Virtual Methodist

This is a bit later than I promised this week due to a number of factors, but the liturgical theme for this coming Sunday is "The Reign of Christ/Christ the King" and the recommended Psalm is Psalm 46 or Psalm 122. However, I've used Psalm 46 quite regularly recently, and indeed will probably be using it again on Sunday evening as part of a service of prayer and reflection for the Philippines organised by the South Eastern Health Trust, Stormont Presbyterian, in recognition of the massive effect of the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan on the large community of Philippino nurses and ancillary staff who work in the trust and particularly the Ulster Hospital.   But on Sunday morning in Belfast South Methodist we will be celebrating Home Mission Sunday (a week later than our sister churches) and I thought that the following Psalm was an appropriate one to cover that theme and the "Reign of Christ." Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your thr...

This is to prove that do listen to others... occasionally. A few of my freeloading colleagues (you know who you are) have said that they really like the responsive Psalms I put up under the reading of "A Psalm for Sunday" but that putting them up at 8am on a Sunday morning is too late for them to use them in worship that Sunday, especially when they are based on the lectionary readings, as they often are.  So, to give people a whole week to stumble on them and use them for worship the following Sunday, I am now, when I remember/have time, going to post the relevant responsive Psalm on a Monday morning for readers to use as they wish. Today, ironically, the psalm I've taken from the lectionary this week isn't from the book of Psalms itself but based on the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 12... It is however, effectively a Psalm of Thanksgiving: I will praise you, O Lord: You were rightly angry with me, yet you have averted your anger and come to comfort me. Go...

I've been rereading Dennis Lennon's "Fuelling the Fire" for some time now... and just finished it yesterday... But in one of the closing chapters he suggests, as a devotional exercise that we should rewrite Isaiah 43: 10-12 using contemporary language to fit our own situations... Never one to resist a challenge here is my effort... Why don't you give it a go: Sing to the Great I AM a song ever old and ever new, praise his name in this corner of the earth, You who are stuck in traffic outside my window,  You who commute to your work in automotive bubbles From where you live in splendid suburban isolation. Let the the inner city resound with voices worshipping God; let the towns and villages of this province sing for joy. Let the people of Ballybeen and Balmoral rejoice; let them shout praises to God from the rooftops. Let them all give glory to the Great I AM the One and Only Ever Living God and proclaim his praise in the land that he has made. Sel...

A meditation based on St Francis of Assisi's Canticle of Creation/the Sun : Beyond the grey sky sits brother sun but his heat drives brother wind and draws the waters into clouds. Those clouds, our sisters, that shield the sun bear the water,  sustaining sister water,  to the parched earth; mother earth. From earth we came;  to earth we return, but all through our lives we are watched over by you, our Father God; unseen, all seeing. Grey sky may loom over us but brother sun shines on, and your love for us is more constant than the sun, with no beginning and no ending. Praise you. Hallelujah

It's a beautiful day. Blue skies. No wind. Slight bite of winter still in the air. It is a day when it is easy to praise God as you go for a morning walk in the park. It even makes a journey to work a little less depressing.  But it brought to mind a passage in Eugene Peterson's "The Contemplative Pastor." (Yes, I'm back there again.) It is probably my least favourite part of the book, where he does a miniature hagiography of Annie Dillard , the American author who has written much on the spirituality revealed in nature and the problem of pain.  But in this section Peterson, drawing on Dillard's writings, says: 'It is child's play to "appreciate nature" when the sun is shining and the birds are singing. Something far more strenuous is involved when we face and deal with the cruelty and terror that creation also deals out in spades.' Previously he makes reference to the 10% of living creatures that are parasites, which Dillard ...

This is my version of the Psalm from the lectionary readings tomorrow, Psalm 98. Once again, it's a reblog (with a slight revision) but we're using it tomorrow as part of our morning service. But given I'm constantly coming back to the Psalms at the moment a friend recently recommended a new anthology of different settings of the Psalms entitled "Psalms for all Seasons" . I haven't checked it out yet, but all the reviews seem very positive... Anyway... here's a version that hasn't appeared in any such anthology: Sing to God a brand-new song. Celebrate what he has done! He rolled up his sleeves and saved us With his strong right arm he rescued us. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth! Break into joyful song! Play your instruments in praise Sing songs to the God who gave you your voice. Let your flutes, fiddles and trumpets Fill the air with praises to God your King. Let us join with all creation in praising our creator. Let th...

The Psalms have repeated references to new songs. Perhaps the worshipping community in the Jerusalem Temple were as reluctant to try these new fangled Psalms as many are to try new songs today! What follows is my version of an old song, Psalm 98 that we used as a responsive call to worship at our praise service last night: Sing to God a brand-new song. Celebrate what he has done! He rolled up his sleeves and saved us With his strong right arm he rescued us. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth! Break into joyful song! Play your instruments in praise Sing songs to the God who gave you your voice. Let your flutes, fiddles and trumpets Fill the air with praises to God your King. Let us join with all creation in praising our creator. Let the waves of the sea breaking on the shore Sound like applause to our God. Let the barking, mooing, cawing and roaring of every living creature be a song of praise to the Lord. Let the rivers speak of his ever flowing grace Let the mountains speak of h...

A responsive Psalm based on Psalm 138. I will praise you, O LORD, with all of my heart; before the powers and idols of this world I will sing your praise. I will bow down before your throne and your throne alone; I will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness. Above all things I shall glorify your Name; Above all things I shall honour your Word. When I called, you answered me; You gave me courage when my heart felt weak. May all the rulers of the earth praise you, O LORD, May they listen to the words of your mouth. May they walk in your ways, O LORD, Praising the greatness of the glory of God. Though the LORD is highly exalted, he looks lovingly upon the lowly, He perceives the attitudes of the proud from afar. Though I walk through the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your right hand to save me from the anger of the enemy. O LORD fulfil your purpose in me; Your love, O LORD, lasts for ever. from Psalm 138 Selah

Just a quickie to signpost you elsewhere on the hoary old subject of contemporary v classic hymnody ... it raises a few interesting if well-worn points... tho what really caught my attention was the reference to Christian George's description of the theology in much modern worship as "miniskirt music - songs that barely cover the essentials". Whether or not that is fair it is too good a soundbite not to use! But the reference to some of Charles Wesley's stinkers (and personally I think Chuck was the best hymnwriter ever... not that I as a Methodist am biased at all, I think that the arch Calvinists Watts, Newton and Cowper run him close) calls to mind one of his hymns that in a fit of insanity I used to close a service some weeks ago (don't ask me why, even I can't believe my reasoning now!) 1 Come, let us join our friends above That have obtained the prize, And on the eagle wings of love To joys celestial rise: Let all the saints terrestrial sing With those t...

A final word on the "Jesus my heavenly boyfriend" pap, that is being passed off as praise at present, owing more to Oprah than to the Song of Songs. In our discussions on this subject on Saturday night, my friend also reminded my of the line in the episode from series 12 of the Simpsons entitled "I'm Going to Praiseland," in which Ned sets up a Christian themepark. During it he strikes up a brief relationship with gospel singer Rachel Jordan, but when he encounters her later on, he finds that she has gone solo because her band have gone secular: Ned: So uuh, where's your band? Rachel: They switched from Christian music to regular pop. All you do is change 'Jesus' to 'baby'. Ned: Oh, how horrible. Rachel: Oh, they'll all go to hell. Cheers

Was discussing some of the issues raised in this week's strand on hymns and songs last night, and I remembered another entire category of praise that drives me demented, that being the short, inane songs that worship leaders insist on singing 403 times in a row. Not talking about things like the Wild Woose "Wee Songs" but those which are sung until the congrgation are in a hypnotic state... and I am not being funny about that, because often that is exactly what is induced and interpreted as "the Spirit." But while we were discussing some of these a friend called to mind a line from a letter to the Sunday Telegraph on the subject of modern praise where the writer said: "Most of the music we were told to sing would have disgraced a Shake 'n' Vac ad." 'nuff said... ps. Anyone fancy taking a run at writing a praise song to the Shake 'n' Vac tune? Cheers

OK... I indulged my cynical side earlier in the week ... And discovered an untapped reservoir of ire on the subject of hymns... But in a spirit of contrition and in obedience to Paul in Philippians going on about "whatever is good... yada yada..." I thought I should also post a list of my twelve favourite hymns/songs... (Couldn't manage to thin it out to 10... I was actually doing it in my head while ploughing up and down a swimming pool and didn't want to waste any more time on it.) Doubtless some of these will appear on your most hated list, but that's the joy of variety... you can't all have taste (ps. have restricted my choices by a single writer to a maximum of 2): 12) Will you come and follow me (Bell and Maule): looks at discipleship as something challenging and with implications for how we deal with those in need. 11) Beauty for Brokenness (Graham Kendrick): one of the few songs to come out of the 1980s house church movement that genuinely wrestles w...

Following on from my blog yesterday, I should also have said that there is a whole category of Christmas Carols that cause me to twitch uncontrollably... But I will return to them in due course: But now praise-pickers here's my top ten hated hymns and praise songs (amazed that I kept it to 10): 10) One More Step along the World I Go: One more time I have to sing this song... I just don't like it because it has been sung to death. 9) Come ye thankful people come: Actually a superb harvest hymn, that actually does justice to the Biblical use of the harvest metaphor in the context of divine judgement... just have problems with us joyfully singing of the angels being given charge (at last) "in the fire the tares (i.e. sinful fellow human beings) to cast..." 8) I am the bread of life: Writers who can't be bothered getting their work to scan should not be encouraged! 7) Wind, Wind Blow on Me!: A mindless, trite little chorus with a jaunty tune that doesn't reall...

A colleague in Grand Rapids, Michigan sends out a weekly email to all the ministers in her jurisdiction, and one of my friends there is kind enough to forward it too me every Monday. It is one of the regular emails I really look forward to. This week was no exception as she confessed that her least favorite (sic) hymn is "How Great Thou art." In response I sent her this YouTube link to Eddi Reader's fabulous rendition of this old standard (I should warn you that she employs some weird hand movements but it is beautiful all the same). Anyway... her confession set me off thinking about my least favourite hymns... after all, how could I possibly restrict myself to just one, given that I could rant at length on any number of them... To help me restrict my list I first decided on some broad categories of the hymns and worship songs that cause me to inwardly (and sometimes audibly) groan: 1) The gore-fest "washed in the blood" stuff of the 19th and early 20th century ...

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his holy house, Praise him under open skies; Praise him for what he has done, Praise him for who he is; Praise him with a blast on the trumpet, Praise him with the strumming of strings; Praise him with song and dance, Praise him with piano and voice; Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, Praise him with fiddle and with tambourine. Let every living, breathing creature play their part! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! A responsive Psalm roughly based on Psalm 150 in Eugene Peterson's The Message, reflecting the musical make-up of our local congregation.