posted on February 22, 2010 in Patricia Schneider

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Now I know how Jesus felt when he knew his days were numbered. How his heart must have ached to leave behind those he loved.

posted on February 15, 2010 in Wondering Wanderer

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This marks my tenth little step along this wandering, wondering path and, though the theologians have winced and the traditionalists have shuddered, they haven’t thrown me out of the Presbyterian Church yet.

posted on February 15, 2010 in In Song

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I’ve spent a lot of time hanging around worship leaders, picking their brains. I here offer the fruits of my kleptomania.

posted on February 15, 2010 in Patricia Schneider

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I lift the apples out from the bottom of the box. They’ve been there all winter. They are no longer the firm, round gourmet delights they were when first placed there.

posted on February 8, 2010 in Patricia Schneider

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“My grandchildren are being raised Catholic.”

As a Protestant, (and an elder in the Presbyterian Church), that statement is one I never thought I’d have to make.

posted on February 1, 2010 in In Song

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There they were, Haitians singing, dancing and drumming what CNN Guy called “religious songs” as they patiently waited for basic necessities. Here I was, safe inside my home, wanting to sing and pray along with these people that I didn’t know.

posted on February 1, 2010 in Wondering Wanderer

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Maybe demographics explain why many of us drift into gardening as the years pass. One of my mother’s favourite stories was about the day, as a tiny diapered tot, I backed into a rose bush—so perhaps destiny is at work.

posted on February 1, 2010 in In Song

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Room 217 is a series of CDs designed to offer musical comfort to people suffering illness or facing death, and to those who care for them. This project, initiated, developed and produced by pianist and composer, Bev Foster, has many facets.

posted on February 1, 2010 in Patricia Schneider

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I wasn’t very full of hope. We’d hit some hard times and the place we were headed seemed like the end of the earth.

posted on February 1, 2010 in Letters

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Re Churches Share Less with National Offices, December News

I am saddened and concerned that our staff at national offices will have one week of unpaid leave in 2010 and 2011 and will receive no cost of living allowances during these years.

I am grateful for the work the staff do. Whenever I have sought help or guidance, I (and the congregation I am with) have been well served. In the loss of one week, we lose their valuable services. If we choose to cut the number of staff in our church offices, there will be a loss.

My concern comes when I imagine walking a mile in our national staff’s shoes. Our church has placed a stressful burden upon them. We have not asked this of other professional workers in our denomination. I feel uncomfortable as a minister who will not face the same consequences.

I recognize the Assembly Council’s decision may be the best choice among the available options. Nevertheless, it needs to be a wake-up call. We need to support our staff well through Presbyterians Sharing. We need to plan to make sure there is equity in the sacrifices we make when difficult economic times come.

So, I want to share a message with our national staff. Your work is of great value. Our church is stronger because of your faithfulness.

posted on February 1, 2010 in Called to Wonder

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Click here for this month’s Called To Wonder.

posted on February 1, 2010 in Features, Music

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Amanda Lewis / iStockphoto

Worship is a complicated thing. Jesus said we are to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. But what does that mean? Simply put: true worship exists only when God’s Spirit is present. God, whose creativity is limitless, who made every snowflake and fingerprint unique, lives outside the box. He calls us to do the same. I think that’s why I enjoy contemporary praise and worship music.

It is music that’s outside the box.

I’ve recently asked people in our church if they enjoy the contemporary worship songs we sing at the beginning of our Sunday services and if so, why. Their answers have expressed individual preferences and commonalities.
“When I arrive at church, still preoccupied with worries like my job, or an argument I had with my wife, the music helps change my focus. It draws my attention away from me and towards God.”

“It lifts my soul and I can feel God speaking to me.”

“The words are like my words. They reflect the way I feel.”

“They’re personal. Hymns are about corporate worship, but for me, when I sing worship songs there are only two people in the room — God and me.”

“I love music. It’s the centre of my life. But I can’t pick up my guitar and play most hymns. They’re too complicated. Worship songs are for everyday musicians like me.”

“I feel God’s peace when I sing them, in a way I don’t feel when I sing hymns, though I love singing old hymns too.”

“Worship music speaks to my kids. And when it speaks to my kids it speaks to me.”

“I create my own harmonies when I sing, so every time it’s a new song. I know my being able to do that is a gift from God. So I give the gift back to Him every time I sing.”

We live in a generation that’s more familiar with electric guitars than pipe organs. From today’s grandparents down, we’ve grown up listening to rock and roll. It’s the musical backdrop of our lives. And if we are to authentically express our faith and worship God, it must be in our own language.

That does not negate the value of traditional church music. I’m quite convinced God enjoys Gregorian chants, Baroque oratorios, Wesleyan hymns, country gospel and contemporary worship songs equally, if they are sung with a heart of worship. Otherwise, we’ve missed the point and our music, no matter how beautiful, is a clanging symbol or a sounding gong in God’s ears.

During the late 1990s, a church in Watford, England, lost its musical focus. People came from miles around to hear each Sunday’s performance, drawn by the thrill of their dynamic music ministry. Worshipping God, however, became a secondary concern. The pastor was disturbed by this misplaced allegiance and cancelled all music for a period of time. When the fast finished, worship leader Matt Redman wrote,

When the music fades,
all has slipped away and I simply come
Longing just to bring something
that’s of worth that will bless your heart.
I’ll bring you more than a song;
for a song in itself is not what you have required. You search much deeper within through the way things appear, you’re looking into my heart.

Music is at the heart of worship. It is intimate, emotional. It expresses our passion for the God we adore. It is a reflection of who we are at our most basic level.

Joni Eareckson Tada once said, “We are finite creatures, and although God chooses to live in us, we cannot contain His infinite nature.”

I think of that whenever I open myself to Him in worship. Sometimes my tears flow — not a very attractive idea for a control-loving Presbyterian like me. But if my worship is to be authentic, it has to be about Jesus, not me. I need to put aside my personal security and open myself to His touch. And for me it’s through contemporary worship songs that I am the most real before God.

posted on February 1, 2010 in News

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Activists at the Gaza Freedom March. Photo - CP images.

Two familiar youth, Hannah Carter, 27, and Laura Ashfield, 23, left for Cairo on Christmas Day to join a march demanding that Israel open its borders to the people of Gaza.

The duo attended at the request of the Canadian Friends of Sabeel and did not represent the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

The Gaza Freedom March was organized by an international coalition formed after Israel’s 22-week conflict in Gaza in 2008 and 2009. About 1,300 international walkers from 40 countries planned to enter Gaza through Egypt, join local residents, then meet an Israeli-led solidarity march at the Erez border crossing, Gaza’s main entry and exit point for journalists, diplomats and aid workers. The march was intended to mark the one-year anniversary of the Gaza attacks, which left about 1,400 Palestinians and over a dozen Israelis dead.

Egyptian officials barred the group from meeting together in Cairo and entering Gaza, citing security concerns. According to Al Jazeera, only 92 delegates eventually crossed the borders. The remainder protested in Cairo on Dec. 31 before disbanding on Jan. 2.

Carter and Ashfield, as representatives of the Canadian Friends of Sabeel, were among those who signed their names to the “Cairo Declaration,” a controversial public statement crafted by the activists, which equates Israel with South Africa during apartheid and backs a United Palestinian call for a boycott and sanctions against Israel.

The two young women have participated in the International Youth Conference at the Sabeel Centre, Jerusalem, with sponsorship by the Presbyterian Church’s Youth In Mission program. Ashfield was one of four Sabeel delegates who entered Gaza two years ago to worship with a local church.

The duo provided their own funds for the recent trip. At press time, both were in Jerusalem meeting with Sabeel’s partner churches. They planned to travel to the West Bank.

Carter is a professional photographer and founder of From Palestine With Love, a movement that seeks to educate Canadians about the situation in Israel and Palestine through firsthand accounts and photography.

Ashfield is a PCC-sponsored intern at Project Ploughshares, an ecumenical agency that develops policies for nuclear disarmament and peace.

About 1.5 million people live in Gaza, which has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since Hamas took power in the region in 2007.

posted on February 1, 2010 in People & Places

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First, Chatham, celebrated its 175th anniversary last October.  Dr. Leighton Ford,of Leighton Ford Ministries, was the guest speaker.  He’s seen with Rev. Mike Maroney cutting the anniversary cake. Ford was born and raised in Chatham and attended First as a boy. 

posted on February 1, 2010 in Features, Music

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Mary Lee Woodward / iStockphoto

What can the Book of Praise tell us about our identity as Canadian Presbyterians? That was the challenge I took for my term paper in pursuit of a master’s degree in sacred music at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas. On a large spreadsheet I put the contents of the book into various streams, such as folk hymns, praise and worship music, classic hymns, global songs, gospel songs, and more. Then I had to choose five to share with my class. This was patently excruciating — so many great hymns, so little time! I invite you to consider the five hymns I chose to sing with my class, and how I feel they represent our piety as members of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

WITH THE LORD AS MY GUIDE
Jim Strathdee (#574)
Many of the hymns we sing are creedal — in singing them, we sing what we believe. This hymn expresses a sturdy, resolute faith in God, which is supported by the many scriptural allusions in the text. By faith, this hymn says, we will face the trials of the wilderness like our Israelite forbears, accept God’s commands to us as Moses did on Mount Sinai, and become aware of the great eternal spring, which wells up inside each of us, as Christ revealed to the Samaritan woman at the well. Scriptural paraphrase and allusion play an important part in our denomination’s hymns, which reflect our Reformed heritage and our continual looking to scripture for guidance and strength. This hymn also reflects the rich vein of folk-inspired hymns in the Book of Praise. This musical idiom appeals to us uniquely as Canadians, with our singer-songwriter tradition in homegrown talent such as Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and the more recent voices of Rufus Wainwright and Feist. The sturdiness of the words calls out for an equally sturdy, rollicking tempo — I can hear fiddle, penny whistle and Celtic-style drum (bodhrán) as possible accompaniments.
 
JUMP WITH JOY
from Malawi, Chichewa chorus,
translated by Clara Henderson (#406)
This exuberant call-and-response song is an example of the smaller songs included in our hymnal for moments of joyful praise in the community. A leader, such as the music director, a small group of youth or the choir can sing the initial call lines, with the congregation providing the responses. Throw in a drum and shakers and away we go. In my home congregation we have sung it during the time for the children, who provide the jumping with expert skill. Canadian missionary Clara Henderson, who lives and works in Malawi, translated this song from its original language. It represents both the wide variety of global Christian song represented in the book, and the missional aspect of our church’s mandate through its global partnerships forged by Presbyterian World Service and Development.
 
GOD IS LOVE: COME HEAVEN, ADORING
Timothy Rees (#314)
Part of the mandate of the Book of Praise task force was to update hymn texts whose language had become dated, while remaining sensitive to the theology, poetry and context of the original. This hymn, originally titled God is Love, Let Heaven Adore Him, was revised in a team effort. The strength of the revision lies in the new perspective it brings to the hymn. Where the earlier version used a more passive sentence structure, the revision employs imperative language, inciting the very foundations of the earth to bring praises to God. The earlier line “Let creation sing before Him” gives way to the arresting image, “Come creation, voices soaring…” Seamless, sensitive revisions such as this one ensure that the hymns of the past continue to speak to the present and look toward the faith community to come.
 
ALTHOUGH I SPEAK WITH ANGEL’S TONGUE
1 Corinthians 13,
paraphrased by Andrew Donaldson (#695)
This hymn, like God is Love: Come Heaven, Adoring, represents the largest single tradition in our hymnal: that of classic, multi-stanza, poetic hymns, especially as written after the Second Vatican Council by poets such as Fred Pratt Green, Brian Wren, Sylvia Dunstan, Margaret Clarkson and Michael Perry, to name a few. This type of hymn has a rational, exegetical focus that is important to our piety — they articulate in reasoned terms how we understand our faith. Scriptural paraphrase is also a focus of this idiom, as in this one from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (full disclosure: composer and church musician Andrew Donaldson, who was co-editor of the Book of Praise, is my dad). The art of this form is to take only the words of scripture and work them into the metre for the hymn text. This example is beautifully paired with the Newfoundland folk melody She’s Like the Swallow. Newfoundlanders may be tickled to know that a small pocket of students in Dallas now know this lovely tune.

O LORD, OUR LORD, HOW MAJESTIC IS YOUR NAME
Michael W. Smith (#409)
This hymn represents the hands-clapping, toe-tapping side of worship expressed especially by Presbyterian youth at gatherings such as Canada Youth and Triennium. However, its driving rhythms and syncopation can be enjoyed at any age. Reading, singing and praying the Psalms is an important aspect of our Presbyterian heritage, and this hymn provides a joyful expression of Psalm 8. It appears as a Psalm refrain in the companion Book of Psalms used in many congregations. It would work equally well with rhythmically driven piano accompaniment or played by a praise team with electric guitar, bass and drums. While contemporary or praise and worship music occupies only a small portion of the hymnbook, it represents a growing movement in the church, and deserves a place in the discussion as we contemplate our future. 
 
This project taught me that our denomination’s hymnal contains a wide variety of materials for expressing our faith through song. I came across many hymns I had never sung before, and many that I hadn’t known were in the book. Inevitably, each congregation that uses the Book of Praise will develop its own canon of hymns that speak to its own community and particular piety. A list of five representative hymns would look very different from one congregation to the next. I would be interested to know what your congregation’s canon looks like — but I warn you, the hard part will be choosing only five!

posted on February 1, 2010 in For the Record

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Blame it on Aristotle. If you happen to miss church on Feb. 28 because you are watching the men’s gold medal hockey game, that is. On the other hand, you might want to make sure you are in church to pray for our side!

But if you aren’t, you can always point out that Aristotle said music at the Olympics is divinely inspiring.

Seriously. I quote from The Politics: “Music at the Olympic games … fills the soul with enthusiasm.” In the Greek of Aristotle’s time, enthusiasm, from the words en (in) theos (God), means “possessed by God” or “inspired.”

That said, with all due respect to David Foster’s rousing theme for the 1988 Calgary Games, I’ve never been much moved by Olympic songs.

Perhaps Ari was thinking more along the lines of the hymns Welsh rugby fans sing.

It’s true. A French rugby player once said how utterly demoralizing it was for opponents when the Welsh fans would begin singing, because it would fire up the Welsh side so.

Hymns can do that. Some years ago I attended a Cymanfa Ganu, several thousand people singing Welsh hymns. It made your hair stand on end and brought more than one lump to the throat. I think it was the 2,000 or so tenors — farmers, miners, doctors and lawyers — who know all the parts to all the great hymns by memory.

The three tenors? Ha! They’re squeaking mice by comparison.

This is obviously a long segue into our cover package this month on the role of music in religious worship. And in Wales, rugby is as much a religion as Habs hockey is in Montreal.

But I digress. Some of our authors this month mention their favourite hymns, so I thought I’d share a few of mine.

In return, perhaps you will post comments on them on our website and add your own favourites. We’d love to hear what really stirs your soul.

While you’re at it, take a look at Andrew Donaldson’s In Song blog: presbyterianrecord/articles/insong.

I’m going to stick with the Welsh connection for my first hymn tune. It’s Blaenwern, and appears with two sets of lyrics in the Book of Praise. I love this tune partly because it is so simply constructed and yet has such an emotional build. If you attend a Welsh hymn sing, you may hear the latter half of the tune repeated once or twice after the last verse, just like some great pop tunes.

My second pick is also a tune found in the Book of Praise, but the words aren’t. Charles Wesley’s O Thou Who Camest From Above is all about inspiration. It is set to the lovely tune Hereford, written by Charles’s grandson, Samuel Sebastian Wesley.

Here’s verse three: “Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire to work and speak and think for thee; still let me guard the hold fire, and still stir up thy gift in me.”

I’m also quite fond of tunes written or arranged by the contemporary English composer Noël Tredinnick. His crushed, jazz-influenced harmonies are gorgeous.

Majestas is a tune written by Michael Baughen arranged by Tredinnick. The words, Name of All Majesty, were written by Timothy Dudley-Smith.

Singing this hymn reminds me of Graham Sutherland’s extraordinary Christ the King tapestry in Coventry Cathedral. The last verse:

Source of all sovereignty,
light, immortality,
life everlasting
and heaven assured;
so with the ransomed,
we praise him eternally,
Christ in his majesty –
Jesus is Lord!

Although this particular hymn is in Hymns for Today’s Church, Baughen, Tredinnick and Dudley-Smith all have tunes and words in the Book of Praise.

My final two are the beautiful words Come Down, O Love Divine, set to equally transporting music by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Siyahamba (We are Marching in the Light of God), a South African Xhosa hymn translated and set to music by the Swedish South African, Anders Nyberg. Both hymns are in the Book of Praise.

The point of singing hymns, of course, is to help us draw nearer in spirit to God. Which may be why the Welsh have another hymn that asks God for a pure heart in order to “Sing in the day, sing in the night.” ■

posted on February 1, 2010 in Letters

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Re The Universal Word, Theology 101, December

I agree that for the word of God, there are no outsiders — we are, after all, all children of God. And all of humankind has been created in the image of God. And it is God’s will that everyone be saved. But God has chosen to give us the gift of free will. Thus, we can choose to be separated from God; we can choose our own destiny even though He still sees us as His children.

I believe the Bible shows us how we are to live, how we are to make choices, and how we can be saved. I don’t believe that arrogance, prejudice and feelings of superiority are Christian feelings — here we see our human shortcomings, our sins as Christians. We are called to serve, called to humility, called to treat all others as Jesus treated the marginalized people of his time. Jesus gave us the great commission so that his plans for all of humankind can become reality. We need to enter into dialogue with others in love and humility, not with feelings of superiority. We are to love others by following the example of Jesus, who kissed the leper clean. Then others will understand that this is the only way to salvation, that the Good News is for everyone, that Christianity got many things wrong in its history, but that Christ didn’t get it wrong at all.

Also, we need to obey the will of God as revealed in the Bible without understanding everything, for God’s ways are not our ways. It is not for us to understand whether others will go to heaven or not, but we are to do the will of God as it is revealed to us through the word. The rest needs to be left up to God.

posted on February 1, 2010 in Music

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Christian bands, such as Skillet, and As I Lay Dying, use music as an evangelistic tool, introducing audiences who are unfamiliar and even antagonistic toward the church and to the gospel message of love and forgiveness.

Seeker music, think Hillsong, combines few notes with repetitive lyrics. It intentionally avoids complex terminology and musical form, enabling the unchurched worshipper to focus on one idea being presented.

Musician and worship leaders Chris Tomlin and Robin Mark introduce theological concepts into their songs. Lyrics use current vernacular and avoid Christian clichés. Music is designed to supplement and strengthen the emotional impact.

posted on February 1, 2010 in News

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Sardar Begum tends to the goat she bought with a loan from the women’s saving group at Haji Jabero Village, Pakistan.

During a visit to Canada last fall, I was repeatedly confronted by the question: Is it worth investing resources and effort in development initiatives in Pakistan? This question was probably generated by negative images in the media about the ongoing conflict with extremists in Pakistan, which is taking its toll on the Pakistani public’s security and well-being. Suicide bombings are a daily occurrence in parts of Pakistan, killing countless civilians.

There is no doubt that extremism and the resulting conflicts are huge setbacks for development; for instance, since May 2009 over three million people have been displaced from the northern areas where the conflict is concentrated. Girls’ education has faced a huge setback; in Swat about 200 girls’ schools have been destroyed by extremists. Lives and livelihoods have been uprooted. Coupled with this are the daily realities of inflation, a rise in food prices, and water scarcity which is affecting the agricultural productivity of small farmers, especially in the province of Sindh.

It is precisely in conditions such as these that compassion and support can go a long way in providing hope in the lives of those who suffer the most. It is the untold stories of change, often not picked up by the media, that motivate and empower people, especially at the grass-roots level. Presbyterian World Service and Development in partnership with Church World Service — Pakistan/Afghanistan recognizes the necessity of remaining committed to the needs of the most vulnerable in Pakistan. Besides responding to the immediate needs of people suffering as a result of the recent displacement, PWS&D is engaged in long-term development programs. These address food insecurity, improving livelihoods and promoting women’s empowerment. As I responded to questions about whether Pakistan is truly worth it, images of women and men from the communities we work with came to my mind — people who are an inspiration to others. I was able to share stories of conviction, courage and change from some of the projects that are supported by PWS&D.

We have seen that a little organization, mobilization and education can go a long way in boosting women’s confidence to step out of the routine confines of their roles to make more meaningful contributions towards family well-being and decision-making. Sardar Begum is one of these women, who is part of a women’s group that saves money regularly so women can take out small loans on a rotational basis. With a loan of just $33, Sardar Begum bought a small male goat. She anticipates selling him some months later for about $110. Not only will she be able to repay the loan, but with the profit she will help her husband buy seeds for the next crop. Similarly, Amina Bibi is running a small tuck shop with a loan of only $12, with returns of $30 per month. Economic empowerment has helped change women’s status in their families, channeling resources towards the health and education of their children. Such change has a multiplication effect, not only on the well-being of immediate family members but also as a way to motivate and inspire other women. There are countless other stories of women and men who have transformed their lives, ridding themselves of debt and exploitation. We must not let the images and news of violence overshadow the stories of hope and change.

posted on February 1, 2010 in Letters

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Re Zander Dunn, December Letters

I want to thank Zander Dunn for his honesty about how he arrives at his theology, taking from the Bible that which is most helpful to him. But that, really, is the issue. We may all do that to some extent, but is that what we’re supposed to do? Are we to judge the truth or is the truth to judge us? Do we find our own way to God or does God show us the way?

In order to hold the opinion Zander holds about universalism, he needs to do away with (or at least ignore) large portions of scripture, just as Marcion tried to do centuries ago. Zander contends that the portions of scripture that support universalism are more Christ-like than those which don’t. But to which Jesus is he actually comparing them? The one who spoke about wheat and tares, sheep and goats? In order to suggest that universalism is more Christ-like, Zander then has to radically remake Jesus. In whose image is he then going to remake him? And where does the remaking end?

Zander also misses my point when he suggests that the Apostles’ Creed’s use of the words “I believe …” gives us permission to follow them with whatever words we like. It is the very fact that the whole church follows “I believe …” with the same words that defines the church, that defines our faith as Christian faith, and turns that chorus of “I’s” into a unison “we.”