Review: Angus Sutherland
Angus Sutherland, minister at Doon Presbyterian in Kitchener, Ont., is also a multi-instrumentalist: bagpipes, penny whistle and guitar. He is also a song and hymn writer.
Music
The Hymn Society
Hymn Societies, both local and international, keep lovers of congregational song in touch with what’s new and what’s familiar in hymnnody. Those who attend Hymn Society conferences find them invigorating and exhausting-and then they return with new ideas and new energy to their local congregations.
“Paradise Found”
A new CD of Charles Wesley’s hymns by the creators of Sing Lustily and With Good Courage makes the old new again. Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band present traditional hymns with a “gallery” band—flutes, lutes, fiddles and drums, singing and presenting them as they might have originally been heard.
Imago: Connecting Artists
The leavening work of artists is critical to vital, faithful worship. This is because worship is not only an act of the heart: it’s a work of art. Arts organization Imago, under the direction of John Franklin, encourages and supports artists who work from a Christian imagination.
The Music of Good and Harding
Linnea Good and Bruce Harding are two Canadian song-writers who pursue that elusive middle ground between musty traditional and trendy contemporary: a middle way, but definitely not middle-of-the-road.
Jamming with Jim and Jean
I first met California singer-songwriters, Jean and Jim Strathdee, at the Naramata Centre, near Penticton, B.C., when I was writing for the church curriculum The Whole People of God.
Sing Lustily with Good Courage
There’s an album, now 20 years old, that keeps popping into my conversations. It came up most recently in a planning meeting for the Emmaus Project.
Two Canadian Religions
When I was seven years old, I lost my faith in organized recreation.
Do You Know Your Book of Praise?
Looking for contemporary songs in contemporary language? Here are some—surprise, surprise—in the Book of Praise.
Looking for Contemporary Songs
When I listen to CCM artists, I keep hearing the language of old hymns. Who is writing in contemporary idioms about contemporary faith?
The Versus Problem
Shouldn’t churches avoid the new and trendy, and keep Mr. and Mrs. Stalwart comfortable until it’s time to shut the doors for good?
Stealing from the Best
I’ve spent a lot of time hanging around worship leaders, picking their brains. I here offer the fruits of my kleptomania.
Praying with Haitians
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.
Review: Room 217
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.
Singing a New Song
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: […]
Jump with Joy
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 […]
Not all contemporary Christian music is created equal
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 Promise of Pentecost
It may be that the worship wars — and the contemporary vs. traditional, worship band vs. organ attitudes that went with them — are over. […]
Seek To Be Changed
The concept of church has changed in our secular ultra-individualistic society. Christians often don’t see it as a biblical imperative, rather as a voluntary organization […]
Worship and Play
Sometimes I wonder where Presbyterians are the most playful—and self-revealing. I’m not convinced that it’s when we worship… Was that a logical leap? Blame it on the New Year’s egg-nog. Or blame it on our Presbyterian thesaurus that doesn’t put “worship” and “play” together.