Bob Hope

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CNN: Bob Hope dead at 100

An era has ended. There will *never* be anyone funnier than him or anyone with the kind of talent he had. Best yet, his hummor was clean… which is more than I can say for the person sulogizing him on CNN this morning. (They had one of his comedy writers doing it and he made a very off-color comment, which caused CNN to cut the feed and the commentator to comment that “some people choose the most inappropriate times to try and be funny”.) We’ve lost one of our national treasures. *sniff*

Ideas on Worship (III)

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It’s a grey afternoon preceeding a storm. Jon is doing Evening Prayer, Cullen is acting as Jon’s spiritual director, and Finian is sitting watch to make sure that I blog on something spiritual. (Our cats love to assist us with our various devotional things, which includes blogging for me. They are such pious and helpful creatures.) I am recharged after a 4 hour nap (note to self: next time get regular vanilla chai powder) and am listening to some chant, some Loreena McKennitt, some David Haas/Marty Haugen, and some Haydn (various parts of the “Lord Nelson Mass” which I sang with my seminary choir in 2001) with some Kingston Trio thrown in for good measure. All the religious music is putting me in the mood to blog on religious stuff, so… here is part III of the “Ideas on Worship” series.

Worship Preferences
I’m going to quote a little from an an entry on this subject that I wrote last March, so feel free to click on the link to see it in its entirety (as well as why I blogged on it in the first place).

  • Setting: The Celtic-Christian in me would probably love to be sitting in a cathedral ring in the redwoods near my dorm at UC Santa Cruz with the wind blowing and the ocean in view. The mystical person in me would prefer a stone chapel with light streaming through the stained-glass windows or an Eastern Orthodox service (minus the incense which unfortunately gives me an asthma attack). My compromise: the sanctuary of Jon’s internship congregation (when it’s put back together after replacing the heating system) which has a garden in the courtyard formed by the layout of the buildings. I know that God is wherever two or three are gathered in His name; but I have problems with modern sanctuaries because they just seem devoid of the kinds of inspiration I see in the more traditional ones. As I mentioned in my last entry on this subject, I am into sensual worship, which means that I need the stained-glass and the rest of the experience. Stone churches (especially the older ones I explored in Ireland) remind me of the divine inspiration of their creators — the hands that hewed the stone and the ones that cast the glass.
  • Structure of Worship: For those of you who didn’t know, my J is the strongest part of my INFJ status. This means that I *like* order and liturgy fulfills that for me. I have worshipped in more free-form churches and enjoyed the experience; but liturgy tends to center me and feed me. This might be because I spent my formative Christian years in an Episcopal church or it might be that Jon’s internship parish has really converted me to traditional liturgical worship to the point that I can’t even think of looking back. I also tend to go toward extremes in this regard — straght-up liturgy or straight-up praise and worship — blended services can be good but I still prefer they err on the side of liturgy.
  • Music: I honestly do prefer the older traditional hymns — the newer worship music really does nothing for me. I love chanting Morning Prayer or singing hymns like “Abide With Me” and “We’re Marching To Zion” more than I like singing the latest Hillsong creation. (The exception to all of this is most of the stuff Maranatha music puts out — their stuff is pretty wonderful across the board.) Chanting the liturgy is also a very peaceful thing for me because it is ordered, most of it (with the exception of Setting 3 in the LBW) is easy to sing, and it’s acapella which focuses me to the words and not the accompaniment.
    Contrary to popular belief, this 23 year old actually *likes* organ music provided that it isn’t something absolutely dreary. I’m grateful that our organist is my age and feels the same way. Piano accompaniment is also a wonderful thing — especially if the music isn’t of the “it’s church music so it has to be somber” persuasion. Funerals at Jon’s internship site usually have instrumental hymns as the prelude and it’s a comforting thing to hear them played on piano.
  • Sacraments: I’m Lutheran. We are reminded weekly of our baptism. We (ideally) celebrate weekly Eucharist. I remember in college when the worship team was passed over for communion and I got apopleptic — if I’m having to take Communion only monthly, I’d really like to be able to take it when it’s offered. (I cannot understand the mindset of churches that only offer it quarterly — it’s the Body and Blood of Christ and we are commanded to partake of it in remembrance of His death and resurrection.) Community Church of Joy, the church that I frequently use as my whipping post for all that is wrong with megachurches, has it as a twice-a-month “optional” part of worship — something that is just completely wrong, especially since they claim to be Lutheran. (Most Lutheran clergy with any sense don’t even consider CCOJ to be Christian, let alone Lutheran because they’re all about numbers and Walt Kallestad’s personality cult. But that’s another tangent…) I’m not going into the wine vs. grape juice battle because it’s not a faith-shattering thing for me — Jon’s internship parish offers both and most people take the wine whether it be in the common cup (the rim of which is cleaned with a peroxide soaked cloth each time) or from one of the “holy shotglasses”. (They’re about the size of a thimble and used in churches where the common cup doesn’t exist. They’re a pain to fill from the pouring chalice but hey… some people prefer using them.)
    I believe that baptism is necessary to salvation and I’m among those who believe in infant baptism. I may not believe in paedocommunion, but I do believe that baptism is the beginning of the process that culminates with Confirmation (at age 13 or 14) and then involves the confirmandi in the life of the church.
  • Language: This ain’t the “Latin vs. English issue” (from the Roman Church) or the “German vs. English” issue that occasionally arises in older Lutheran churches — this is the “inclusive language” debate. For the record, the Lord Almighty is my Heavenly FATHER. My rationale for this is that Jesus referred to Him as “Father” (well… “Abba” actually which means “Daddy” [and as Jon adds is still a masculine noun]) and that’s the proof I need. I understand that some people have issues with their earthly fathers which means that they have difficulties with God as their Heavenly Father and my answer is that God is perfect — their earthly (mortal) fathers are not. Not all men are evil and not all fathers are bad. I have issues with the Trinity as Creator/Redeemer/Sanctifier because it’s very limiting in the roles of the Persons. The Father does so much more than create, the Son does much more than redeem, and the Spirit does more than sanctify.
    Another item on my “lingusitic church irritations” is when people change the creeds and the lyrics of hymns to get rid of masculine language or to “de-catholicize” things. The last part of the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed proclaims belief in in “the holy catholic (and apostolic) church”, not the “Christian church”. The use of “catholic” connotes the universal church, not the Roman Church. (” Catholic” is Roman and “catholic” is universal. Learn your Church History people!) With regard to hymns, I offer this example: it is “High King of Heaven” in the last verse of Be Thou My Vision, not “light of my soul”. The “light of my soul” did not open a can of whupass on the hill of Slane — the “High King of Heaven” did. The concept of a “high king” is an Irish thing and therefore fits the hymn. “Light of my soul” is a very poor attempt at inclusivizing the words. (And yes, I know that most lay people don’t give a rat’s butt about hymn lyrics. This is why I’m not like most lay people.)

    • I think I’ve covered everything. Comments are always welcome. Flames will be burned and the ashes will disposed of accordingly.

    Ideas for Worship (II)

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    The comments to my last post on worship were really what I was going to address in this one so I’ll address them one-by-one. The comments are bolded and my commentary is regular text.

    Lone Aggie writes:

    Due to people being people you can never make everyone happy, but that is also how people grow… usually being exposed to new ideas. Our church has transitioned to a fairly non-traditional worship, and we have an alternative worship for young couples on another night.

    I know that you can never make everyone happy but… you also have to do what the majority asks for. In this case, the majority is pretty happy with the status quo. They had a contemporary worship service years ago but it wasn’t successful.

    I would vote for an alternative service on a different night… if we had the resources (i.e. another pastor) to do it. Bill is already running in about 50 directions during the week. The other problem is that this creates cliques within the church and that’s not healthy for growth.

    Worship is one of the most criticized parts of any church, and that’s something I’ve never really understood. People will tolerate horrible preaching, but get upset if the right hyms aren’t sung.

    The reason it is so criticized is that it is usually the one interaction people have with the church. The church might have Bible studies, but those are not usually as well attended as the Sunday church service. A church’s worship is also its means of evangelism, which means that it’s a pretty important thing in the life of said church. Good worship combines preaching, music, and prayer and there should be a balance. My church sings much of its liturgy and badly sung liturgy can really destroy the balance as well.

    I think the reason people tolerate such horrible preaching at times (and believe me, there have been times when I have been tempted to get up and leave because the preaching has been so horrific — and this was the former dean of the chapel at my seminary) is because preaching might be instructional, but music moves our spirits on a level that preaching doesn’t. Music works on two levels: the words which can be a form of edification and the actual music which appeals to our aesthetic sensibilities. If one is off, it ruins whatever effect the other might have.

    Rick writes:

    Your points as pros and cons are usually true of *both* styles of service. I hate the label “contemporary” when it’s usually just an uptempo version of “traditional”. What’s needed is depth and meaning in worship, a re-training for all of us. These labels get us into a consumerist I-want-it-my-way thing that detracts from the real purpose of the thing – honor and praise to God.

    The “I-want-it-my-way” attitude really irritates me because church should not be like a rock concert — you are not going there to be entertained. You are there to worship God. This is why I hate the whole mega-church movement: in their desire to up their membership, they’ve missed the point of church. I understand the need for people to gather outside of church for fellowship but adding a McDonalds and a gym is not appropriate.

    One of the reasons I am such a liturgy fiend is that liturgical worship is sensual worship:

  • hearing: Listening to Scripture, prayers, sermon, song, organ/piano, and bells

  • seeing: Stained-glass windows, vestments, banners, other art around the sanctuary

  • touch: Kneeling, standing, sitting, genuflecting, walking, bowing

  • taste: Bread and wine/grape juice

  • smell: (in some churches) incense

    • (list borrowed from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Prayer by Mark Galli and James Bell Jr.)

    The fact that it is sensual (in that it appeals to 4 our ot 5 of my senses as I am *VERY* allergic to incense) actually helps me focus and experiencing all of these things actually puts my mind on God. Singing the liturgy is something I love doing and something I miss about not getting to go to Morning Prayer daily. Worship isn’t about what you get — it’s about giving to God.

    OK… I have one of my tiger cubs (the bengal one) rebuking me and telling me to go to bed (it’s only 10:45 pm!) and the other one (the siberian one) chewing on my hand. Methinks it is time to get off and give them some attention. Part III will be up within 48 hours and will probably focus on how I acquired my preferences. Comments are *always* welcome.

    Ideas on Worship (I)

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    At the Youth Committee meeting last week, Bill unveiled the plans for the “Yo Service” which will be a worship service during the Sunday School hour with contemporary elements in it. (I don’t use “contemporary worship” because a.) it’s a buzz term; b.) it’s more just adding some contemporary music; and c.) there is a marked difference between “contemporary worship” and just adding a few more modern elements to worship.) It will be loosely based on the Lutheran service order for the Eucharist with a layout that’s kind of like this:

    -2 songs
    -Prayer
    -Reading of the Sermon Text
    -Sermon
    -Prayers
    -Eucharistic Preface and Prayer
    -Words of Institution
    -Distribution of Communion
    -Final Prayer
    -one more song
    -Dismissal

    We’re looking at this taking about 45 minutes so that the last 30 minutes can be spent in Sunday School discussing the sermon/lessons. The youth could then attend the regular service with their parents or some could work in the nursery during the 10:45 service. The idea is to give them some worship that’s perhaps a little more modern than worship normally is at the church and give them a bit more of a chance to get involved.

    My feelings on the subject? I commend Bill for putting the sketch together because I know what his feelings are on contemporary worship. I’m just a little irritated because the youth who brought it up frequently doesn’t even show up on Sunday because her parents (who are the youth leaders ironically enough) don’t show up. When she does show up, it’s usually the 8:00 service which is about 80% older people. The choir *does* some modern anthems at the 10:45 service and she never attends that. Basically, I feel like this whole thing is pandering to her and I’m really even wondering if she’ll show up if we do it. (Putting it bluntly, let’s consider the source of the whining about adding contemporary elements to worship.) In other words, I’m not incredibly in favor of this. I’m giving Bill support and input on it since I *have* relevant experience in this area; but both Jon (who also has relevant experience) and I expressed our concerns about this.

    Why am I so against starting a contemporary worship service at St. Paul’s? Well…

  • Our church has ultra-traditional worship… and is growing. Yes… we’re growing. Our worship is *VERY* traditional but it is so incredibly well-done that people are attracted to it. We’ve had some of the students from the local university join the church and many of our youth actually *enjoy* the older hymns. We might reach a few of the youth who hate the traditional worship who are already part of the church but will it really cause us to grow?
  • We as Lutherans have a very rich spiritual heritage and it would be wrong to compromise it. We have a very wonderful and rich theological, musical, and cultural heritage as Lutherans and a lot of the contemporary music elements obviate it. Our older hymns are theological rich in addition to being musically aesthetic. A lot of the newer music is simply “rah rah Jesus” or something I could sing to Jesus if He were my boyfriend. *shudders at the thought of some of that music* You can have the sacramental parts of the service but you have to find music that compliments it or you can easily move away from the sacramental and salvific focus of worship. I know that Bill will make sure that we stay faithful to all of this; but there will also be the pressure to make it into a Calvary Chapel or Vineyard type service, which is *NOT* acceptable in a Lutheran congregation. Lutheran churches that do this are apostates and traitors to the faith traditions that have been cultivated for the last 500 years. (The church I am criticizing claims to be an ELCA congregation but has relegated the Eucharist to an optional twice-a-month activity outside the worship service. I can’t even claim that they are Christian at this point because the Eucharist is so fundamental to faith.)
  • It is hard to do a “contemporary service” well. About 90% of the contemporary worship services I have watched or attended are either senior citizen magnets, performances (as opposed to genuine worship), glorified camp sing-alongs, people showing off their sub-par guitar skills, or are filled with people going through the motions. You really have to have a professional musician orchestrating it because the average Joe doesn’t understand balancing instruments and voices. At the seminary, one of the teams did a week of contemporary worship and three of the five days, I walked out in tears because worship was so horrendously awful. (I am really scared of how the person who arranged the music will pastor because he really did a crappy job of it.) The service needs to be worshipful and it shouldn’t just be entertaining the people. One church I attended in the L.A. area had a professional band and 12 “praisettes” all dressed identically leading worship — it was like robots in worship and this was in addition to the sermon being absolutely awful and the big screen TV showing the playland that was supposed to be witnessing to people the next weekend. Another service I attended in northern Ohio was someone playing melody on a keyboard with a worship singer and it was me supply-preaching with everyone else being 65 and over. The good services I’ve attended? Well… the ones I helped with at High Street andChrist were really good (and no.. I’m not tooting my own horn — I would be the first to admit if worship was crappy). Another nice one (in a Lutheran context) was Roseville Lutheran Church in Minnesota. The liturgy was adequate but the music was very well-done and the sermon was excellent. They strove for that balance though and I could tell that a lot of work had gone into making it work.
  • There is the assumption that all the young people want is rock and roll. I did a survey last year for my Ministry of Worship class and gave people three options: traditional (A), contemporary (B), or a blend of the two (C). Most people said a blend with traditional being the second choice. Um yeah… all we want is rock and roll. Many of the people who chose the blend commented that the newer stuff was good but that they did really like the older hymns. My ultimate preference would be a blend of the two if the blend could be done respectfully because a lot of the youth at the church *like* the older hymns but would probably also enjoy some Maranatha pieces or some Rich Mullins or even some of the Gospel stuff from This Far By Faith (the African-American hymnal put out by the ELCA).

    • Since I’ve criticized contemporary worship, I should balance it and point out some flaws with traditional worship:

  • It can get boring if people are just going through the motions. It’s actually pretty easy to sit there and go through the motions in a traditional liturgical service. Believe me, I’ve done it — the mornings after Junior Prom and Senior Ball were two examples. Liturgy can be alive but the people have to want to make it so.
  • The music can be ghastly and the choir anthems can be horrible. Traditional church music is absolutely beautiful when done well but… you need a good organist and you need a choir director who knows their craft well. You also need some good voices in the choir and a balance. This year is the first time I’ve ever sung in a choir with as many men as women and it was fun to do pieces such as All We Like Sheep from Handel’s Messiah because we *had* tenors and basses and good altos and sopranos. The choir should also be *leading* the hymns in the congregation, not performing them.
  • There needs to be some joy in the liturgy and an understanding that these words have a life of their own and are used for a purpose. I love the concept of “explanation Masses” in the Roman Catholic Church because they educate the people as to *why* they do what they do. I think we Protestants could learn from our Catholic brothers and sisters in this respect. The liturgy is ancient and the creeds and prayers are used because they mean something. You have to have this sentiment in the church for traditional worship to be attractive to people.
  • Trying to contemporize traditional liturgy can really obviate the rest of the service. [Insert snarky rant on the evils of inclusive language] I have seen more harm than good done to churches because the pastor or liturgist (if your congregation can afford to have one) has decided to be *creative*. The creeds have been the bedrock of faith for the last 1500 years — they do not need to be re-written to include the birds and the trees and the moon and the stars. Liturgical dance can be done but frequently, less is more and it really should be done sparingly. (I have seen some pretty awful services where liturgical dance has been present. I’m really of the mindset that certain things should not be expressed in the sanctuary.) The prayers should be to the Lord Almighty, not to Sophia or Our Mother in Heaven or even the Creator/Redeemer/Sanctifier (the inclusivized Trinity which is really a good example of the “let’s put God in a box” attitude). I could not (in good conscience) take Communion at a service where the prayers were offered to the above people, nor could I participate in a service where the creeds have been “modernized”.

    • Well… y’all know where to find me, so feel free to comment. Part II will be up tomorrow or the next day.

    3rd Birthdays

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    My mind was so occupied this weekend that I forgot that Meditatio’s 3rd birthday was on Saturday. Before she finally settled on Meditatio, she was “Agape”, a Livejournal, and “My World As It Is Sung”.

    Peacefulwaters.Org turned 3 years old on July 3rd.

    I should like so have made a cake graphic or something…

    **UPDATE** I just uploaded a bunch of my archives from February-March 2001 and February-April 2002.

    Worship Today

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    We got a call yesterday afternoon from a member who was supposed to be helping in worship today with his wife. His wife had fallen off a ladder and bruised herself pretty well, so they weren’t going to be able to make it today. When I reported it to Bill, he looked at me and said, “Well… we can find replacements… unless you want to take over their duties.” I graciously offered to give up my 8:00 service nap to help.

    The Recounting of Events
    Well… if there was ever a morning I needed that nap, it was this one. I had a little too much caffeine yesterday and didn’t get to sleep until probably 2 or 2:30 this morning. To get to church in time for Jon to robe up and get prepped, we have to be out of the house by 7:30 which means that little Jen has to haul tail out of bed by 6:30 — yeah… I was really enthusiastic to do that this morning. I tossed some coffee in my Carnation Instant Breakfast and went over the readings when I got to church. I saw F at the 8:00 service, which is good — we are very much in favor of her being able to attend church without breaking down in tears. (She’s also getting back to work at the LCCVI, which is *VERY* good.) Reading went well as did being the communion assistant.

    I had no kids during Sunday School, so I swallowed my pride and sat in on the Sunday School class taught by one of my Small Group leaders. (For the reason I don’t usually attend adult Sunday School, click here. If you want to reply to me on the subject, reply at Meditatio and not the Livejournal entry.) I was glad I did because C (my Small Group leader) was aware of how tired and spacey I was and let me sit and stare into space. The lesson was on Nehemiah and it was nice to work with some Old Testament things for a change.

    During the 10:00 service, the youth assigned to read didn’t show up, so the announcements ended along the lines of “our reader doesn’t seem to be here… so why doesn’t Jen read since she read the passage at 8:00 this morning?” Bill’s sermon was good considering he had a really weird passage. I have no idea why the RCL people did this; but it was the passage surrounding the feeding of the 5000 and it was on shepherds and stuff.

    The Religious/Theological Stuff
    The Communion hymn today was He Leadeth Me which strikes me as one of those comfort hymns from the turn of the 20th century. (OK… it’s a Civil War era hymn — I was close.) The words are:

    He leadeth me, O blessed thought!
    O words with heav??nly comfort fraught!
    Whate??er I do, where??er I be
    Still ??tis God??s hand that leadeth me.

    He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
    By His own hand He leadeth me;
    His faithful follower I would be,
    For by His hand He leadeth me.

    Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
    Sometimes where Eden??s bowers bloom,
    By waters still, over troubled sea,
    Still ??tis His hand that leadeth me.

    He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
    By His own hand He leadeth me;
    His faithful follower I would be,
    For by His hand He leadeth me.

    Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
    Nor ever murmur nor repine;
    Content, whatever lot I see,
    Since ??tis my God that leadeth me.

    He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
    By His own hand He leadeth me;
    His faithful follower I would be,
    For by His hand He leadeth me.

    And when my task on earth is done,
    When by Thy grace_ the vict??ry??s won,
    E??en death??s cold wave I will not flee,
    Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

    He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
    By His own hand He leadeth me;
    His faithful follower I would be,
    For by His hand He leadeth me.

    Bill seems to like to pick these kinds of hymns for Communion hymns perhaps because so many people know them in the church. (The parish is ultra-traditional in liturgical style and the kids *LOVE* it. When we were planning the outdoor service for last weekend, the youth we had helping us was suggesting all these really old-time hymns, which I found very cool.) A lot of us actually walk up to Communion singing them and the congregation can lead themselves instead of having to rely on a cantor or choir. Anyway, this hymn was a really nice one considering all the panicking I’ve done this week — it’s a reminder that I need to be a faithful follower and that He is leading me, not the other way around. Many times, I want to be the one calling the shots and that isn’t what life with Christ is about at all. I need to echo the 3rd verse and be “content, whatever lot I see, since t’is my God that leadeth me.” I need to be content that the repairs on Sable might cost us an arm and a leg; but the Lord has given us transportation this weekend (for $100+ less than we could be paying if we had to have a rental car). I need to be content that the Lord has a plan for my future and I shouldn’t be worrying about money or jobs or anything (though one of the people in my parish did give me some good info on substitute teaching). I need to be content that everything will be OK and I shouldn’t be panicking about every little thing.

    I think some prayer time now would do me good…

    The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Prayer

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    I was looking at this book on Amazon.Com and I was amazed at how cool it is. It is now at the top of my wishlist. (HINT)

    Part of the Amazon.Com review:
    The Complete Idiot’s Guide series that has taught us how to do everything from making beer, playing bridge, and fishing to gambling, and living with a cat now ventures into the arena of prayer. Although this may seem like a crass and commercial undertaking, it is certainly true that many people feel unworthy or inadequate when trying to give voice to a prayer. As a primer on Christian prayer, this could be the boost that helps a beginner or a doubter take the leap of faith and start a dialogue with God.

    **UPDATE** I broke down and ordered the book.