Book of Common Prayer

It's been a strange 10 days - one of highs and lows. Plunging the emotional depths as well as rising to as far as I can guess is heaven on earth. Most of which, I can't write about here and in the public domain (nothing sinister, trust me). Those close to me have been part of that and I praise God that I have such supportive family and friends.

Last weekend I was with my friends at STETS in Salisbury where, in the wonderful setting of the Cathedral Close, we had the most beautiful weather. The focus of the weekend was on the youth and young and my group was on the rota to lead evening worship, based on the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). Initially, we thought that actually leading BCP evening prayer would be 'easy'; straight from the book, lifted off the page stuff, not really requiring too much thought. However, as we reflected, exchanged emails and unpacked it, it wasn't going to be so easy. How could we reflect something of the theme of the weekend in Evening Worship which used the rich language of the 17th Century; and language that the young of today certainly don't use.

Lots of people talk of the language of the BCP having it's place - but this talk being used negatively. However, I bet these are the same people that enjoy Shakespeare and the other rich traditions we have that date back. Why on earth shouldn't worship just be about the language of today? So (and I have to come clean here), I turned, as I so often do, to music. What could we do to enjoy the richness of the language but mix it with where we are today? That great juxtaposition of ancient and modern - and ensuring that people were able to reach God in this short act of worship.

I suggested a number of pieces of music to my group. We went through some stuff on my ipod. Listening carefully to words, music and the whole 'ambience' of songs. And these were secular songs, not religious. We then also decided that the place for the hymn would be taken by playing a piece of music. These were the pieces we chose:

1. Before the prayer




2. In place of a hymn



3. After the prayer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUJ-B6oVDQ



I think it worked well. And I hope those there were able, through both the music and the words to connect with God. The feedback was good. The only negative was that people couldn't make out the words - a bit of a downside, but I don't know how important that is in this context.

My conclusion? I've banked this one - and would very much like to try it with a group of young people and see what we can come up with at some time in the future.


and as a PS: next time I do this, I would also show the videos - they all connect and, in my view, having just watched them make the lyrics even more powerful.

Music

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 I haven't really posted about my experiences of Easter School. I was, however, thinking earlier today of a conversation I was having with one of my fellow students at STETS about music within worship and how it is used. I'm a big music fan, with around 12,000 songs on my ipod which vary in genre greatly, from rock and pop to Orthodox chants.

During Easter School, the theme of which was 'Christian Anthropology: being human and a 'new creation''. The second year group shared responsibility for worship throughout the week which, it was stressed should be simple and based upon the five senses. There was a rich tapestry of worship, all quite brief, but for which a lot of thought and care had been taken in compiling. My group was to lead worship on Saturday and we had planned to use some music with it. Originally, the plan had been to use some classical music - some Easter Orthodox. Being the person with the ipod, it was left to me to choose something suitable.

As the week went on, I had in my head a particular song that I had desperately wanted to play, seemingly appropriate for the theme of the week. It was only, however, a few minutes before worship that I asked my group whether it was something that could be used during our worship. Potential to plunge plans into chaos!!!

Anyway, the group very kindly agreed. This is the track.....




We played it on a loop. However, this then begged the question as to what was 'right' to play during worship itself. Again, prior to my spanner in the works, we had chosen a classical piece. I didn't think it would be right. I suggested another option:




People entered the hall for worship with a spring in their step and moving into worship, I sensed that the right choice had been made. I believe people were able to engage with God within the music.

It does lead on to the question of whether Christians in liturgy should use secular music. I say "why not?" There are some caveats, however and those leading or constructing worship (would that be a liturgist?) do need to take into account a number of factors;

•  one of the most important being the lyrics contained within the song (if there are lyrics). What do (or do they not) they say? There are plenty songs with sexist, anti-Christian lyrics or those that might just plain offend. That should be the first port of call before anything else is considered. 
• where and when is the music being used? If there is more than one piece of music, do they blend in together are they are the same style? If not, ensure there is sufficient space between tracks
• volume; if music is used in a meditative environment, ensure that it is loud enough but not so loud that it drowns out people's thoughts. Some music is great as people are entering church or the worship space - but consider what atmosphere that is being created; and what the worship is. 

I have always found music a way to connect with God in both quiet prayer but also in corporate worship. It doesn't suit everyone and I appreciate that it isn't too everyone's taste, but it can enrich our liturgy if used correctly. I would always say that enough thought and prayer has gone into selecting the 'right' music, try it!

Here's some more music that I have used in worship:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUJ-B6oVDQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNn5GUZXeIo&feature=PlayList&p=86F01253FE1A4A1C&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMwi__3dElI