Mixed Media: The Assembly's Theologia Prima of Resistance to Its Place of Prayer

Abstract

Many liturgical assemblies celebrate in spaces purpose-built for the worship of a different age. While financial and other constraints limit the possibility of complete reordering and renovation of these buildings, assemblies can nevertheless creatively engage their inherited architecture and discover new encounters with the living God. This paper explores how active resistance to the built environment can be a juxtaposing act of primary liturgical theology that interacts with the received liturgies of past assemblies and proposes new patterns for prayer even in inhospitable spaces.