When Worship Doesn't Work – Contrasting concepts of transformation for mothers in the charismatic movement

Abstract

ABSTRACTNew mothers may experience charismatic styles of worship to be alienating because of the competing ways in which ‘worship’ and ‘mothering’ are conceptualised within the Charismatic Movement. In this paper, I illustrate my argument through the theme of ‘transformation’, a key concept in the literature on Charismatic/Pentecostal worship. I examine liturgical utterances from participant observation to argue that charismatic interpretations of ‘transformation’ in worship assume an experience which is: universally accessible, freely chosen, therapeutic and a sign of God's love. I contrast this with examples from interviews to demonstrate that mothers' experiences of transformation in worship are more complex. I argue that their expectations of a charismatic-style transformation through worship has caused them to experience alienation from God and their own spirituality. I conclude with a brief examination of Mary, to demonstrate how a broader understanding of transformation within charismatic worship might be theologically constructed from her story.