, the choir continued singing softly in the background. Possibly they had changed to another chorus like,
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know;
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.[67]
After all the kneelers had been served, a short extemporaneous prayer was said. This same ritual was repeated again and again until the entire congregation had been served.
The process of serving communion usually took forty-five minutes or longer, depending on how many congregants were in attendance. During this entire period, the choir and congregation continued to sing, changing hymns after every two or three pews were served. At the end of the service, after the pastor had made any special remarks he deemed necessary, the same special hymn, "Blest be the tie that Binds"[68] was sung and the same ritual performed:
Blest be the tie that binds, our hearts in Christian love;
A Fellowship of kindred minds, is like to that above.
As the first verse was sung, members of the congregation clasped their hands together over the front of their heads.
We share our mutual woes; our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows a sympathizing tear.
They would sing the second verse as they moved from person to person shaking hands or hugging each other, but never ceasing to sing.
When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.
The final verse would be sung as people in the individual rows of pews throughout the congregation stretched across the aisles to link hands. Each time the service ended with the same words from scripture: "And when they had sung an hymn, they went out. . ."[69] The pattern never varied.
2. Store-Front/Low-Church Pentecostalism: Harvest Temple. Liturgy within store-front Pentecostal churches is somewhat less obvious and more loosely structured. This is the form in which Pentecostalism is generally practiced. Here the disdain for anything that smacks of ritual will be the greatest. Many of these congregations and their leaders are fiercely independent. They rely on "nothing but the Bible" as their guide for every aspect of life and worship. Everyone in the congregation is expected to have a Bible with them. If not, there will be plenty of Bibles in the pews. These serve as more than sources for the preaching text. People often turn to a scripture passage and read it in the midst of whatever else they are responsible for doing in the service. Often simple choruses come directly from scripture and are put to simple tunes.
Many pastors and ministers within this segment of Pentecostalism have little formal seminary training. While some ministers do make extensive use of Bible study aids such as concordances and commentaries; and many make use of alternate training opportunities such as church training or correspondence courses, many have no higher education at all. In spite of this, Pentecostal ministers frequently can quote very long passages of scripture and can expound on them with detail. Within this context the truly oral nature of Pentecostal liturgy is most evident. These same "unlearned" ministers have generally internalized almost every segment of the Pentecostal worship service. They can be and often are called on to preside over a segment of the worship service with literally a moment's notice, and do so quite willingly, "depending on the Holy Spirit" to provide whatever is needed for the occasion. If there is a choir, instead of robes, they may wear specific colors or styles of dress such as white blouses and dark skirts for the women and white shirts and dark pants for the men. The pastor usually will wear a suit and tie if the person is male, or a suit or dress if it is a woman.
But a type of store-front Pentecostalism is operable in many congregations which are housed in less revealing structures. Many of the congregations have very contemporary and even sophisticated structures and equipment, and the worship ritual is more refined than that found in true storefront buildings. And though these congregations may represent a somewhat higher social class than in a store-front congregation, even here the disdain for anything that smacks of ritualism is evident. It is enunciated in the remarks made by the ministers and presiders, as well as reiterated in the testimonies and exhortations of congregants. This disdain for what is perceived to be ritualism is also obvious in the very way many Pentecostal services are conducted. There is a struggle to maintain "decency and order" while not losing any of the "spiritual vitality" which makes Pentecostalism "Pentecostalism." Growing or transitional congregations struggle to maintain balance.
In many ways Harvest Temple Church of God in engaged in such a struggle. When I first attended Harvest Temple in 1978, it was housed in a structure that had been built some thirty years earlier using plans that were obtained from the denomination and a simple style which is evident in many of the denomination's churches which I have visited. It was a simple clapboard country church structure. It had no stained glass windows, and simple wooden pews. Even as the church was renovated to accommodate growth which had forced it to hold two separate Sunday morning worship services, the new space had a very simple, though much more contemporary, design. The lines of the worship space were very stark. The walls were white and unadorned. Lacking were any liturgical accouterments besides the pulpit, communion table, altar railings, baptistery, and the pews. Along with these were several musical instruments including an organ, piano, electric keyboard, and drum set.
Harvest Temple Church of God is a lower to middle class congregation located in a suburban community within a large metropolitan area. Over the last 18 years the congregation has seen a complete metamorphosis from an all-white, working class congregation to an almost completely African American lower-middle class congregation. Although now it is predominantly Black, it is part of a Holiness-Pentecostal denomination with a primarily Southern white heritage. So, while the congregation and its style of worship have changed considerably, the Southern white influence is reflected in many ways in the congregation's worship style. As Walter Hollenweger explains:
In the structure of the Pentecostal "liturgy" one might find most of the elements of historical liturgies. Invocation, Kyrie, Confession, Gloria, Eucharist, Canon and Benediction. Yet, these parts are hardly ever so named and for most observers not recognized as such, since the element which structure the different parts of the service are not the rubrics and techniques, but the choruses, the short spontaneous songs known by heart by the whole congregation.[70]
The elements which Hollenweger identifies are found in the most obvious evidence of liturgical presence in Pentecostal worship-the "program," "bulletin," or "Order of Worship." Such orders of worship have been evident in almost every Sunday morning or evening Pentecostal worship service which I have visited (except in the smallest, most primitive store-fronts). They are also provided for many special services such as revival meetings or regional fellowships involving more than one congregation. Some are crudely composed on electric typewriters or personal home computers with minimal software. Others are professionally composed using the latest desk-top publishing techniques. All of them, however, represent an attempt to impose some order on Pentecostal worship. The order of worship generally lists the elements of the worship service in chronological order, as well as who will lead or be in charge of each element. The basic liturgical format for the Pentecostal worship service is contained in the order of worship-the call to worship, the pastoral prayer, the scripture reading(s), intercessory prayer, congregational and special music, the sermon, testimony, and altar ministry (individual prayer and laying on of hands). Whether the biblical readings are incorporated into the program varies from congregation to congregation. If the church does not have hymn books for everyone and a specific hymn is to be sung, it is usually xeroxed or the words are neatly typed out in the program.
Spontaneous response to the perceived presence of the Holy Spirit would be the characteristic that most identifies store-front Pentecostal worship. This element certainly is present at Harvest Temple. In such a climate, the order of worship serves as a guideline for conducting the service. Often, interspersed between these formal elements are extemporaneous testimonies, impromptu solos or congregational songs, prayers, and exhortations "as the Spirit leads." At all cost, Pentecostals believe that God's Spirit must have the freedom and the final say to direct the worship service in any direction.
What one would not find in the program or order of worship, but would be equally a part of a Pentecostal worship service, is the opportunity and expectation of the experience of the dynamic in-breaking of the Spirit of God at some point in the service. This is the time when congregants are most open to the experience of the direct presence of God through tongues and/or ecstatic worship. If the singing is exceptionally lively or exceptionally devout, or if the prayer is exceptionally fervent or moving, there is likely to be an extended period when several people "break out in a shout" or "holy dance." Also, the presider (usually a minister or elder) will sense that there is a special need among the people (sickness, grief, a financial difficulty, emotional distress, or "someone in need of salvation") and will break with the written order of the service, call for a time or prayer, and invite people to come to the altar. The pastor and/or several of the ministers might gather around those in need and proceed to "anoint them with oil" and pray for them individually or as a group. These moments are never seen as interruptions in the service. Indeed, as Wilson and Clow point out, they are experienced as opportunities for the congregation and the individual to reaffirm spiritual power.[71]
On one recent Sunday morning at Harvest Temple, during the time I was researching this paper, the congregational singing (designated "Praise and Worship") was proceeding. Several people were moved by the Spirit. A prolonged session of dancing or "shouting" broke out. The congregation continued to sing chorus after chorus of up-tempo worship songs. Though the pastor had a prepared message, he did not attempt to interrupt, but joined in the worship celebration and sang, clapped, and danced with the rest of the congregation. After about 45 minutes, punctuated with a crescendo of raising and falling exuberance, the pastor moved to the podium to announce that, though he was prepared to preach, the Spirit had something else in mind and was leading the service another way. He did not mind yielding to the Spirit. At this point the celebration became even livelier and continued for several more minutes. At some point a message was given in tongues. This was followed by an interpretation. When the interpretation was completed, the people stood for a moment in reverence, then the celebration and praise began again-some praising God in English, some in tongues. No one was shocked by this occurrence, indeed it is expected. As Wilson and Clow observe:
Pentecostal believers understand the Spirit as being imminently present in the worship service, and more importantly, imminently present within each individual believer who has been baptized in the Spirit.[72]
Testimony as Liturgy[73]
In a primarily oral tradition, oral means will be the primary carriers of the tradition. Certain rituals will become highly developed instruments for carrying out this function. Several scholars, including Spencer, Williams, and Tyson, have identified the testimony as such an instrument. To an outsider the testimony service may seem like a free-for-all event. On the signal of the presider, individuals within the congregation stand and exhort each other about their personal experiences of faith. If you listen carefully, however, there is a definite, collective pattern to the individual testimonies. Although these testimonies are specific to the individual, certain themes are repeated, and these themes generally change and evolve as do other liturgical patterns.
The testimony generally starts with a greeting (or salutation) to the other members of the congregation and to the ministers: "First giving honor to the pastor, pulpit associates, saints and friends." This is almost always followed by an affirmation which attests to the individual's right to be included in the community based on specific, shared spiritual experience: "Thank the Lord, that I'm still saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost."[74] There are regional and cultural varieties to the patterns of testimonies and definite racial patterns[75] that can be discerned in the language and style of testimonies.[76] Even so, the basic elements of the individual testimonies have remained the same over several generations.
Though active congregational participation is expressed throughout many segments of the service, nowhere is this more evident than in the testimonies and the sermon. There is often a call and response element to both the sermon and the testimony, as the individual preacher or testifier and the congregation affirm together their faith in the goodness and righteousness of God. As Albrecht notes, there is a "high level of mutual participation in Pentecostal ritual. Pentecostals are particularly interactive and social. It is expected that each believer will engage in the worship service; spectators are essentially outsiders."[77] As Hollenweger says, "the most important element in Pentecostal worship is the active participation of every member of the congregation."[78] Tyson alludes to the "living relationship between Sister Annie Mae and the congregation" during her testimony. The interplay provides a vital source of energy and community to the testimony during its enactment.[79] The individual asserts in the testimony that "God is good," and the congregation responds "All the time." During the course of the sermon, the preacher's message is peppered with "Amen" or "Hallelujah" or "Praise the Lord" from every corner of the sanctuary as strategic points are made.
Whatever the formula for the body of the testimony, they all share an important final element, an invitation to assent by the faith community. These testimonies are not solo spiritual journeys the speaker details for detached spectators. Instead, the victory of the testifier becomes the victory of the congregation. Individual loss becomes group loss. Nowhere is this more evident than in the closing admonition to the listeners, which goes essentially, "those that know the words of prayer, pray my strength in the Lord" or "I desire your prayers" or "pray much for me."[80]
Prayer and Conversion as Liturgy
Knowing the words of prayer is almost indispensable to participants in Pentecostal worship. These words, however, are not known in the precise sense; they do not represent a formed, written prayer or learned formulations. Rather, they are the individual's contribution to the concert of extemporaneous congregational supplication. They are a sense of what is appropriate to say to God on behalf of the desired spiritual or material results. The sheer number of prayers offered during the typical worship service gives credence to the vital role prayer plays in Holiness-Pentecostal worship. Ranaghan's composite order of worship, constructed from research involving material on several Pentecostal congregations and, he says, typical in its general outline, identifies five distinct prayer rituals interspersed throughout other elements of the ordinary Pentecostal worship service: (1) the opening prayer of invocations; (2) prayers first by the pastor and then by the congregation (pastoral or intercessory prayer); (3) prayer for the Spirit to anoint the preacher; (4) the altar call with congregational prayer and music in the background; (5) the altar service; and (6) the benediction.[81]
Most if not all of these prayers are extemporaneous.[82] In many congregations, everyone is expected to take part by praying together, simultaneously, but in their own words, out loud. Most worshipers will be praying in the vernacular of the congregation, but some may be praying in tongues. Others may be only offering sporadic "hallelujahs," "amens," "thank you, Jesus" or other affirmations. A few may be just raising their hands in praise or waving their arms, weeping softly or clapping. But everyone is somehow engaged. Even in the "altar service" there is major participation by the congregation. The altar service is a special part of the service set aside as a time when, "seekers meet the ministers at the altar railing before the pulpit to pray together for the [particular] experience sought. Often ministers will impose hands, altar workers from the congregation will counsel and pray, the congregation or part of it may come forward to surround the seekers with praise and intercession, the choir may sing, or music may be played in the background."[83] Altar ministry clearly is a vital part of many Holiness-Pentecostal worship services and is included at the end of many written orders of worship. The fluidity of the these worship services allows the altar service to take place at any point as the Spirit directs. In some instances there is more than one altar service in a single time of worship as the presider or minister senses is appropriate.
At First United, the extended "altar call," as the altar service was called, was usually relegated to the end of the worship service and often became a mini-sermon. This altar call was a prolonged appeal, often taking as long as 10-20 minutes. The choir sang a hymn from the section of the hymn book under the salvation or conversion headings, as the pastor reiterated parts of the sermon which had just taken at least an hour to preach. He pleaded with those in the congregation who did not "know Jesus as your personal Savior" or needed to repent of some sin committed the previous week. They were urged to come to the altar and pray for salvation or forgiveness (in essence to "get right with God").
At Harvest Temple, the intent of the altar call was the same, but the appeal was more general and considerably shorter. People are instructed that "whatever you need from the Lord" will be found at the altar. Here again, the altar service was generally at the end of the service, but, in keeping with the freer form, it also was a setting in which the altar service could be inserted extemporaneously into other portions of the worship service, "as the Spirit leads."
Another special prayer emphasis central to the Pentecostal self-definition is the prayer for receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The mode for this type of prayer differs greatly from denomination to denomination and often between congregations within a denomination. The emphasis at First United was on "tarrying" for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Specifically, "tarrying meetings" were designated prayer services for the purpose of seekers praying to "receive" the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Much of the misunderstanding of Spirit baptism as "possession" might derive from the chanting style of the prayer which is reminiscent of a mantra. The seeker repeatedly invokes the name "Jesus" or the word "hallelujah" or a phrase like "thank you Jesus" in an attempt to free one's mind and spirit from earthly concerns and become completely open to the divine. Generally, seekers participated in several of these services before they actually spoke in tongues as a demonstration of the "initial evidence" that they had truly received or been baptized in the Spirit.[84]
Prayer for Holy Spirit baptism at Harvest Temple is a much less formal undertaking and occurs as part of the regular altar service. There is no tarrying. There are no special prayer meetings set aside for this. Converts are instructed to pray for and expect to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit as part of their regular worship experience.[85] In this context, specific praying for Holy Spirit baptism is usually relegated to revival meetings when the minister will ask if there are any seekers, call them to the altar, often lay hands on them and pray with them for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion: Interpretation of the Findings
Two indispensable concepts are necessary for understanding how liturgy and ritual are present within Holiness and Pentecostal worship. The first is the self-definition of worship as non-liturgical. The second and equally important is the primarily oral tradition of these related movements. Despite this, several scholars have been able to document through ethnographic studies and theological reflection a distinct liturgical presence within Pentecostal worship.
The self-definition of these groups as non-liturgical does not speak to the reality of their worship. It is true that many Pentecostal ministers are reluctant to admit that their services follow a planned [liturgical] order,[86] and such elements as vestments and hymnology often have been dismissed as remnants of a dead faith and void of any signs of spiritual vitality. However, the foregoing gives some indication of the wealth and variety of liturgical presence in Pentecostal worship.
Within the primarily oral tradition, the primary elements of liturgy, ritual and symbolism are not always written - and even when written sources are available, they are not always used. Hymns, choruses and gospel songs are learned by heart and passed on by singing. Entire scriptural passages are committed to memory. The meaning of Pentecostal ritual and liturgical elements are internalized and take on a shared symbolic significance for all those who regularly participate in them.
None of the definitions of liturgy, ritual, or symbolism used here indicates that participants must define what they are doing as liturgy. Neither do they incorporate a distinction between written and oral modes. As such, Pentecostalism's oral nature does not in any way preclude it from liturgical definition. As Hollenweger indicates, Pentecostals "demonstrate that their alternative to written liturgy is not chaos, but a flexible oral tradition which allows for variation within a framework...."[87] As Baer contends, this happens in much the same way as Quaker silence and Episcopalian or Catholic liturgy. For example, there is shared meaning among all Catholics about certain meanings of Catholic ritual and symbolism, and there is a shared consensus among most Methodists about the meaning of certain Methodist rituals and symbolism. Yet, each individual Catholic and Methodist appropriates these rituals and symbolism in a personal way. Likewise, Pentecostal believers as a group share certain meanings concerning Pentecostal ritual and symbolism. Each Pentecostal believer, or at least each subgroup within the movement, appropriates these shared rituals and symbols in a way that is particularly meaningful to the specific social, theological, and ethical understanding and situation.
Hollenweger states correctly that the Pentecostal worship service is a "liturgy continually in the making."[88] The more a Pentecostal congregation grows from sect to church type or its membership gradually moves into the middle class, the more obvious in the presence of liturgical form. However, even within the most high-church setting, the hand clapping, shouts of "Praise the Lord," or quiet lifting of the hands in a reverent pose continue to be interspersed throughout the structured elements and serve as the kind of iconic sights and sounds which Albrecht identifies as so important to Pentecostal worship:
The vitality of Pentecostal ritual has less to do with the structure of the ritual than with the embodied attitudes, or the orientation which the congregants engage in the rites as structured. Salient sensibilities appropriately applied can help to produce living, breathing, moving ritual performance rather than lifeless acts of ritual.[89]
The two congregations that served as the models for this study exhibited liturgical presence in very different ways. Yet each considers itself thoroughly Pentecostal.[90] What they see themselves sharing is a particular mode of spirituality. Because of this particular mode of spirituality within worship, Holiness-Pentecostal adherents need not fear the loss of vitality. And, in coming to terms with what they are doing in worship, they will be able to understand that order and form are not synonymous with deadness, but with what the Bible calls "decency and order."
The emphasis of the broader church's understanding of the Spirit's place and work in the church's life has been enriched by encounters with Holiness-Pentecostal spirituality. Such encounters have forced the broader church to renew its emphasis on the work and person of the Holy Spirit in the everyday life of the believer and congregation. Renewal groups now can be found in almost every Christian denomination.
If it is to gain an appreciation for liturgical presence in worship, the Holiness-Pentecostal movement must proceed from the broader ecclesiological understanding that has been unfolding over two thousand years of church history. Burgess suggests such a starting point with the possibility of adopting a broader definition of "sacrament" as "rites directed by Scripture and observed by the gathered people of God"[91] If Holiness-Pentecostal adherents were to adopt such a definition and lift up the elements of their worship which have common elements with the wider church, it might enhance meaningful ecumenical dialog. As Cecil Roebeck asserts, we need to change those [understandings] that stand between us and that which is truly spiritual.[92] Anything that divides the church and disrupts its true catholicity must be discarded. Otherwise this segment of the church will continue to be viewed as an anomaly or oddity.
What makes such change difficult, however, is that often the oral nature of the tradition brings about a historical disconnectedness with the broader church. Even when the language is similar, the understandings often are totally different from those held throughout the life and history of the church. I posit that what is at stake is a certain type of spirituality or way of experiencing God which is neither essentially different nor more or less "spiritual" than other ways of experiencing God. What Roebeck says about Pentecostal spirituality, that it is "no different from other forms of spirituality," is essentially true of Pentecostal worship. As he says, the symbols and rituals may differ, but they nonetheless are symbols and rituals. As Roebeck affirms, "the object is the same."[93]
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