Categories: uncategorized
Date: 29 December 2011 16:31:41
A few months ago the Methodist Church published its new hymn book Singing the Faith. The book has had a mixed press - the main problems appear to have related to the electronic version being a bit crap (according to all I have read via social networking) and the music version being too heavy/ big for your standard piano (according to what I've read in the Methodist Recorder and heard from various peeps). Today I have been using it to plan a service for the first time (my copy is on the way but TOH already has hers and so as I sit here service planning whilst she is at work I am using hers). There have also been mutterings about typos.
The large print which we both find easier is actually a reasonable size and weight with good font and size. In terms of the contents it can be split into containing four main strands: old skool traditional; 20th century Methodist; Wild Goose/ Iona and Spring Harvest style evo music. Methodism is big on committees and achieving consensus (it all works a bit like the Occupy working group / General Assembly system but a whole lot more unwieldy). Anyway this has the result of meaning that the production of this type of book took ages and so the result is a book where even the most modern offerings tend to be "modern classics" and considered somewhat Old Skool by those of us who are of a certain age or who have spent time within either the "evo" or "new monasticism" type bubbles.
That said this is a lovely collection to be working with and I really am enjoying it because with the odd exception they have managed to weed out trite crap. The "newer" tunes have on the whole tended to be ones which have sound theology and where the theology is somewhat questionable to some it is has been noted and discussed along the way (rumour has it that Stuart Townsend and Keith Getty refused to let the words in Christ Alone be changed so that rather than "the wrath of God" being "satisified" it was "the love of God" being "glorified" when Jesus was crucified).
What I like about this collection though, and what I think it succeeds in doing in a way others have sometimes failed at, is the way it provides for the full theological spectrum. It also seeks and succeeds I think to cover the full emotional and practical experience of life and enable people to encounter this - as appropriate - within worship. What I wish they had perhaps produced was some kind of sampler CD so that those of us using it with no idea about tunes/ music and such like could hear what those songs we don't know sound like. There are a few in here I don't know which read like beautiful poetry but are not even worth me throwing in if they are ultimately unsingable by your average congregation.
Looking through it is also a book which will be useful for personal use and devotions in a way which hymn books aren't always because there are somethings in there which might not often be right for communal singing but which will be great for using at home. The greatest example of this for me - and my favourite new find in the book - is 629 "God of my faith, I offer you my doubt" by Colin Ferguson. It is a hymn for those suffering from anxiety or depression which is honest and reflects true human experience. One of four people will experience mental illness at some point in their lives - this hymn actually takes what they are going through and allows them to bring it to God and lay it down at his feet. There is a particularly touching bit in verse three when it says "when in depression I cannot be touched, I pray in all my depths to find you there."
So my overall verdict - well.....the book; the way it has been produced and the finished product is somewhat reflective of much of the church today - not just but certainly including Methodism. It seeks to be and achieves well the aim of being inclusive because it is so broad. However, the way it does this means it comes across as appearing dated. Those looking for the "latest fashion" will be disappointed. Those who were looking to embrace it using the most modern means of communication also find themselves in a prediciment because the production techniques involved were clearly out of date before the project was really begun. There may well have been money issues involved aswell which meant they chose to put something out which they thought people would be able to work with but which has left both old and young feeling resentful in different ways. The theology is sound; the content in terms of the hymns and songs chosen are great but its never going to be a run away success because you need to get through too much crap to find the treasure within. It is something which will only ever - I think - be embraced by those who have taken the time to start with because we had a pre-existing reason to.
The solution? Better consideration of the audience, a better knowledge of and attention to production values and more of a pride in a product which might at first seem dated but actually has one heck of alot to offer.