I remember as a seminarian being disgusted by some experiences of attempts to promote active participation in U.S. parishes, ideas such as the whole congregation being asked to come to church dressed in red for Pentecost or to bring a bell to church for the Epiphany, really turned me off. My issue was not with the dressing in red (although I still don’t get the connection to Epiphany and bells), it was that this had almost seemed like a box that was ticked to guarantee “active participation.”