3) We should consider with great care the core hymns that our particular congregation should know, and then plan how to teach these hymns over the course of a year or ten years.
After choosing the hymns and considering how to introduce each one, it's a good idea to hang a year-long calendar on the wall to keep track of how many times a particular hymn has been sung.
We can allow the hymn to mean more if we also take care in how we introduce it.
Examples of introductions include: a) a verbal explanation of a hymn's possible meaning or key words or biblical references, from the pulpit; b) a written explanation of the same in the bulletin or church newsletter; c) a Hymn of the Month that the congregation comes to expect to sing for four weeks (with reviews planned by the worship leader); d) a choral arrangement of the hymn in the week prior to the congregation's singing it, or a choral presentation of the first stanza before the congregation joins in; e) a lengthy piano, organ, orchestra, or band introduction of the tune, whether as a prelude to the service or as a simple introduction before the congregation sings.
Combinations of these methods can work very well.
2 comments:
Rebecca, great work on the blog! Keep it up.
Just a thought on the idea of the “democracy of the dead” – it seems that any community in which tradition thrives is in fact a “democracy of the living” which simply shows strong preferences for things of the past instead of (or along with) things of the present. And perhaps members of these communities place a value on tradition, as such, as well. Nevertheless, it is always a matter current taste, so isn’t saying “give the dead a vote” the same as saying “you have bad taste”? Which would of course be a fine thing to say, in my opinion.
Thanks so much for your comment, Mike! I'm going to copy it up to the "Give the Dead a Vote" post and respond there.
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