Hymns in my head
Posted by Brian June 28, 2005
There’s a saying I’ve learned from the Episcopalians:
Praying shapes believing.
We pray what we believe, and we believe what we pray (eventually). That’s why they’re so picky about the Prayer Book. Another saying goes:
He who sings prays twice.
So, maybe it stands to reason that singing shapes believing, too. I guess that’s good, since I will often go home after church with a hymn stuck in my head. Usually other stuff forces it out of my head soon enough, but this week the hymn is hanging around. It’s one of my favorites, but it also happens to be a new one I learned recently, after joining the Episcopal church: I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light.
For some reason, it’s always interested me that my favorite hymns have come from all of the different Christian traditions of which I’ve been a part: Churches of Christ, Metropolitan Community Churches, and the Episcopal Church. On further reflection, it only seems reasonable and not very remarkable that each tradition would have it’s own treasures. But anyway, I’ve thought about it a lot from time to time. So I thought I’d post a list of some of my favorites which I encountered during my time in each tradition:
Churches of Christ:
- The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want
We always sang it to the “Orlington” tune, not the main tune on the linked page. I will often find myself singing this one. I think I will give instructions that this hymn should be sung at my funeral. And I want it sung a capella, in harmony, by four people who can really sing it well.
Metropolitan Community Churches:
- Bring Many Names
This one has some really great imagery. Don’t freak out by taking the images literally.
- We Are the Church Alive
Reading this one over again, I’m forced to admit that it’s not great poetry. However, I always found it very moving to sing this song with a congregation made up mostly of gay and lesbian people.
Episcopal Church:
- I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
The one currently in my head. Unfortunately, I can’t find the rest of the lyrics online (they’re still under copyright).
Maybe I’ll add to this list later. But these are the ones that come immediately to mind. When looking up the links, I figured that the authors of the hymns would not have been members of the traditions in which I learned them. In fact, many of them were:
- The words of the Psalm 23 setting are from the Scottish Psalter, and the composer of the “Orlington” tune was also Scottish. And of course, the Campbells (who are among the ancestors of the Churches of Christ) were originally Scottish Presbyterians.
- We Are the Church Alive was written by a member of MCC San Francisco.
- And I think I Want to Walk first appeared in a supplement to the Episcopal Hymnal.
Our parish sings exclusively dull songs.
However, you remember Christ We Do All Adore Thee? As it turns out, this is a Catholic song. No wonder I always liked it!
Yes, that one is also one of my favorites from my time with the CoC! I LOVE that one!
In fact, that’s one of the ones I was thinking of adding to the list at a later time.
Our parish also sometimes sings some bad ones. One in particular I thought I had escaped, but it sometimes turns up to haunt me when the music is provided by the “Folk Choir”: “Sanctuary”.
Remember “Shine Jesus Shine”? I thought surely I’d never have to deal with that bit of gooeyness again, but I had to attend one of the loathsome “contemporary Masses” (where they pretty much pretend to be mega-church-stye Protestant, abjuring anything smacking of the last 2000 yrs of sacred tradition) and they sang it–rock n roll style. It was agonizing.
Rod Dreher, a fellow convert and a writer, said of converting to the Catholic Church that it was like being invited to the biggest, most beautiful palace in the land, and you’ve been told the king has the best wines, the best meals, and when you show up, he serves you microwave macaroni and cheese and a Dr Pepper in a can. That’s how the Church is doing things in this new “contemporary” (read: casual) age. A tragedy!
What about the B-I-B-L-E? Let me give you the words.
The B-I-B-L-E. Yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the word of God. The B-I-B-L-E. (silence)
Oh, Daniel, you forgot to shout, “BIBLE!!!!” at the end of that song.
:)
Of course the real saying is “lex orandi, lex credendi” - The law of prayer is the law of belief.