If you could add or remove any song from the UMC Hymnal, what would it be?Also, could the Methodist Publishing House make them a little less tasty in the opinion of rabbits? Maybe smear them with bacon fat to keep the bunnies away. Just a thought.
Monday, July 10, 2006
The UMC Hymnal
If you could add or remove any song from the UMC Hymnal, what would it be?Also, could the Methodist Publishing House make them a little less tasty in the opinion of rabbits? Maybe smear them with bacon fat to keep the bunnies away. Just a thought.
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14 comments:
I'd take the Ameri-centric tunes out, like "America the Beautiful." I'm no "America is bad" disciple, and I love those tunes and I respect having the flag in a sanctuary, but maybe having something as specific as that in the "official" hymnal of the denomination sends the wrong message.
I'd take out Onward Christian Soldiers. I think we take it too much to heart and too literally!
I do tend to agree with derek on what should be taken out.
I would like to see Sanctuary added. And maybe Bind us together. Two songs I love that are not too praisy for the UMC Hymnal. I think we should add a praise hymnal too that would be an official UMC praise hymnal or Praise Book.
Elizabeth, I think Onward Christian Soldiers is a hymn that reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood,but against rulers,authorities, cosmic powers of this present darkness, spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. If you take up the whole armor of God, you are going into battle with His enemy.
Part of the reason the church is so ravaged by the enemy is because we fail to see that we are part of a warfare against our adversary the devil who like a roaring lion prowls around, looking for someone to devour.
I'm 100% with Craig on this.
Sorry, Elizabeth. I love the song and wished we sang it more. I love the Battle Hymn of the Republic as well for the same reason.
I would like to see a contemporary section added to the back of the hymnal. It would be great to affirm the old songs of worship as well as the new.
Of course, I would like to see rigorous criteria applied so that none of the trite praise choruses make it in; but then again, there are more than a few trite hymns in our hymnal as well.
allan, I see the Celebration Hymnal as the addendum you're proposing
For me it is some of the newer hymns that got in there because they address specific political subjects.
It's like, OK, we need a hymn about how we are all polluters... or that we are terrible racists... or that we hate women...
Can anyone write one of those? OK! Thanks, you are in the hymnal!
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm pretty lefty myself on most UMC stuff, so it's not the issues themselves that I've got the problem with.
It's just that these newer single-issue hymns seem more like they're in there to appease factions within the church than to address anything to God, or to really get people to seriously think about their behavior.
They usually strike me as something to put in the worship order when you really have a personal axe to grind.
My two cents.
I'm with Derek. There should be no 'hymns to America' in our church services. A hymn asking God to bless America (which is not what the some 'God Bless America' is) would be perfectly appropriate, but songs about how great America is are not.
Derek:
Point well taken, but I think we would be making more of a significant statement concerning the place of contemporary worship songs if we included them in the same volume.
I can't tell from comments. Do most of us have "The Faith We Sing" which includes songs like Sanctuary and Bind us Together? It's very useful, though it also has some of the "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" types of songs in it too. And I hate the numbering system.
i agree with Gary. Have some of you never heard of The Faith We Sing? It is an excellent companion to the Hymnal. I highly reccomend it,
i would add Power in the Blood.
DUH, I can't believe I forgot "The Faith We Sing" LOL
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