The “Second Program” between Common Practice and Reflected Faith

Abstract

Celebrations of Blessing for newborns are examples of a group of services that have a high sensitivity toward a certain milieu, social context, or occasion. These services are described as “second program” or alternative services. But are they actually “liturgy” at all? In order to approach this question, this article first analyzes various excerpts from an interview. As a next step, a historical discourse is outlined that was dedicated to a similar question. Already in 1933, the theologian Josef Andreas Jungmann raised this question in his article “What is Liturgy?”. A conclusion connects both approaches: The close connection between liturgy and church classifies these celebrations as liturgy. In a reverse direction these liturgies also raise the question of an image of church that emerges from these celebrations.