Thursday, February 08, 2007
CLASSIC OR RELIC?
This week the Militant Moderate received a post card from a well-intentioned, appropriately assertive church in town. It was an advertising invitation to a "classic" church service for all those who long for the old, traditional religious hymns and who want a straight-forward sermon presentation. Of course, the service was scheduled for 9:30 a.m on Sunday morning, an unearthly housr when only old people who go to bed with the chickens on Saturday night are presumed to be available for such a special service. Nevertheless, we applaud their effort.
This octogenarian was surprised, if not shocked, a decade or two back to find that "golden oldie" as a music format for radio stations had ceased to be the big band era of the forties and had instead become the age of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
These days nearly every church seems to have a music director who wants the congregation to sing a bunch of ditties with repetitive "feel-good" lyrics. They call these "praise choruses." It is something comparable to a steady diet of "Away in a Manger," "Jesus Loves Me," and "Jesus Loves the Little Children," except that the rhythm, sound, and lyrics are unfamiliar and irritating to nearly everyone middle age or beyond. Most attendees are middle age and beyond, so only about 10 or 15 percent, other than the choir, are singing. This a circumstance of which most music directors appear to be oblivious, or purposely ignore.
Many of the hymns in our hymnals are indeed classics. Some of these are the great music of the ages, boasting an enduring public popularity through the centuries. Many are expressive of a deeper theology which has survived the tests of human experience from ages past. Disdain for such is akin to being sacrilegious. For the worshiper these hymns express love, praise, faith, dependence, commitment, comfort, and prayer, among other expressions toward God. Depth of spirituality is common.
Of course, it is true that some of older hymns drone a bit, and some may seem couched in analogies unfamiliar in this age. Perhaps some no longer fit themes of a modern worlld, but "Nearer My God to Thee" is just as appropriate today as when it was sung on the deck of the Titanic.
Further, it is true that some modern songs may be incorporated and become classics themselves. This relic can remember when we adopted into our repertoire popular songs such as "How Great Thou Art" and "In His Hands." But these songs have special meaning, plus endearing and enduring qualities.
The writer is fortunate enough to attend a church that always incorporates the classics into its song service. He also benefits from listening to a minister who gives a thoughtful, "straight-forward" sermon free of politics. He found such a church after escaping from one which featured 30 minutes of standing while the choir (and a few others) sang praise ditties every Sunday, accompanied by loud band instruments, amplification, and the like.
Let us hope that it is not necessary for us to separate the generations into segregated church services, whatever label we affix to these. Let us hope also that it is not necessary for seniors to change churches or denominations in order to find compatible church music and worship programs. Seniors have become victims of demographics in television programming, literature, and technology. Let us hope they do not become so in the religious realm.
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
