the variety of liturgical organization and music philosophies supported by the Lutheran system of... more the variety of liturgical organization and music philosophies supported by the Lutheran system of bishoprics and their political masters. In the focus on generalities, interesting possibilities posed by the exception are sometimes missed. For example, the discussion of alternatum practice in chapter 7 — given the very nature of the chorales, alternatum technique would seem to allow more flexibility than that described by Herl. More importantly, the enormous impact of war and political machination upon the Lutheran world are neglected almost entirely. Little mention was made of the impact of the machinations of the electors of Saxony, the Schmalkaldic War, Thirty Years’ War, and so on. Musically, there is little mention of the substantial impact of the earlier notable figures in Lutheran music composition such as Johann Walter, Georg Rhau, and Michael Praetorius. While Herl’s research provides us with much useful information and astute insight, the book also suffers from a fundamental problem. Within Lutheran communities, the role of music was open to considerable debate and change due to the more local control that Lutheranism allowed via town officials, priests, cantors, and the like. Some towns supported their choirs more strongly than others. When considering Herl’s conclusions, such local variations in practice should be kept firmly in mind. DANE HEUCHEMER Kenyon College
Children’s Sermons for the Revised Common Lectionary, set of three by Philip D. Schroeder. (Nashv... more Children’s Sermons for the Revised Common Lectionary, set of three by Philip D. Schroeder. (Nashville:
to be asked to reflect on a particular biblical book. Normally, in both the practice and study of... more to be asked to reflect on a particular biblical book. Normally, in both the practice and study of worship, we approach the Bible as a goldmine of resources. We learn skills both to identify which biblical texts are most pastorally useful for a given occasion and to present these texts clearly and accessibly. We also learn skills for offering a balanced diet of scriptural themes over time, either by working with established lectionaries or by developing informal, unofficial lectionaries of our own. Often we are tempted to strip texts from their contexts in ways that also strip the texts themselves of key dimensions of their meaning or their rhetorical force. One strategy to overcome this temptation is to ask an atypical but important question: Have we as worship leaders been faithful stewards of a given part of Scripture (e.g., the book of Isaiah)? How can we more faithfully present and interpret a given part of Scripture in worship? What themes and strategies can we learn from the t...
De nos jours, l'expression religieuse en Amerique du Nord issue de l'impulsion populaire ... more De nos jours, l'expression religieuse en Amerique du Nord issue de l'impulsion populaire reste bien vivante. Elle est surtout visible dans les grandes Eglises evangeliques du pays dites congregationalistes. L'A. fait une analyse de ces Eglises en les confrontant a leur approche de la musique et du chant.
Concern for sincerity in public worship is a biblical ideal which has long been prominent in evan... more Concern for sincerity in public worship is a biblical ideal which has long been prominent in evangelical spirituality and in congregational life. Yet sincerity is a complex term which is operationally defined and experienced quite differently across cultures and ecumenical contexts. In light of this high ideal and this complexity, the essay argues that healthy pastoral practice emerges by expanding the definition of sincerity to include aspirational and empathetic prayer, focusing on enduring dispositions more than fleeting emotion states, celebrating the mutual interdependence of ritual and sincerity, and resisting both the separation of sincerity and truthfulness and ‘hypersincere’ practices which self-consciously call attention to sincerity. The essay concludes with preliminary reflections on healing and resisting insincerity, affirming sincerity as a Holy Spirit-given gift which we should pray for and testify about, but never coerce.
Worship through congregational song has been studied with attention to both texts and music, both... more Worship through congregational song has been studied with attention to both texts and music, both practices of composition and reception, using a variety of methods and by practitioners of several academic disciplines including musicology, theology, sociology, ethnography, and social and intellectual history, with minimal engagement with geography. Meanwhile, cultural geographers have cultivated a rich body of studies of geography and music (Carney, Nash and Carney, Waterman, Duffy) with little engagement of Christian congregational song. Geographers are uniquely positioned to understand key aspects of communal singing, including regional differences, the spatial distribution of singing practices, the interplay of immigration and singing practices, the relationship between congregational singing and spatial dimensions of human experience and identity. Congregational song offers geographers access to a potent site for the formation of worldview and the identity of millions. This research proposes six trajectories for the study of Christian congregation song by geographers; (1) those that reflect and shape perceptions of the physical world and geopolitics; (2) practices that are identified with location; (3) songs that draw upon the elements of the physical world as metaphors and mental models; (4) patterns of use and reception including those that resist patterns of immigration, diffusion, colonization and colonialism and globalization; (5) perceptions of what are “central” and “peripheral” in religious experience; and (6) hymns in response to catastrophes. These trajectories suggest that the study of congregational song fits will within typical thematic tracks in geography as a whole and those studies by geographers on music.
Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 2008
To ward off Advent sentimentality, preachers and church musicians need to find theologically robu... more To ward off Advent sentimentality, preachers and church musicians need to find theologically robust approaches to proclaiming the simultaneously sobering and glorious eschatological themes of Advent. Classical Christian doctrines, brought to life by theologically astute contemporary hymnwriters, offer many promising angles of vision for worshipers, preachers, teachers, and theologians.
the variety of liturgical organization and music philosophies supported by the Lutheran system of... more the variety of liturgical organization and music philosophies supported by the Lutheran system of bishoprics and their political masters. In the focus on generalities, interesting possibilities posed by the exception are sometimes missed. For example, the discussion of alternatum practice in chapter 7 — given the very nature of the chorales, alternatum technique would seem to allow more flexibility than that described by Herl. More importantly, the enormous impact of war and political machination upon the Lutheran world are neglected almost entirely. Little mention was made of the impact of the machinations of the electors of Saxony, the Schmalkaldic War, Thirty Years’ War, and so on. Musically, there is little mention of the substantial impact of the earlier notable figures in Lutheran music composition such as Johann Walter, Georg Rhau, and Michael Praetorius. While Herl’s research provides us with much useful information and astute insight, the book also suffers from a fundamental problem. Within Lutheran communities, the role of music was open to considerable debate and change due to the more local control that Lutheranism allowed via town officials, priests, cantors, and the like. Some towns supported their choirs more strongly than others. When considering Herl’s conclusions, such local variations in practice should be kept firmly in mind. DANE HEUCHEMER Kenyon College
Children’s Sermons for the Revised Common Lectionary, set of three by Philip D. Schroeder. (Nashv... more Children’s Sermons for the Revised Common Lectionary, set of three by Philip D. Schroeder. (Nashville:
to be asked to reflect on a particular biblical book. Normally, in both the practice and study of... more to be asked to reflect on a particular biblical book. Normally, in both the practice and study of worship, we approach the Bible as a goldmine of resources. We learn skills both to identify which biblical texts are most pastorally useful for a given occasion and to present these texts clearly and accessibly. We also learn skills for offering a balanced diet of scriptural themes over time, either by working with established lectionaries or by developing informal, unofficial lectionaries of our own. Often we are tempted to strip texts from their contexts in ways that also strip the texts themselves of key dimensions of their meaning or their rhetorical force. One strategy to overcome this temptation is to ask an atypical but important question: Have we as worship leaders been faithful stewards of a given part of Scripture (e.g., the book of Isaiah)? How can we more faithfully present and interpret a given part of Scripture in worship? What themes and strategies can we learn from the t...
De nos jours, l'expression religieuse en Amerique du Nord issue de l'impulsion populaire ... more De nos jours, l'expression religieuse en Amerique du Nord issue de l'impulsion populaire reste bien vivante. Elle est surtout visible dans les grandes Eglises evangeliques du pays dites congregationalistes. L'A. fait une analyse de ces Eglises en les confrontant a leur approche de la musique et du chant.
Concern for sincerity in public worship is a biblical ideal which has long been prominent in evan... more Concern for sincerity in public worship is a biblical ideal which has long been prominent in evangelical spirituality and in congregational life. Yet sincerity is a complex term which is operationally defined and experienced quite differently across cultures and ecumenical contexts. In light of this high ideal and this complexity, the essay argues that healthy pastoral practice emerges by expanding the definition of sincerity to include aspirational and empathetic prayer, focusing on enduring dispositions more than fleeting emotion states, celebrating the mutual interdependence of ritual and sincerity, and resisting both the separation of sincerity and truthfulness and ‘hypersincere’ practices which self-consciously call attention to sincerity. The essay concludes with preliminary reflections on healing and resisting insincerity, affirming sincerity as a Holy Spirit-given gift which we should pray for and testify about, but never coerce.
Worship through congregational song has been studied with attention to both texts and music, both... more Worship through congregational song has been studied with attention to both texts and music, both practices of composition and reception, using a variety of methods and by practitioners of several academic disciplines including musicology, theology, sociology, ethnography, and social and intellectual history, with minimal engagement with geography. Meanwhile, cultural geographers have cultivated a rich body of studies of geography and music (Carney, Nash and Carney, Waterman, Duffy) with little engagement of Christian congregational song. Geographers are uniquely positioned to understand key aspects of communal singing, including regional differences, the spatial distribution of singing practices, the interplay of immigration and singing practices, the relationship between congregational singing and spatial dimensions of human experience and identity. Congregational song offers geographers access to a potent site for the formation of worldview and the identity of millions. This research proposes six trajectories for the study of Christian congregation song by geographers; (1) those that reflect and shape perceptions of the physical world and geopolitics; (2) practices that are identified with location; (3) songs that draw upon the elements of the physical world as metaphors and mental models; (4) patterns of use and reception including those that resist patterns of immigration, diffusion, colonization and colonialism and globalization; (5) perceptions of what are “central” and “peripheral” in religious experience; and (6) hymns in response to catastrophes. These trajectories suggest that the study of congregational song fits will within typical thematic tracks in geography as a whole and those studies by geographers on music.
Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 2008
To ward off Advent sentimentality, preachers and church musicians need to find theologically robu... more To ward off Advent sentimentality, preachers and church musicians need to find theologically robust approaches to proclaiming the simultaneously sobering and glorious eschatological themes of Advent. Classical Christian doctrines, brought to life by theologically astute contemporary hymnwriters, offer many promising angles of vision for worshipers, preachers, teachers, and theologians.
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