The Late Late Service: The Glasgow dance worship pioneers

Sunday 1st June 1997

One of the most influential and longest running alternative worship initiatives is Glasgow's THE LATE LATE SERVICE. Susan Mansfield visited them.



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Charlie Irvine echoes her feelings about the Late Late. "It seemed to tie all the bits of my life together in the way that no other church had done. There was always a disconnection between my church life and my life as a professional musician. In many churches, art seemed less worthy if it didn't have an undertone of trying to convert people."

In the Late Late, creativity is focused on worship, which many find more meaningful. All members have the chance to be involved in "making" a service, so every service is different. The concerns of members and their peers, like social justice and the environment, are strong in the worship. "These are the issues of today," says Liz Ingram. "If churches keep managing to have services without dealing with things people are concerned about, they are divorcing themselves from reality."

Perhaps because of the opportunities for using creative gifts, the Late Late has attracted many talented people. Charlie Irvine says the early days were a hot bed of creativity, with two recording studios busy making new music for every celebration. But now it's slowing down. "Partly, it's just exhaustion. After all, very few churches write new hymns for every service!"

Now the music of most celebrations is down to skilful DJs from the dance generation (I felt my age when I heard one was just 14). The emphasis is on high quality pre-recorded music from the dance sector. The "message" comes across through the spoken words, visuals and liturgies.

Try looking for the Late Late Service on the streets of Glasgow on a "Quiet Service" night and your job is a whole lot more difficult. Approaching the dark, silent church facade, you could be forgiven for thinking you are in the wrong place altogether. Inside, a few candles in jam jars illuminate a scattering of prayer cushions on the floor. The music is soft and ambient. It's warm and relaxed - somewhere between a sanctuary and a sitting room.

"Tonight we are going to look at the Mountain of God," says a different disembodied voice. The image of a snow-clad Everest-like peak illuminates one screen, another shows an artist's impression of the face of Christ, another shows the Milky Way. "We don't claim to know much about it, so rather than expounding theology, we will look at some examples."

The Late Late Service seems to bend over backwards not to preach. There are songs, stories and readings: Elijah fleeing to Mount Horeb and hearing the still small voice of God; the Transfiguration. "Lie down on the cushions, make yourself comfortable, close your eyes," says the voice. "Think about Moses on the Mountain of God receiving the 10 Commandments." I try not to think about sleep.

Members hope they can get enough teaching in this seeking, non-preaching community. "Some of us have been living off the spiritual capital we brought with us from other churches," says Charlie Irvine. "But this is quite a critical group and the spiritual capital has got to be regenerated. Sometimes it's difficult to see how to learn about the Bible. We started the education nights (which involve a study, discussion and the closest thing Late Late gets to a sermon) because of that."

Others have expressed concerns that, without a trained theologian at the helm, a seeking group may seek in wrong directions. Heather, a media and theology student who was at the "prophet" celebration, says, "Images are very powerful, but you have to be specific. They can be ambiguous, and the Bible is not ambiguous. It says not everyone is called to be a prophet."

But Andy Thornton says there is more than enough theological expertise around to keep things on the straight and narrow. Some members have PhDs in the subject, and that's not including visiting clergymen. "If we were just a group of uninformed people struggling about, I would be concerned," he says. "Without the knowledge among the members, we would have to have a lot of safeguards."

Authority is a thorny problem in a group which is democratic to the core. The only leaders are the steering group who are elected annually and must stand down after two years. Charlie Irvine adds that after the NOS experience, the Late Late is wary of a single leader. "I think we would have strong suspicion of someone who says, 'I know what God is saying, you must listen to me,'" he says. "I think we would say, 'Why? Can you justify that? Let's debate it.'"

It was thought at first that trendy technological worship would be a hit with the unruly yoof who desert the traditional church in their droves. But Andy Thornton realised pretty quickly that it doesn't work like that.

"It dawned on me that the hurdle of being involved in church is much smaller than the hurdle of being involved with Jesus. If they were looking for real spirituality, they would accept the church as part of the price. People were almost put off by the celebration. They didn't want to get up and dance about their faith because they didn't really have much faith. It was like going to a party to celebrate something they didn't want to celebrate."

In fact it is in the Quiet Service where uncertain seekers feel safest. "We allow people to have their own experience," says Thornton. "If you ask a Buddhist how to find God, they will teach you to pray. Ask the Church and they will tell you what to believe. We teach people how to pray and then allow them to encounter Jesus. Then they can critically evaluate their lives against that of Jesus, but it will be their Jesus, not mine." Irvine suspects this is why the group's numbers have never seen dramatic growth. "It's easier to sell certainty," he says.

At the moment it is the Quiet Service which sees the bulk of new music written. As members come and go, so do their talents and recently classical musicians have come to the Late Late, bringing in turn elements of string quartet and A cappella to the worship. An album of Quiet Service music is planned.

The Late Late appeal is still culturally specific. Brian, a member of the Church Of Scotland who comes regularly to the Late Late, feels the group lacks the spectrum of age ranges many churches benefit from. "But," he says, "Maybe time will do the job." After all, no one is getting any younger, and many, like him, bring their children along. "It's not perfect, but I'm glad it's here for people who don't have any other place. It's worth cherishing and supporting - it's a lifeline for some people."

"It has helped my spiritual growth a lot," says Shirley, who also goes to an Episcopal church and a Baptist church. "I see it as an addition to worship, rather than trying to replace the worship that exists. People are very welcoming here, very accepting. There's no pressure to conform. God doesn't want us to conform, he made us different." The oasis in the desert is still dispensing living water to thirsty prophets. CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
About Susan Mansfield
Susan Mansfield is assistant features editor of The Big Issue in Scotland.


 
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Reader Comments

Posted by Matt in Berwick @ 18:03 on May 11 2011

Hi, does anyone know if the Late Late Service is still running, and if so, is there a website or some kind of contact?



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