Interested, that is quite a good idea, as long as it does not obscure Richard Peers’ piece that I would like to see similarly attached. I have long felt that the Church is very short-sighted and self-defeating in avoiding the concept of “spirituality”. True, it is a pretty recent “buzz-word” that can be defined so loosely that it can be almost meaningless. Nonetheless, it speaks of a reality, so well articulated by Peers; vast numbers of people in contemporary life are searching for meaning, direction and a sense of who they are in relation to the universe. The Christian Church… Read more »
Yep, every word. The need for people to find peace and stillness is universal, and when churches are perceived (erroneously, but unfortunately not entirely so) as likely to contain ranting homophobes with guitars and tambourines people seeking that centre are unlikely to come through the door. That the Anglican liturgy contains much of beauty, wonder and value for both believer and cultural Christian alike gets buried under the obsession – of a numerically small, but unfortunately noisy minority – about who is doing what with whose genitals.
‘Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!’ Ps 150
There’s nothing wrong with praising God with a guitar. However, in Churches where a guitar is the preferred musical accompaniment, one usually finds judgementalism, off-putting certainty and homophobia among the ministers and people.
Then could I suggest you go after the judgementalism, off-putting certainty and homophobia, not the guitars? Personal word. In the 1970s as a teenager I attended a country church in Essex. Small congregation, all old people, totally traditional worship, pipe organ, hymns A & M etc. Totally boring to a teenager like me. Then came the charismatic renewal. Five years later Sunday attendance was over a hundred, lots of children and young families, Series 3 communion, folk-style worship music with yes, guitars. To me it was a breath of fresh air. Nowadays I love traditional hymns and anthems too, but… Read more »
Trevor Thurston-Smith’s piece should be nailed up on the door of every church in the country.
Interested, that is quite a good idea, as long as it does not obscure Richard Peers’ piece that I would like to see similarly attached. I have long felt that the Church is very short-sighted and self-defeating in avoiding the concept of “spirituality”. True, it is a pretty recent “buzz-word” that can be defined so loosely that it can be almost meaningless. Nonetheless, it speaks of a reality, so well articulated by Peers; vast numbers of people in contemporary life are searching for meaning, direction and a sense of who they are in relation to the universe. The Christian Church… Read more »
Yep, every word. The need for people to find peace and stillness is universal, and when churches are perceived (erroneously, but unfortunately not entirely so) as likely to contain ranting homophobes with guitars and tambourines people seeking that centre are unlikely to come through the door. That the Anglican liturgy contains much of beauty, wonder and value for both believer and cultural Christian alike gets buried under the obsession – of a numerically small, but unfortunately noisy minority – about who is doing what with whose genitals.
As a lifelong guitarist I have to say that this common TA vendetta against guitars gets a little wearing after a while.
There’s nothing wrong with guitars. As long as they’re not strummed in Church
As they said in the 19th century about organs.
‘Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!’ Ps 150
Thank goodness – no guitars on that list ….
Guitar builders are called ‘luthiers’ – therefore…
There’s nothing wrong with praising God with a guitar. However, in Churches where a guitar is the preferred musical accompaniment, one usually finds judgementalism, off-putting certainty and homophobia among the ministers and people.
Then could I suggest you go after the judgementalism, off-putting certainty and homophobia, not the guitars? Personal word. In the 1970s as a teenager I attended a country church in Essex. Small congregation, all old people, totally traditional worship, pipe organ, hymns A & M etc. Totally boring to a teenager like me. Then came the charismatic renewal. Five years later Sunday attendance was over a hundred, lots of children and young families, Series 3 communion, folk-style worship music with yes, guitars. To me it was a breath of fresh air. Nowadays I love traditional hymns and anthems too, but… Read more »