The Hymn Olympics

My thoughts on comparing the recent Olympic games with hymn singing and my experiences at "The Meeting Place" conference in July can be read by clicking here.

But what will it look like?

I have always loved making puzzles.  One of my early memories is just that:  making puzzles on the living room floor in Meaford, Ontario.  I indulge this 'obsession' about 2 or 3 times a year.  I'm calling it an obsession because once I start a puzzle, I have a hard time doing anything else until it's finished.  There have been a few puzzles over the years that were really tough.  I remember, in college, working on one that was all yellow with a small Dole banana sticker image in one area.  Even though it was a group endeavour, it took quite awhile, as I recall.

One day last week I stopped in at the Salvation Army thrift store.  I think I went in to look for a lamp, but I came out with a puzzle!  You may have guessed from the photo that this is a Clue puzzle which means there is a brief story included giving the facts of a murder.  All the characters from the board game play a part, and the puzzle, once completed, is supposed to give me the clue I need to solve the mystery.  There's a catch though.  There is no picture to follow to make the puzzle - just the challenge this girl needs!

By now you may be wondering how this has any connection to the conference I recently attended. In my previous post I made reference to some of the resources I acquired.  What I didn't mention is that I sang 54 hymns and songs I had never seen or heard before.  I sang 15-20 that I either knew, thought I had sung before or just the text was new (used with a familiar tune).  In trying to think through what might be appropriate and/or practical to use, I feel a little (actually a lot) as if I'm trying to create a new picture without knowing what that picture will actually look like.  It's not impossible, but it will take awhile.  As one song or idea gains credibility, another seems less useful and is set aside. 

Will a clear, complete picture ever emerge?  I hope not - because that would mean that worship, at least musically, is stagnant - not moving forward, just sitting there, finished and in the past.  And that, my reader friends, would be sad.

What are you going to try in worship in order to create a new picture?

Task: Summarize "The Meeting Place: Sharing Our Song"

 
 Remember that song from the early 70's - "There's got to be a morning after..."?  Well, today is the morning after the conclusion of the annual conference of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada.  How can I possibly articulate what a wonderful impact the last five days have had on me? 

I think more time is needed to digest what I took in; the most I'm capable of today is a brief overview:

• 2 brand new, hot off the press, hymnals.
• 3 very thought provoking plenary speakers:  Alice Parker, Andrew Fullerton and Stan McKay.
• 4 hymn festivals - all included lots of sight singing, often in 4 parts, with 200+ people.
• 5 great workshops covering a variety of topics including Canadian hymn writers and finding and using hymns on YouTube.
• innumerable new friends and colleagues, all enthusiastic about music for worship in its many forms!

As I write, the sending song/benediction of our closing hymn festival is running through my head.  I'm sure that was the intent of the organizers - that we go out singing something joyful and energetic which would propel us back into everyday life with the inspiration such a conference provides to those who attend.  The song's tune name is GIPGIL - Go in peace, go in love!