Ten days gone by and this that I'm posting now is the first reply to this post.  Hmm - doesn't seem to be a whole lot of excitement about UCCanada music - does there. The UCCanada chooses to restrict itself to its own songbooks.  It's a denominational weak spot - I would say. While the rest of us are continuing to update our music - to stay contemporary - to sing new songs from a variety of sources unto the Lord - the UCCanada is stuck - by its own choice - in using the same old hymnals over and over and over again.

There you go again Jae making false assumptions.  We do sing a variety of songs from different sources.  We enjoy, we celebrate...

And we are excited about our music....we just don't do a lot of chest thumping.

You can't resist swipes against the UCC, can you?

As I said gecko - after 10 days mine was the first reply to this thread's OP. Enjoyment? Celebration? Excitement? Perhaps - but it certainly wasn't showing on here.

The UCCanada has two official songbooks it uses. If you want to call that a variety - ok - don't let me stop you.

As a former member of the UCCanada - I have experience singing UCCanada songs in church. I think of them as either stuffed full of liberal theology - and/or as watered-down versions of the originals.

There are some songs from different sources. We have different types of services where I go. There are jazz concerts and gospel choirs. Once I participated in an activity where we were asked to bring a song that we found to be spiritual- and it could even be a 'secular' song. I find, though, regular hymns on Sunday mornings to be pretty 'stale' is the word I'd use. Not so for others. I can respect their choice. I wasn't raised in UCCan so the tradition of singing them doesn't bring me familiarity or comfort. For some that's spiritual. I'd find some folk and pop/ rock songs more spiritual, personally. That's what's familiar and uplifting, and contemplative, to me.

Yes, more liberal theology. For some, not liberal enough. Maybe, as far as lyrics go, I'd be the latter category. To me, more importantly the music itself just isn't very good a lot of the time, the standard Sunday Hymns. Bring on U2charist and Hymns and Beer! Seriously- get it moving! I'd rather listen to a Southern Gospel choir whose lyrics don't exactly match my theology. Because the music itself inspires. It's got soul.

Ah - ok - there you might actually get some variety. Tha's good to hear. However - I was speaking of the songs the UCCanada uses in congregational singing.

Stale - dry - overly-used - chock-full-o-liberal-theology - lyrically-stripped...

I prefer contemporary praise music - but to each their own.

If church music, church in general, was like this I'd be there every Sunday! Alas, it has it's moments but is usually not like this. I find myself in 'worship' mode, in awe, at events like this. I am alone (as an introvert I find a corner of my own to enjoy and contemplate the music and the sights and sounds, or with a friend- I don't really mingle with the party gregariously )but feeling at the same time connected to the energy. However, this event costs $155 for 3 days and I can't afford it. I wish church was like this:

http://thefestival.bc.ca/

Dcn Jae

Beautiful hymns. I love a lot of them including Voices United whether they are liberal, conservative, old, new, or whatever. Did you check out the 3 pages? I don't know Baptist hymns specifically.

Your description .."stale....dry..."  its all in the eye and the soul of the beholder.

(Say 5 Hail Mary's and the Our Father prayer  10 times..............)

Here's the Our Father Dcn. Jae to get you started. Its got kind of a rock beat...:)

I don't know why but I feel that singing praise to God, by name, feels contrived, and somehow artificial. I would rather listen to and sing music that celebrates or laments life in all it's aspects, all the ups and downs, weaves a narritive, to life, and about living. And any music that the heart, mind, body and soul are moved by, can do that- and it's real. Everything that happens in life is about God and us, our relationship to God for better or worse, is it not? When we sing to 'God' in particular often it's like we're making God into an idol instead of letting God, through the music, the inspiration, speak to us and move us. I don't know if that makes sense. Why is it that I usually feel more more moved listening to Joni Mitchell weave her poetry to music, or Leonard Cohen, than to an old hymn- and even praise music so often feels contrived, fake. Maybe not for others. Can't stuff God into any genre of any type of music in any culture anywhere. The Spirit cannot be contained by us like that. If the Spirit somehow manages to move me while listening to Radiohead, so be it. I'm thankful!

do you wish to reconsider this post?

Perhaps. With which part of it do you disagree?

Dcn.Jae ~ Is bashing the United Church part of your training for baptist ministry?

Your jumping to conclusion regarding the delay in response.

You know the status of this forum.

You choose to take no response as an opportunity to take a dig at the United Church of Canada

Given the other thread, where you came in slashing, then returned a lenghty period of time later to retract, i thought I would ask you to reconsider your analysis.

dreamerman wrote:

Pinga wrote:

Your jumping to conclusion regarding the delay in response.

 

You know the status of this forum.

 

You choose to take no response as an opportunity to take a dig at the United Church of Canada

 

 

Given the other thread, where you came in slashing, then returned a lenghty period of time later to retract, i thought I would ask you to reconsider your analysis.

Well Pinga it could be that some Baptists don't enjoy eating crow.

Still reconsidering...

Dcn Jae

Well, there are 380 views on this thread, some must surely like it,  lurkers I assume although nobody has commented earlier on this copy/paste thread I stole from Alex. 

Lots of people have  made enjoyable comments  on Alex's  original thread.

See here:

http://www.wondercafe.ca/discussion/church-life/voices-united-and-more-voices-youtube

Did you look at the whole thread? There's an assortment of hymns, not all  from the UC.

Hi Kimmio

Re these hymns I can't recall if you said you grew up in church and Sunday School or not?  If you did (as I did)  it makes a difference. Nostalgia perhaps, I'm sentimental.

I'm very familiar with your somewhat New Age spirituality.....?... for lack of a better  way to describe your beliefs. I no doubt share a lot of them but I'm not able to forsake and toss aside what I might term as  "that old time religion"  or singing praises to God that I learned in church.

 God is big....its all O.K...its not making an idol of God to praise God  because as you say God isn't confined to limits. Why do we limit God?  

Hi Stardust,

I went to friends' Sunday Schools a little bit. My parents didn't go to church but they let me go a few times to different churches growing up. I went to a Baptist summer daycamp for a couple of weeks because other kids were going and my mom said "okay" but wasn't impressed by how strongly they prostletyzed kids there. The only 'hymn' I remember growing up is "Jesus loves me", learned that, they sang that at different Sunday schools. Oh, and "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho..." Then when my parents split up my mom had a very brief time going and taking me to church at the encouragement of her Baptist friend. That didn't work out too well for my feminist mom. My parents grew up in the UCCan and left by the time they were through university in the late 60's/ early 70's. Actually I think my dad went to Anglican then went to UCCan later- a bit of both. But he hasn't been to church on a Sunday in many many years. That's my family religious background. Agnostic I guess you could say. My stepdad grew up Anglican, doesn't go to church but volunteers for a Catholic soup kitchen. Almost runs the whole thing. He's the best Christian role model in my whole family. My stepmom is a lapsed non practicing Catholic who is interested in Buddhism. She might have seen Goldie Hawn on Oprah. I am not sure how serious she is about it. My husband grew up with non practicing Christian parents, Catholic and Orthodox, and they now attend some type of reformed church in Europe- mostly they started going because his dad had a stroke and they encourage no smoking or drinking, and eating healthy food- and it was good reinforcement. They are very nice good people. They don't preach at us. I have a few relatives also who consider themselves Born Again Christians, and go to evangelical churches. As for me, I am interested in the emergent Christian movement. I'd be a Unitarian if I wasn't a Christian if that makes any sense. UU has Simon and Garfunkel in their hymnals, too!

Hi Kimmio

Thx.

I don't think I can be affliated with any particular denominaton. I'm some kind of a mongrel  dawg or a raggamuffin.

I guess if I'm asked what religion I am I'd have to say : ""Whatever religion God is"...  and that may sound a bit smart alec. Its a new age saying.

I feel sort of the same. I found UU and the emergent movement- some mix of that, best describes me. The UCCan is going in that direction in some respects. I can relate best to that but the old style hymns and services are not a familiar comfort to me.

Somebody is sure pushing the envelope on this thread.....yikes...

21 posts, and 1,374 views..is this lurkers, bots, or what..!!! Maybe people are coming in to see what Jae has to say.....I  wonder?

Alex has continued with his original hymn  thread in Church Life.

(This is the one I started using his link and his name. There were no responses for a time, 60 some views  or bots  until yesterday or so..now up to 1,374)

From  my personal discussion ( profile ) page:

Still reconsidering Please stand by...