The Liminality of Liturgy

Abstract

Preaching is basic and central for building up a congregation (Nel 2001:5). This does not mean that preaching alone can build up the people of God to be and to do what He intended them to, but that the latter indeed can also not happen without preaching. Preaching should, however, not be understood in abstraction from liturgy: being part of liturgy, it plays a paramount role in the formation and motivation of communities of faith, moving them in the direction that God has in mind for them as his people in a given context.If we intend to build up the church to fulfill her calling, especially in this time of transition in South Africa, we need to revisit our understanding and practices of liturgy. It would seem as if we are presently going through a phase of homiletical and liturgical experimentation as never before, with the tendency to develop in (superficial) width, but not in (theological) depth (cf. Cilliers 2007a:54). There seems to be a fine line between responsible renewal, following the calling of ecclesia semper reformanda, and the opportunism of fashionable liturgical cosmetics, which Leonora Tubs Tisdale calls the movement from saying 'Holy, Holy, Holy', to saying 'nice, nice, nice ' (Tisdale 2001:182

“Lest We Forget”: A Postapartheid Perspective on Remembering in Liturgy for Healing and Justice

“…From a South African perspective, apartheid is unfortunately a historical fact and as such is undeniably and inherently included in the culture of all South Africans; how it is remembered will define not only the nation but the church in the present as well as the future (cf. Buqa, 2015, Cilliers, 2010, Scott & Wepener, 2020; Scott, Van Wyk, & Wepener, 2019). Worshipers in South African churches can either relate to the wrongdoings or suffering of apartheid.…”

Worship in a post-lockdown context: A ritual-liturgical perspective

“…The phrase that is perhaps most synonymous with 'liminality ' is 'betwixt and between' (cf. Turner 1995:107;Van Gennep 1960), referring to a period of transition 'from one life cycle to the other' (Cilliers 2010:344, cf. Van Gennep 1909.…”

“…A liminal phase is one of ambiguity or a stage between two situations or statuses (Cilliers 2010:344, also cf. Barnard 2010Turner 1995;Van Gennep 1960;Wepener 2014:27-30).…”

“…Therefore, the South African nationwide lockdown is a creative space with plenty of reflection and revelation, filled with the potential to be fruitful or destructive, a phase of fullness and emptiness (cf. Barnard 2010;Cilliers 2010;Wepener 2015). A phase of liminality presupposes, within the anti-structure, a different level of freedom for the communitas to reflect on the past, to envision the future, to rethink and re-imagine ideas and practices and to alternatively interpret reality (cf.…”

What Do You Do With a High Court Decision You Don't Like? Legislative, Judicial and Academic Responses to Gambotto v. WCP Ltd.

“…Cilliers and Luiz argued that the proper purpose requirement is unhelpful, perpetuating the same error as the English cases after Allen, and should be rejected in favour of a single fairness requirement. 145 Robson argued that the proper purpose test "has no relevance at all" and the courts should confine themselves to considering fairness. 146 Evaluations by commentators of the tests in Gambotto were not all negative.…”