Culture and the Liturgy Part I: Time vs. Event

As I see it, huge numbers of Christians are not being fed the Word of God delivered in the Divine Service because they are going to "contemporary" worship services- and this is a major problem. This is one of my biggest reasons for writing this blog. I've begun proposing answers with my series on words that I think should be replaced, or at least better understood. Now, I'd like to begin taking a look at the relationship between culture and the liturgy.

I recently read the book "Ministering Cross-Culturally" by Marvin K. Mayers and Sherwood G. Lingenfelter. One of the topics they discuss is the issue of a culture that is time-oriented over against one that is event-oriented. The West (Europe and the US/Canada) is primarily time-oriented, that is, we focus on when things are, how long they take, etc. Other cultures tend to be event-oriented, that is, they focus on what happens, relationships, etc. However, individuals may or may not fall into the same category as the culture in which they live.

As I was reading this, I began to wonder about traditional, liturgical worship services. These services are very much "we do A for this long, B for this long, and then C for this long." "Contemporary" worship services tend to be "we sing for a while, we pray (impromptu prayers) for a while, sing some more, hear a message, sing more, leave happy." In other words, liturgical worship services are time-oriented, while "contemporary" worship services are event-oriented. Is there a way to present the liturgy to those who are "event-oriented?"

Taizé is one answer. Taizé is a style where short, 4-part (harmony) phrases are repeated over and over, giving ample opportunity for prayer and meditation, while encouraging guided improvisation.The musical advantages include the use of any number of instruments and the fact that it can work in either large or small congregations, regardless of the quality of the acoustics.

Taizé is not perfect, however. It demands musicians that are capable of improvising, does not have a great range of emotional character, and can be boring to those who are time-oriented. And I'm not aware of any full setting of the Divine Service.

We live in a fast-paced society where many things must be done and schedules must be met. Shouldn't the Church be an haven from all of this?