Living Faith: The Unauthorized Version
In this living faith, unauthorized and not published by Wood Lake books, in the beginning Presbyterians started life in Canada as Settlers. Some say we’ve been settling ever since.
andrew donaldson
Seconding a Sentiment
There are many talented people in the Presbyterian church. They could be, should be sharing their gifts as part of a national and denominational strategy for making our worship vibrant and joyful, and for effectively sharing our faith. Are they? And is there a strategy?
Trumpets, Organ Benches and Church Doors
One thing is sure: one size no longer fits all. This variety in our worship and our music will require more from church musicians and more, not less, support, imagination and deep theology from our congregations.
Beloving the Bible
“Living Faith” presents as solid theology of the Bible. What about “beloving” as well as believing the scriptural text. Here are more ideas for authentic and faithful worship.
It’s About Time
Worship is a temporal art which reflects the value we place on time. What kind of time are we as a denomination spending on strong congregational singing?
What Does Vital, Faithful Worship Cost?
Here are some ideas about worship and congregational song that I’ve begged, borrowed, stolen and (what’s more important) used in past years that have made worship more vital and joyful.
Christmas Tunes to Warm the Heart and Stuff in Stockings
“Tradition” is a word that’s as loaded as a Christmas stocking. These two CDs, each in their own way, shine their light on the traditions of Christmas – and deserve a spot in someone’s stocking.
Building a Culture of Song
The well-documented and sad state of community singing is thrown into sharp relief during this most musical of seasons. Building a singing culture is the same as building a hockey culture, but without the gaps in the front teeth.
Playing with Advent Hymns
When all the restructuring is done and the reports are in, it still comes back to loving, worshipping and enjoying God. That still involves the simple and subversive act of singing together.
Two More Gems from the Book of Praise
More how-to comments on some contemporary and global songs in the Presbyterian Book of Praise. Listening to songs and artists of the same genre is a key ingredient in presenting the music on its own terms.
Percussion in Worship: Some Practical Help
How do you get the right style when leading worship songs rooted in popular and dance music? It comes down to rhythm. Here are some practical helps, with links to online videos.
Hymns to Feed the Imagination
I wonder if we suffer, not from a lack of faith, but from a poverty of imagination. Or do we accept what is dysfunctional because of our fierce loyalty to the church? Here are some more hymns to balance and shape us anew.
At Least We Have an Anchor
Hymns shape us in ways deeper than our expressed theology—sometimes for good, sometimes not. Here are some hymns that should be shaping us. Agree? Disagree?
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.