An
Inkling
I
was away last week for study leave, the parts of which made for an interesting
variety: a healing conference at Orkney
Springs, a seminar on ministry to those with dementia, a mission celebration
for I.C.M., and a weekend spent in a small fishing village. If variety is the spice of life, the week was
well seasoned.
That
seasoning included a wide variety of music.
Kenny Davis led the healing conference worship, with songs ranging from gospel
hymns, to upbeat praise choruses, to spontaneous singing in the Spirit, to
motion songs in which we snatched back God’s stuff from the devil (I’ll leave
those to your imagination).
Kathy
Berry led the seminar on ministry to those with dementia, which included some
music. She played some pieces that
connect well for those with a diminished capacity to process – single voice,
single instrument renditions of well known songs like Amazing Grace and Jesus Loves
Me. The simplicity was refreshing.
The
I.C.M. mission celebration featured the “Men of Music,” a southern gospel trio from
Jackson, MS. They majored in tight
harmonies, which they sang to the accompaniment of full instrumental tracks,
and interspersed with good ol’ boy bantering.
The
fishing village is on Tangier Island, where we worshipped with the
Methodists. They have a “class meeting” early
on Sundays, during which several folks shared what they had learned from
scripture and their interactions with the Lord during the week. After each one spoke, a woman with a strong
voice led the group in singing one verse of a hymn that they all knew by
heart. She chose hymns that resonated
with the testimony just given. It made
for an interesting weaving of praise and instruction.
We
have a pretty broad span of worship music in our services here at St.
Giles. Yet the musical patterns of this
week’s songs were largely unknown to me, and served well to stretch me. It was a good reminder that the full breadth
of God’s praise reaches far beyond our little span. And in the fullness of time the span will
only broaden.
Getting
ready,
Keith
