Harleys at the Communion Table by Darcy Metcalfe Mudd

“What has happened in our culture to sacred ritual?”  This is a question I find myself asking often as of late. In my first few years serving as a minister in the PC(USA), it has been difficult not to notice the widening gap between what one is taught in seminary about what constitutes sacred ritual and what one experiences as sacred ritual in our society and culture.  I have noticed a cultural shift in what we regard as sacred ritual primarily through how I’ve witnessed the evolutions in recent decades of church liturgies, services, weddings, funerals, and baptisms.  In these sacred rituals of the Church, I have more frequently noticed a consumeristic ideology creeping into our sacred spaces, with more of an individualized emphasis rather than community-based concern.  And this observation has led to many other questions in my mind about ritual, such as, “Does ritual manifest from what already has meaning or does meaning manifest from ritual?,” and, “How are our rituals formed?”

When I first began pondering our sacred rituals more deeply, my goal was to get at the heart of why our sacred ritual in the American Protestant landscape (such as the sacred rituals in worship liturgy, weddings, funerals, and baptisms) seems to be quietly slipping away from our social consciousness.  Or maybe it is not slipping away at all; perhaps it is just reshaping itself.  However, if it is dissipating, this gives reason to worry, because if one were to ask any anthropologist or sociologist worth their salt about the importance of ritual in our lives, they would likely respond by explaining how vitally important ritual is not only for identifying and naming meaning, but also for nurturing self and community. “Ritual provides the bridge between inner and outer worlds, and creates a context for reconnecting to the seat of our souls.”[1] Has what we once deemed sacred ritual lost its meaning in our society and culture?

One primary example amongst many examples in which one can observe an undeniable shift in our sacred ritual is in the Protestant funeral, which is a Service of Witness to the Resurrection.  And the funeral is a sacred ritual of communal worship of God in which we console those who mourn as part of a broader task of proclaiming the gospel story, restoring meaning, and reaffirming the baptismal identity of the deceased.   However, today many funeral services have seemingly been transformed into memorial services, and the focus drawn away from worship of God, and instead, placed upon the individualization of the deceased. I worry that the sacred ritual of the church is being swallowed up by consumeristic culture and embracing the American fast-food ideology of “have it your way.”  Often times families request changes in the service that directs attention solely towards the individual or that are tailored particularly for the family in ways that seem contrary to the sacredness of the space and ritual.  For example, music may be requested that reflects a spirit contrary to worship of God.  (i.e. when you find yourself explaining to friends of the deceased why Lil Wayne’s “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy” might not be an appropriate musical selection for the funeral).  Or it may be requested that certain individualized items of that person be present at the funeral (such as the deceased’s Harley Davidson propped up next to the communion table).

In examples like these, and in many others I’ve witnessed, the recognition of the sacredness and communal aspect of the ritual seem utterly absent.  The hallowed journey of taking our loved one to their final resting place in community is replaced by something that seems much less hallowed.  In these examples, the focus of the sacred ritual is pulled away from God and the proclamation of resurrection, and instead, placed primarily on the individuality of the deceased, with a certain level of entertainment value.  And this individualized effort does not speak to the need of the community to gather before God in worship together with their deceased brother or sister, in order to complete that person’s baptism and bring them to their final resting place, “completing the cycle of life, from birth to death.”[2]

So as a minister, my dilemma comes with asking, “How do I address the needs and desires of the family and friends of the deceased, while simultaneously maintaining the sacredness of the space as sacred ritual in community?”  I have had the opportunity in the last few years to have many interesting conversations with funeral home directors regarding how rituals and customs involving the ways we care for our dead have changed in the last few decades.  Gone are the days of visitations in our homes, preparing the body ourselves, and processing with the body to its final resting place.  We have become much more sanitized and distanced from the deaths of our loved ones. Our rituals involved in caring for our dead have drastically changed beyond just our funeral rituals.  Given these changes, combined with our cultural attempts to individualize, entertain and sanitize death and funerals, I have been left asking, “What does this shift in our sacred ritual say about us?”

Rev. Darcy Metcalfe Mudd is currently serving as Solo Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Perrysburg, Ohio.  Darcy’s passions include advocacy for women and children, as well as developing safe sanctuary/youth protection policies and resources.  Darcy also currently serves on the Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns for the PC(USA).

[1] Renee Beck and Sydney Barbara Metrick, The Art of Ritual: A Guide to Creating and Performing Your Own Rituals for Growth and Change (Berkeley: CelestialArts, 1990), p. ii.

[2] Megory Anderson, Sacred Dying: Creating Rituals for Embracing the End of Life” (New York: Marlow & Company, 2003), p. 254.