It never fails. It's in these last few days before Christmas that I grow incredibly annoyed with my collection of Christmas music and the looped playlists on the radio.
Amy Grant, James Taylor, 'N Sync, Nat King Cole, the Rat Pack...even the Brady Bunch. They're all good to me. They each offer an entertaining rendition of my favorite Christmas tunes, but after a month of the same ol', same ol', I'm desperately reaching for the mute button.
If you're anything like me and need some new Christmas tracks to usher in Dec. 25, check out Seth Philpott's Too Much Egg Nog. Texas born and Nashville-based, Seth has the old soul and raw heart of a God-fearing, blue-singing, front porch-sitting man, and his Christmas project is nothing less than Southern brilliance. It's classy and original, jovial and deep. It's soft and heavy like winter velvet and sweet and rich like egg nog. Tinged with a chorus of fun-loving, music-making friends, this seven track digital album will give angels wings, grow the Grinch's heart and make Scrooge smile--yes, it's really that good.
We've heard stories for years about the shrinking number of church organists out there, sometimes attributed to "worship wars" that pit traditional sacred music against contemporary forms. A Nov. 13 report by ABC News contributor Teresa Lostroh looks at another side: As organists age and retire, congregations often lack the means to attract younger, qualified substitutes.
For instance, a Lutheran church in St. Clair Shores, Mich., advertised for someone to serve as a part-time organist and secretary for $38,000 a year, including benefits. They got only four responses: one from an applicant who didn't want to do office work, and three from musicians outside the U.S. who couldn't be hired because of visa issues.
"There's a great supply [of organists] for the right kind of jobs," James Thomashower, executive director of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), says in the story. But those jobs, Ms. Lostroh points out, pay $63,000-$83,000 a year for a full-time organist with a bachelor's degree in organ performance or sacred music—out of the question for small churches, who may then opt for canned music, keyboardists or, yes, praise bands.
Meanwhile, only an estimated one in 100 organist positions are full-time and the number of U.S. organ performance students has dropped more than a third since 1982.
But Christopher Marks, assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Music, still sees reason for hope. Last summer the AGO held eight youth outreach events across the U.S. to spark interest in the instrument, and drew capacity crowds. "I have to emphasize, I go all over the country working with teenage organists, and there are a lot of young, talented students," says Dr. Marks.
I found the jackpot of vibrant young people last Friday
night—over 4,000 messy-haired, skinny jeans-wearing people jumping around and
singing at the top of their lungs…about Jesus. I wish I had bottled up their
passion and energy; I could sell it to sleeping congregations across the
country and make a fortune. (Don’t worry; I’d give United Methodist churches a
discount!)
With more than 25,000 congregants, Hillsong Church in
Sydney, Australia is one of the fastest growing ministries in the world, and they’re
responsible for the praising masses that gathered at Fellowship Church in
Grapevine, Texas last Friday. (Of course, the will of God played a part too!)
Generation Y wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. (I
can confidently say this because I’m a Gen Yer.) A lot of them want to praise
God, but they don’t want to hold a hymnal. They want to “go big or go home.”
Many of them want to love Jesus out loud, but are looking for a platform where
they can rise up and be heard. Hillsong’s music provides this platform and
invites listeners to experience the presence of God.
For more than 20 years, Hillsong LIVE has recorded songs
from its worship community that have resonated in churches across the
world.Known for worldwide worship
anthems such as “Shout to the Lord,” “Mighty to Save,” “My Hope,” “From the Inside
Out” and “Hosanna,” Hillsong Music has recorded 20 albums and sold more than 11 million copies.
For the first time, the Hillsong worship team is on tour
in the U.S. (Unfortunately, they only
have two more shows…and they’re both sold out!)
Lucky for you, I was able to capture some of the highlights
from their Texas concert. Check it out:
You should also check out Hillsong LIVE’s newest releaseA Beautiful Exchange. It’s an album
designed to awaken the listener and generate awe for an infinite, and yet,
intensely intimate God.
It explores themes of sacrifice, redemption, reconciliation and praise. This
album redefines worship as a beautiful exhange—an experience in which we
surrender life for freedom, just as Christ did for us.
Sam Hodges of the Dallas Morning News posted an entertaining feature yesterday on Connections Band. The 15-member rock ensemble made up of United Methodist clergy and lay members in the Dallas area has performed regularly for benefits in the last few years, raising over $100,000 for the denomination’s Committee on Relief and its anti-malaria campaign in Africa.
“I came straight from a wedding tonight and had about 10 minutes to warm up,” the Rev. Brian McPherson told the newspaper last Saturday during a break in their “Super Hits of the ’70s” concert at First UMC in Garland, Texas. “But I love doing this. They kind of let the leash off us for a little bit.”
Read the rest at DallasNews.com. And be sure to visit the band’s official site for a full history and upcoming playdates.
Ash Wednesday is coming up in just a few days. Every year I wonder how many people have attended an Ash Wednesday service, participated in the whole imposition-of-the-ashes thing, gotten all into the reflective frame of mind it inspires, only to be told by someone unaware of the tradition, "Hey -- you got something on your forehead."
If you'd like to pre-empt that phrase this year, I recommend this video. It helps, especially if your friends have some familiarity with, if not appreciation for, '80s pop music (specifically, The Police).
As promised in Friday's blog entry, I was part of the crowd at Friday night's Connections "Super Hits of the '70s" concert. Mary Jacobs brought her camera and was taking shots for an upcoming Reporter feature on ways people are raising money to help Haiti earthquake recovery. The less-than-stellar pic at right is one I took with my phone. Notice the candle in the balcony, blurry but visible in the foreground; the band had someone light it at the beginning of the concert, and the Rev. Eric Folkerth (guitar, vocals) offered a prayer for the people affected by the disaster.
It was really a great evening of music and friends. The sanctuary-turned-concert venue at Northaven UMC was packed; my husband and I sat in extra chairs that had been lined up at the back of the balcony. Connections Band is a large ensemble; you can't see it in the angle of this photo, but they had their horn section out in full force, in addition to several guitars, keyboards, percussion and vocals. They placed offering baskets near all seating areas, giving folks easy access for giving to UMCOR's Haiti Emergency Fund.
After intermission, the band announced that the offering total stood at $11,900. Some folks near us in the balcony were verifying that they'd heard the number correctly. "Eleven-nine?" one man asked. "Well, they just hit twelve," he said as he walked to the nearest basket with a check in his hand.
Latest reports, with donations still trickling in, are close to $14,000. The band puts that number in perspective on their website. Go have a read.
According to a survey by Sorted Magazine (a UK-based men's mag geared toward a Christian audience), men who go to church regularly prefer "proper macho songs" as opposed to those with sentimental lyrics. These hymns comprise the survey's top ten:
1. Onward Christian Soldiers 2. And Can It Be 3. Guide Me O Thy Great Redeemer 4. All People That On Earth Do Dwell 5. Be Thou My Vision 6. How Great Thou Art 7. Amazing Grace 8. Eternal Father, Strong To Save 9. Our God Reigns 10. Lord And Father Of Mankind Forgive Our Foolish Ways
Though only 8 percent consider church "too feminine," music often categorized as "love songs to Jesus" just doesn't fly with them. (Okay, who's surprised there?) Here's The Daily Mail's report on the survey, in case you'd like to read more.
Is there some common masculine thread to the songs listed above? Musically? Lyrically? The list contains several my favorites, and I'm a girl. (But yes, one of them kinda makes me squirm. Crusades imagery just ain't my thing.)
Dean McIntyre of the General Board of Discipleship has a discussion over in the New United Methodist Hymnal group on Facebook, if you're interested in joining that conversation.
I'd heard about it a while back, but today marked the first time I've visited the "New United Methodist Hymnal" group on Facebook (just search that phrase and it'll pop up).
A sampling of the discussion topics: Hymnal - Good; Hymnal - Not-So-Good; Tempo; Projection Version; New Hymnal and the Economy; Amens at the End of Hymns; Inclusive Language About God.
I'm pretty sure that where two or three United Methodists are gathered, there will be at least four opinions. But the cool thing about Facebook in this situation is that it levels the playing field a great deal more than was possible 20 years ago. Diverse opinions can be heard more easily. People who think a new hymnal is a waste of money have the power to say so, and to have upwards of 900 other people see their words. And those who can explain some of the rationale behind the decisions made for hymnals current and future can do that, too.
That said, I'm pretty sure I saw a comment on there from someone who got on Facebook just to ask if there was a way to participate in the discussion without being on Facebook. The short answer: no. True, we can't hear absolutely every voice through one medium. But I'm impressed to see the level of interaction that's taking place.
Yes, we're fresh off yesterday's grim anniversary. And here in Texas, we're fretting over the projections of the path of Hurricane Ike, while people still recover from Gustav in other parts of the Gulf Coast.
So, I'm here to lighten up the mood a bit.
Early in the week, a friend sent me a link to this video. Subject line: "Best.Video.Ever." The only text within the message: "Trust." And I've since encountered it in other places. Kevin Eckstrom over at RNS couldn't even resist it.
I've concluded this video just might be what would happen if Godspell and The Kinks (I'm thinking of their hit "Come Dancing" in particular) were to have a baby.
My favorite line: "He is like a mountie / he always gets his man / and he'll zap you any way he can... Zap!"
The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass., posted a story this morning about the Rev. George Walters-Sleyon, pastor of Weymouth UMC in nearby Mays Landing, N.J. He shares a memory about relief work in his native Liberia—and the impact it’s had on his other calling, as a gospel artist. You’ll find a short video clip below the text. . . .
Charles Wesley's hymns were sung this week in a Catholic basilica in Rome, of all places, during a Dec. 3 ecumenical service marking the 300th anniversary of the hymnist's birth.
In a Catholic News Service story, the president of the World Methodist Council said it was "mind-blowing" to sing Wesley's hymns in Rome.
"I think Charles Wesley would be thrilled," said the Rev. John Barrett. "He did not write these hymns just for Methodist people, but because they expressed Christian truths."
And Cardinal Walter Kasper described Wesley's hymns as showing "eloquent language and theological depth" in capturing the basic truths of the Christian faith.
The service featured a Church of England quartet, an Italian Methodist choir and a gospel choir from an African Methodist Episcopal Zion church in Decatur, Ga.
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