This is not a place to have a dialogue between two Methodists on the Order of St. Luke. Let me try to justify it because it does involve communion.
I'm sure I'm influenced by my heritage. My paternal family was Catholic in Quebec and moved to the USA a century ago because when they became Protestant (Baptist) they faced considerable discrimination and ostracism. My wife was Catholic as well but had become alienated before we actually met, mainly because of a couple traumatic experiences in parochial school, but also because she had developed strong reservations in such areas as doctrine and certain church rules and regulations (long story).
My main concern re OSL is that it seems to be pushing to make Methodism a confessional church instead of a free church. (I also have been involved in Presbyterian and Congregational churches in different communities where I have lived, so appreciate the free church tradition.) I do not find spiritual nourishment in canned, prayerbook religion where worship is largely borrowed from the past, with pompous and pious and - yes - prissy liturgies. The 'platform' of OSL, as you sent it on, strikes me as trying to do just that. Such religion is deadly, even though now and then a particular priest or minister is charismatic enouigh to bring it to life. Most of the time I find clergy rely on inherited ritual, often as a crutch, instead of using their God-given creative talents, gifts of the Holy Spirit. If I wanted that, I would become an Episcopalian where about anything goes as long as you use the Book of Common Prayer. Or, maybe an ELCA Lutheran.
I also feel that the sort of emphasis that OSL places on sacramentalism makes Methodism extremely vulnerable to superstition, and also tends to elevate the clergy. Baptism and communion are important, of course, but they have nothing to do with our salvation, and they easily become a substitute for living our faith. I remember one UMC minister who had been gung-ho on issues of peace and poverty in seminary, who later became so absorbed in the details of liturgy that he all but forgot these other concerns. He also began to think of his role as some sort of chosen mediator between God and man/woman. Doing worship in a 'proper liturgical fashion' became his top priority, What a waste of effort. For example, I don't believe God cares a hoot whether we stand, sit, kneel, or whatever when the gospel is read, but to him that was a crucial issue. And OSL appears to want Methodists to believe in some sort of 'real presence' in the communion elements. There is, of course, the 'real presence' of Christ at every service or worship, actually all times and in all places, but the idea that Christ somehow is more present in a piece or bread or a cup of grapejuice has clearly not been part of our Methodist tradition. An effort has been made to move in that direction, even evident a bit in the ambiguous words of the communion service found in the latest UM hymnal,
One of my interests is visiting other churches of various affiliations, and the ones that seem to be meeting the needs of people today are certainly not the liturgical ones but those that have more spontaneity and less ritual. Sadly, many of them are fundamentalist, but I strongly believe that there can be deep spirituality, inspiration, and excitement in mainline churches that avoid the deadening effects of stifling liturgy. Certainly Catholicism has lost its energy in this area, with its attendance at roughly 25%. Methodism can thrive if it provides dynamic worship in the modern idiom without resorting to archaic rituals that interest only a small handful. I have some hesitations about Bob Schuller, but his "Hour of Power" demonstrates how mainline Protestantism can offer the message of faith to millions who want a reasonable and inspiring faith preseented in an exciting manner.
But probably God cares less about such incidentals as I do. What I want is a relevant church, and to millions the church has become irrelevant, a relic of the past. We need to change that, and it doesn't help when we work to make it a relic of the past.
So much more to say, but have gone on too long already. Sorry. God bless you and people of every congregation, creed, color, and country.
confused