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Book Review: Balthasar on the Spiritual Senses: Perceiving Splendour

necessary for the immersive world that they want the worshippers to inhabit. The final step is carefully rehearsing each service so the flow imagined in the creation of the services is the flow that is experienced. This cursory sketch of McFee’s process in no way does justice to the level of detail and thoroughness offered in this book, which itself is not a stand-alone resource. It is part of a cluster of resources McFee has created, including web resources, workshops, webinars, and worship planning software. All of these resources are available to help the worship curator answer the question, “Based on the main message, what is the world into which we will enter for this spiritual journey?” (p. 155). This is to avoid what could happen by the use of multiple arts, resulting in “competing art forms that distract from, rather than enhance, the main thing . . . the message” (p. 154). To do so, one must “think like a filmmaker,” that is, to consider more “than just what is said, but how it is said, by whom and where, with what dynamic, in the midst of what other sounds, and with what action” (p. 96). The premise of this book is that worship is mostly—if not primarily— message centered. This is different from understanding the liturgy to be the church at prayer, for example. However, not agreeing with McFee’s premise does not preclude the usefulness of this book. Her valuing of long-term, collaborative planning provides a healthy reminder of the intentionality required in liturgical planning and execution. Yet this book’s greatest potential might be an unintended benefit. It may be most effective in helping a parish and its liturgical leaders clarify their own vision for worship. For as the history of Christian worship reveals, multisensory worship is neither new nor non-liturgical, but may be a value we need to attend to more mindfully.