Singing clergy

By Jason Byassee

Those clergy who get to sing are the luckiest. The rabbi at Shabbat services. The Catholic priest who sings as he holds up the consecrated elements, “through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit . . .” A Lutheran seminarian I know closes his office door to prepare for Sundays—he has to get ready to sing. It’s hard to beat a sung Eucharist in an Anglican church.

The point isn’t that these clergy are necessarily good singers: it’s that their community’s vision of worship requires them to break forth in song at certain points. What is it about that that seems, well, more religious somehow?

Mine is a low-church Protestant denomination, and as such I occasionally sing as part of preaching. Not because I’m good at it, but because I can’t abide snoozing, and I’d do about anything to get folks’ attention back. My own pastor has a terrific singing voice, and when she busted into “Amazing Grace” recently, no one joined in. We wanted to hear her. Then we applauded. I don’t remember what the sermon was about, but I’ll never forget her rendition of our greatest hymn.

Something about lines of hymnody cuts deeper than even the most poetic homiletics. Peter Gomes, here in Chicago for our annual Christian Century lecture event, told us that his most intense spiritual practices include the singing of old hymns, that the middle verses, those tucked away in the hymn, reach out and grab him sometimes.

When Lauren Winner expresses concern for unchurched people, she asks: where do they sing? Baseball games? In the shower? Whatever else we Christians do, we sing regularly, and surely that’s good for the soul.

Preachers and worship leaders ought to sing as part of their presiding, at least once in a while. Perhaps it’s best if they sing poorly. Then people will think: something is moving this person with the gravelly voice to belt it out in public. It must be that there is some One worth singing about.

Comments

[real live preacher]

I confess to be a little frightened by this idea. Singing in public scares me. It's so incredibly vulnerable. It strikes me that were I to sing, I would either have to lose that notion (which I could if I did it often enough) or simple be willing to be that vulnerable.

When I was a boy, our pastor (Southern Baptist) once sang Jesus Loves Me from the pulpit in his deep, shaky and not-at-all pretty voice. The congregation sat, stunned and moved, crying. It's the only thing I remember him doing or saying. Pretty powerful.

[Suzy]

I was struck by that just yesterday, singing powerful old hymns with a congregation of three, one of whom does not sing. "Awake my soul and sing, of Him who died for thee ..." "Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime." Singing is different, even when we do it poorly (and I do). It comes from a different place than "saying," and it touches a different place.

[Kent]

Sometimes depending on what's happening in the week, or in my personal life, the inspiration to preach just isn't present.

Something I've done in the past is to take a hymn of four or five verses, and I briefly illuminate a verse with an idea, nothing more than a paragraph in length. Then I invite the congregation to sing the verse. I do the same for the remaining verses.

I rarely hear complaints as it often deepens appreciation for a hymn.

Didn't someone observe that to sing is to pray twice?

[Sarah S. Howell]

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book Life Together (as well as in his short book on the Psalms, Prayerbook of the Bible) encourages singing in communities of faith. He reminds us that it does not matter how good or bad we sound, because "It is not you that sings, it is the church that is singing." I think he also said something in there about how language alone finds it difficult to express the ineffable divinity of God, and adding music to words takes it to another level. This is all coming from a music buff, but I think Bonhoeffer has a point.

[Nan]

In my Lutheran church, quite a few years ago, one Sunday a month, we celebrated "The Service of the Word". It had no chanting, either by the pastor or the congregation and I really disliked it. I feel chanting enriches my worship experience.

[Jim Gorman]

Thanks for this, Jason! I do love to sing in worship. Some years ago I took on the practice of chanting the psalms in a rather low-church liturgy. I started in Lent where we had removed the gloria and alleluia. Something was missing and the psalm was just right. We used the format published by Augsburg (Celebrate) which has all the readings for the Sunday as well as the Psalm pointed for singing. The "Cantor" alternates with the congregation.

In my recent visit to Honduras, I was struck by the amount of bold congregational singing. It must have been two-thirds of the service. It was heart-filling even though it was in a language I don't understand. Just to hear the boldness and the harmonies. Sublime.

[Obadiah Ballinger]

Thank you for this post, Jason! I used to worship in a Lutheran church and the sung melodies of the psalms and various parts of the Eucharist liturgy still resonate in my bones. I am on the lookout now for ways that my current tradition, the UCC, can incorporate more sung liturgy. Jim's comment above is quite helpful.

The church I worship in now sings one verse of hymns at various points throughout the service, often after the assurance of pardon and after the children's message. These are great ways to remember the old tunes by heart and to encourage more singing in the congregation. It's also more participatory and includes those who don't read music, particularly when unfamiliar hymns are sometimes sung.

[Rick Brand]

Just had a week in Iona, Scotland. We had worship every day, morning and night. They had almost no preaching, but they had liturgy and marvelous new music. It was almost enough. I want to sing, but I want to sing a new song unto the Lord. But alas, it finds such opposition.

[Suzy]

Opposition — yes. If anyone figures out how to end the music wars, please let us all know.

Obadiah, Michael Morgan of the PC(USA) has set the psalms to familiar hymn tunes. I believe the book (which is at home, and I'm at the office) is called "The Psalter for Christian Worship." I believe it's from Witherspoon. Those settings are more comfortable for some congregations (especially small ones) than the tonal psalms.

[Amy Frykholm]

Jim, Could you say more about the specific reference for this text? I went online just now to try to find it and I couldn't. We have just started chanting the psalms and right now use only the New Anglican Tone. Everyone is getting comfortable with it, but pretty soon, we are going to need some variety. Thanks!

[Jim Gorman]

The Celebrate Lectionary Insert is published by Augsburg/Fortress and is at their store augsburgfortress.org and search for "lectionary insert" you'll get two matches. Celebrate is the first one. It's a quarterly subscription and there is an insert for each week.

[Jeff Wartgow]

Thank you, Jim Gorman, for keeping an eagle eye open for singing opportunities in the UCC. I remain grateful for having had the opportunity to hear you sing the liturgy of Holden Evening Prayer by Marty Haugen last year when our churches united for Lenten worship. I've been appreciative of the way the congregation I now serve has welcomed sung response to the Psalm each week. The New Century Hymnal offers many inviting options for that.

[Mark Fischer]

When Martin Luther tried to write an essay on justification by grace through faith--all he got out was the title-De justificatio
(On Justification). Legend has it that he scratched across the paper, "its just a rhapsody. It can only be sung about.

[Paul Maurice Martin]

I can see that, although I think it's good that I missed this as a calling. Me breaking into song would have maybe seemed more religious, but would also have been a real cross to bear for my congregation...

Paul - originalfaith.com

[Andrea Walker]

Thank you for this post. I am a Lutheran pastor who has struggled for the past four years singing the liturgy. When I first started, I am sure I frightened my congregation. But now, with voice lessons and much practice, I can stay on key. Singing and music is very important to the congregation and I felt I needed to meet the challenge of chanting the liturgy. But not only that, it has been for me, someone who loves singing--but was not confident-- an extremely worshipful practice. Learning the different liturgies and mastering something that was once beyond me helps me know all things are possible. Now on most Sundays with all the stress of preparing and leading worship, this is the moment when I take a deep breath and "make a joyful noise for the LORD!" Thank you again.

[revbelair]

When one of the dear saints of our church died a few years ago, his wife told me his favorite song was "Don't Fence Me In." It was the only song he wanted at his funeral, she said. And she asked me to sing it because she thinks I am a good singer. I reluctantly agreed. I listened over and over again to a CD of the Bing Crosby / Andrews Sisters version of it but couldn't figure out where to put it in the service. I finally sang it acapella as part of the sermon. Ten days ago, I sat at the side of her hospital bed following a serious stroke. She grasped my hand and said "It meant so much when you sang at his funeral." This from a woman who taught music in our community for over 60 years. I am meeting with her four children today to plan her memorial service and very much on my mind is what song can I sing that is worthy of the life she lived.

[Jerry Carpenter]

I am pastor of a UCC church and I often sing during my sermons. I have done this throughout my ministry. People seem to enjoy it and often they respond that the song is the part of the sermon that they remember. Singing speaks to a different part of the brain than speaking, I believe, and often does stir a drowsy church participant back to being awake. Thanks for this interesting article.

[tim atwater]

thanks for this topic.
even with a so-so voice and no musical training (tho with some oversight from a wife who is v musical and lets me know if i get close to out of bounds) i've found singing in sermons consistently well rec'd in all the churches i've served...
often i can get the congregation to sing a line or a verse or two w out much coaxing.. and often the music is what's remembered most and at the deepest level. We try to pick all the music to go with the message, and find the flow goes both ways, often the music interprets how the text can be proclaimed most effectively, universally, particularly....

I've just started subscription to CC and been wondering (anybody know?) how to find in the archives the recent article on music theory (article by author of a book on music and theology) -- i am particularly fascinated by his concluding discussion of singing the South African national anthem, which is always in four-part harmony. Brought up on jazz from the womb i think there are parallels in the polyphonics of jazz.
Theologically, i feel music reaches many of us in many situations where nothing else we can do works --(not discounting ability of Trinity to do whatever whenever --) And the church unity thang is i believe often only doable with mega doses of Holy Spirit and music...

grace and peace,

[Debra Bendis]

Hi Tim. The article you're looking for is "Sound theology" by Jeremy Begbie. Soon articles will be available to subscribers at christiancentury.org, but for the time being a copy of the issue can be ordered at 312-263-7510, ext "0".

[Susan O]

I was a singer before I was a pastor. It's often hard for me to KEEP from singing! The challenge for the musical pastor is to balance it so it doesn't become about the singing (or the singer), but the Song.

[Pamela Fickenscher]

Last summer as we paddled around in a canoe, I asked my five-year-old daughter what she thought she'd like to be when she grows up. "A pastor," she responded. "Why?" I asked. "Because I like to sing."
Now that she's starting to count how many evening meetings I have to run off to at my congregation, I'm pleased that she still lives with the sense that the singing is central to what I do.