Priest leaving Alter during homily

[rhiannonh]

Being Anglican means I do not know the RC rules on things but other than that

I don’t see there is a problem. Most of priests who come to our church, we manage to persuade them to use the pulpit each of us giving various reasons. Some like the pulpit because for them it signifies authority. For me I like the priest using the Pulpit because being on the Altar as a server, means I can properly see him and hear him. Others too like to be able to see him. We have had couple of priests who like to stand at the front or use the readers stand and this never really went down well with us as a congregation though we accepted. Once when ‘we’ were on holiday one guy did come and do a walk about and the congregation were fine with that. It looked like it was distracting and people there intially thought he hadn’t really said anything then the message went home and I was told - but not being there I don’t remember that bit.
I think you will find you find it distracting at first because you are not used to it. Simple as that. Anything new is a disturbance to us in that sense. Once he has walked around a few weeks you will soon be accustomed to it and almost don’t see him do it, unless he comes and sits at the side of you and says that part of his sermon and ask you for a direct response in his sermon. Anything goes in sermons and if its woken you up then all the better. We can get too settled in our pews/seats and think nothing but listening is required of us. Wrong, we need to participate too. May be not in the sermon but we need to let the sermon in and alter our lives to grow with God.
So the priest has won in that he has woken you up with this method. Good for him. In a few weeks you will wonder what your problem was… if he uses the style regular enough. After all are we there to like the sermon? If we do then all the better. But the sermon is meant to challenge and stretch us to help us grow. What gets you niggly may be a comfort to another. But if as a whole congregation - you don’t like the style then in a friendly way, just tell him so. Or even as an invidual, in a friendly way just tell him. That will allow him to explain to you his purpose and take on board what you have said though he may or mayn’t alter it. What did he talk about by the way
Peace be with you

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Being Anglican means I do not know the RC rules on things but other than that

I don’t see there is a problem. Most of priests who come to our church, we manage to persuade them to use the pulpit each of us giving various reasons. Some like the pulpit because for them it signifies authority. For me I like the priest using the Pulpit because being on the Altar as a server, means I can properly see him and hear him. Others too like to be able to see him. We have had couple of priests who like to stand at the front or use the readers stand and this never really went down well with us as a congregation though we accepted. Once when ‘we’ were on holiday one guy did come and do a walk about and the congregation were fine with that. It looked like it was distracting and people there intially thought he hadn’t really said anything then the message went home and I was told - but not being there I don’t remember that bit.
I think you will find you find it distracting at first because you are not used to it. Simple as that. Anything new is a disturbance to us in that sense. Once he has walked around a few weeks you will soon be accustomed to it and almost don’t see him do it, unless he comes and sits at the side of you and says that part of his sermon and ask you for a direct response in his sermon. Anything goes in sermons and if its woken you up then all the better. We can get too settled in our pews/seats and think nothing but listening is required of us. Wrong, we need to participate too. May be not in the sermon but we need to let the sermon in and alter our lives to grow with God.
So the priest has won in that he has woken you up with this method. Good for him. In a few weeks you will wonder what your problem was… if he uses the style regular enough. After all are we there to like the sermon? If we do then all the better. But the sermon is meant to challenge and stretch us to help us grow. What gets you niggly may be a comfort to another. But if as a whole congregation - you don’t like the style then in a friendly way, just tell him so. Or even as an invidual, in a friendly way just tell him. That will allow him to explain to you his purpose and take on board what you have said though he may or mayn’t alter it. What did he talk about by the way
Peace be with you

It is quite true that we can become habituated to an annoyance and begin to ignore it. I don’t believe this would happen with a priest preaching a homily wandering all over the church. In my above example of the wandering lecturer it was not something we got used to observing. In fact students used to complain among themselves about his distracting perambulations and many therefore anticipated his lectures with dread.

 

[rhiannonh]

For anyone who knows me well enough which is no one here thankfully will say something like the saying pot kettle and black with what I say next.

But I think you’ll find, if you can actually hear his words, then if you want to, you will get used to the style and in time may even grow to like it. Yeh, students and the wandering lecturer example, we are very good at working each other up so everyone agrees with us aren’t we. You only heard about the ones who didn’t like the lecturer wandering about. What about the one (s) who did like it or were okay with it? Or did everyone niggle to each other which is as what I said before, we are very good at getting people to agree with each other.

So for me the important thing is that people can hear. Some one in the congregation may have prompted him to move around. He might be wanting to see the reactions of the congregation better. If you don’t like it, then simply have a word with him. He won’t know unless you tell him. Have a word with him giving him your own point of view only. There is nothing illegal or immoral about a priest going walk about for sermons/homilies whatever but I think they do prefer it if you are comfortable enough to hear. But there again like I said someone may have prompted him to and he is trying different styles so he can reach the whole congregation rather than just those who prefer him to be still. Teachers in schools can use different methods to be able to reach the whole class. A priest delivering a sermon has the same problem. How to reach the whole of the congregation and will use different approaches from time to time to keep everyone happy.

My advice is simply have a word with him and discuss your concern with him. I think that is the best way forward if you find it hard.
God Bless You

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Yeh, students and the wandering lecturer example, we are very good at working each other up so everyone agrees with us aren’t we. You only heard about the ones who didn’t like the lecturer wandering about. What about the one (s) who did like it or were okay with it? Or did everyone niggle to each other which is as what I said before, we are very good at getting people to agree with each other.

I agree that I could not know the opinion of every student in those lectures. However, never once did I hear any student who had an alternative opinion. When I trained as a teacher we were taught that such behaviour was distracting and created a barrier to learning. Thus, it isn’t just my opinion but that of my teacher training college and of every education inspector I’ve ever met. It causes an unnecessary distraction. It isn’t the only way to make sure your “audience” is listening or to make an important point.

 

[rhiannonh]

You wouldn’t hear because if everyone was stating one opinion it would take a lot for one person to stand up and voice their real thought. Far easier just to follow the crowd isn’t it not?
No, it isn’t the only way to reach the audience. But by the sounds of it, a way that priest hadn’t tried with that congregation before.

I personally wouldn’t find it distracting if our priest decided to do a walk about. I be entertained. I can’t hear him enough when he stood in the isle, but am happy with it. Am happy that he uses the pulpit because I can hear. I’d be happy with whatever method he chooses to teach us whatever he thinks we should learn ‘today’. Am all for variety to keep us paying attention. There is nothing distracting apart from distracting itself. Change is always difficult and we do like our comfort zones somewhat. And if we miss bits of the sermon because we can’t hear etc that God isn’t going to punish us. We can choose to ask our priests afterwards or accept that we not going to get everything. I can’t even remember what Fr Kev talked about on Sunday though I listened. Oh yes I do now but not the whole sermon. Make it a point for this Year that God is our Saviour I think he talked about.
Distraction is good because it helps us to keep learning how to focus rather than remain in our comfort zone

 

[Bob_Aliano]

It is relatively common for our OF priests to move down to the center aisle, even part way down the aisle when giving their homily, the clip-on wireless mics allow them to do so. It can be disconcerting when they seem to look directly at a parishioner, especially me, when stressing a point, guilt and curiosity I suppose. It is very effective when directing the homily toward the children.

 

[dconklin]

We had a priest that had been a teacher. He always gave the homily holding a retractable pointer. He never had anything to point to, but I suppose it made him comfortable.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Far easier just to follow the crowd isn’t it not?

I found it distracting. It wasn’t until after I found it distracting that I discovered other students found it distracting too. If it happens on every occasion it is not a useful tool to get everyone’s attention because, for one, it would lose its shock appeal. If it is done all the time it is nothing more than an annoying mannerism. Hence, that’s why we were properly taught at teacher training college not to do things like this.

 

[curlycool89]

My university instructors never left their podium when giving lectures.

Another shining example of how truly awful university professors are at teaching. People with PhD’s are generally genius’, but their ability to impart knowledge to others is hit or miss, and when it’s a miss the entire class can be a train wreck (one of my classes the prof was so bad that the entire class went into the final not knowing anything, from the A+ kids to the dumb ones. The prof was just awful, luckily it was open book).

I’m currently an engineering student in my last year of university, so this isn’t something theoretical, this is what I live everyday. Professors who stand behind a podium for an hour/hour-and-a-half are awful teachers. In fact, I can probably tell you which professors are going to be good or bad on day 1 based on whether they spend the whole time in one place.

It’s not related to class size either. We once had a substitute lecturer lean up against a wall the entire class (somehow, I managed not to fall asleep). Profs that move from side to side (these are all in combo with powerpoint, and sometimes whiteboards) or at least away from the podium are consistently better teachers in my experience. They are better at explaining concepts and understand that a university lecture does not mean “lecture at students for full time”.

I know this is a bit off-topic, but I just wanted to point out that standing at a podium is not actually a very good teaching method.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Another shining example of how truly awful university professors are at teaching. People with PhD’s are generally genius’, but their ability to impart knowledge to others is hit or miss, and when it’s a miss the entire class can be a train wreck (one of my classes the prof was so bad that the entire class went into the final not knowing anything, from the A+ kids to the dumb ones. The prof was just awful, luckily it was open book).

I’m currently an engineering student in my last year of university, so this isn’t something theoretical, this is what I live everyday. Professors who stand behind a podium for an hour/hour-and-a-half are awful teachers. In fact, I can probably tell you which professors are going to be good or bad on day 1 based on whether they spend the whole time in one place.

It’s not related to class size either. We once had a substitute lecturer lean up against a wall the entire class (somehow, I managed not to fall asleep). Profs that move from side to side (these are all in combo with powerpoint, and sometimes whiteboards) or at least away from the podium are consistently better teachers in my experience. They are better at explaining concepts and understand that a university lecture does not mean “lecture at students for full time”.

I know this is a bit off-topic, but I just wanted to point out that standing at a podium is not actually a very good teaching method.

I agree that this too is not good. It has just reminded me of one our lecturers. Occasionally, he worked for the Open University. That’s an institution that teaches almost exclusively by distance learning. Many of its lectures are delivered as TV programmes. This lecturer we had spent the entire lecture as if stood before a TV camera.

 

[jesuspsr]

Another shining example of how truly awful university professors are at teaching. People with PhD’s are generally genius’, but their ability to impart knowledge to others is hit or miss, and when it’s a miss the entire class can be a train wreck (one of my classes the prof was so bad that the entire class went into the final not knowing anything, from the A+ kids to the dumb ones. The prof was just awful, luckily it was open book).

I’m currently an engineering student in my last year of university, so this isn’t something theoretical, this is what I live everyday. Professors who stand behind a podium for an hour/hour-and-a-half are awful teachers. In fact, I can probably tell you which professors are going to be good or bad on day 1 based on whether they spend the whole time in one place.

It’s not related to class size either. We once had a substitute lecturer lean up against a wall the entire class (somehow, I managed not to fall asleep). Profs that move from side to side (these are all in combo with powerpoint, and sometimes whiteboards) or at least away from the podium are consistently better teachers in my experience. They are better at explaining concepts and understand that a university lecture does not mean “lecture at students for full time”.

I know this is a bit off-topic, but I just wanted to point out that standing at a podium is not actually a very good teaching method.

Agreed:thumbsup: