[Magdalen] Prayers for Ascension, Chicago

[Jim Guthrie]

From: Eileen Kinney via Magdalen

>I am a "pew person" in a small Chicago suburban  church but from what  I
>have seen in the surrounding parishes I don't think there is much desire  for
>a "high church" parish.

>Most seem to want a more relaxed form of religion.

One of the realities in an urban setting with lots of TEC parishes is the need 
for "Product Differentiation" so one might get MP in one parish, spikey high in 
another, Aggressively Inclusive language from the SLM in another as well as 
emphasis on Music -- whether it's using all 720 hymns over the course of a three 
year lectionary cycle or maybe Happy Clappy from "Celebrate!" or Taize,  or 
maybe old fashioned Baptist Sunday School hymns from LEVAS II. And each has a 
particular constituency, with some -- like Scott's parish -- featuring a 
congregation that travels some distance for that particular take on liturgy.

That's far different from what one finds in most smaller or suburban towns with 
only one parish doing plain old white bread Rite II with a selection of about 50 
hymns "We haven’t sung this ONE THIS month yet," (which seems to be what we get 
here in Scranton <g>).

Cheers,
Jim