A UU Op-Ed on Applause

A UU Op-Ed by Liz Wiley: On Applause

To clap or not to clap, that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the soul to applaud
With Silent lauds and nods the worship music,
Or to take up arms and hands within a sea
of congregants and make a Joyful Noise.

As Chair of Worship, I hear from all sides on preferences for our worship services. Whether we should get the announcements “out of the way” at the beginning (thus also leaving a cushion for latecomers), or to put the announcements at the end when we’re more likely to remember them. Whether we need more hymns, only familiar hymns and not hymns that are too hard to sing, ditch hymns for more songs, more popular music videos please or never pre-recorded music. That we need to stand up more often. If waving to the camera above the exit to include people on Zoom outweighs the awkward feeling of waving to a camera. How long should the silent meditation be? Should there always be one? Whether we should restore paper Orders of Service or keep saving trees. If candles are too much a fire hazard and if stones in water are sanitary. But I do not bring all this up to twinge a niggle. In true UU spirit of celebrating plurality and drawing from many sources, we try to allow many of these valid thoughts to circulate their way through the worship experience. Today, I want to say a few words about applause during the service.

As many of you know, I come from a theatre background. So naturally you may think I am generally in favor of applause. ‘Taint necessarily so. It depends on setting, on circumstance, on many things. When I am in an audience for a performance, be it a theatrical production, a dance showing, a music concert – then yes, I am generally a loud and responsive audience member. I appreciate that the audience is part of that dynamic communication; there is a shared energy between performer and audience. Don’t get me started on standing ovations, though; those, I firmly believe, ought to happen organically, being moved to stand because of true excellence, not by habit, or to see over the standers in front of you, or because everyone else is doing it. That’s a whole ‘nother, albeit related, essay.

During my years in the acting studio, when students were sharing their works-in-progress, I asked them not to applaud each other; it was not yet a performance and not a place to measure success by the vigor and volume of the clapping. Instead, we did a “yes” gesture (that I took from one of my grad school professors) that says “I see you, I honor your work and your growth.” Occasionally a student would point out that one could be large and energetic with their Yes gesture and therefore create the same applause-o-meter scale. Sigh. But I liked the practice. I still do that gesture sometimes in our services.

WUU went through a phase where, instead of clapping, we tried using the ASL sign for applause: waving both hands in the air with a twisting motion. Some still do it. Lately, we’ve returned to scattered applause. It is problematic for some. Let’s unpack some possible reasons why one might oppose it in a UU worship setting.

• Applause interrupts the sacred container of worship, bringing one back to the secular world. Or to put it another way, it jars the vibe, or takes one out of the moment.

• Musicians, speakers, etc. are there to support the worship experience, sometimes to be the worship experience, and are not there for personal recognition.

• The level of applause might be taken as a judgment on the quality of the musician, speaker, etc, or one might worry that it is.

• If applauding merely because of a cultural norm, the applause might be inauthentic.

And possible reasons pro-applause:

• UUs should be encouraged to express ourselves freely and respectfully, as part of the group experience of worship.

• One might worry that lack of applause indicates a lack of appreciation (to which I say: find the musician or speaker after the service and express gratitude then for their contribution).

I’d like to offer some thoughts going forward, wherever you stand (or sit) on the issue. I am not advising us as a congregation to go one way or the other. I personally generally prefer the no-applause approach, but you can just as easily find me applauding heartily for a guest musician. Different moods and intentions call for fittingly different responses. So, my advice? Respond as your spirit moves you. And I challenge you to notice when you feel irked that others are applauding when you would rather it be a quiet holding of space (or conversely, wishing more people would applaud with you); notice the feeling, let it go, and come back into the present moment of the service flow. Be generous, be kind, be compassionate. With yourself and with each other.

Thanks for reading/listening.

[Liz makes an upward “Y” gesture with her hands.]