Saturday, July 03, 2004 AD
Clapped out
Mary Wakefield in the "infuriatingly good" (D. Blunkett) Spectator, on a visit to charismatic Anglican church Holy Trinity Brompton, home of the Alpha course:
Some of my best friends are happy-clappies, so about once a year I try and fail to sit through an HTB service. This year I lasted 15 minutes. For the first ten minutes I successfully opened my heart to the power-point projectors, acoustic guitars and expressions of ecstasy. I even held out my hands and swayed, all the while terrified that I would have a religious experience and have to go to HTB for the rest of my life.
Then the priest [sic] approached the microphone. "I think you'll agree with me," he said, "that God is a great guy and deserves a round of applause. C'mon, everybody, let's give God a big clap." Saved again.
