Now here is my “resourcer’s dream” site for creating ongoing, accessible and usable versions of hymns for contemporary usage. We’re building a catalogue ourselves as well; I’m pleased that these guys have done such a good job.
Hope this serves the ancient-reclaiming vision of worship the Church in your community.
Thanks to Dylan McKeeman, an Institute Masters student here.
We just finished a fantastic module with our Institute Three Year Masters by Module students. What rich dialogues, interactions, and engagement of the heart and mind on ideas throughout time we shared.
Here’s why we teach the way we do at St. Stephen’s University in our ThreeVoice, roundtable learning model:
From good friend, Heidi Turner.
We’re moving along, full strength, here at the Institute.
The Masters students are working through biblical theology of worship, with a focus on Reformation themes/liturgies/music/leadership, along with forays into the the history of worship expression over the past 500 years. Fascinating work in graeco-roman thought (platonic dualism) as compared to a biblical ordering of the universe. A joy to tumble on this ground, it is.
Today we reflect on core influencers in Western hymnody (only one part of the wider worship work culturally in the last 1/2 millenium) and the introduction of spirituals into North American worship music. This leads us into the values of the contemporary worship movements of today in relation to recent history. Each module will take us back in time.
Our One Year students are presenting their creative retellings of the Origins Of Worship at chapel today. Wood carvings, physical theatre, songs, video projects, visual art, storytelling and other creative means will fill the famous SSU Red Room today. A very creative batch of students, we have. Should be a joy.
I’m off to teach - our Three Voice Learning model makes these times so rich for both teacher and participants.
Our students are in the midst of a beautiful class on George Herbert’s poetic renderings of faith in his book, The Temple.
It just so happens that there is some significant pain and mourning that has come into the group this morning (a good friend of one student was murdered), coupled with great joy (a former Masters students who was paralyzed by a water accident is miraculously walking on his own).
The gift of poetry is it’s capacity to inculcate hope into weary souls through indirect communication.
The following is a poem from me, and then a phrase from George Herbert.
return
free form
in light suspended
graceful return to my infancy
when innocence was my handbag
and playfulness my currency
light around me
every crevice filled
turns to shadows
as the ages pass
my mind so growing
to become someone
distinguished from my peers
by smarter living
now wanting home
to be the child
free form
in light suspended
graceful return to my infancy
“Away, despair! My gracious Lord doth hear….”
From The Bag, by George Herbert
Here’s an event that some friends have given me the heads up about, but that is out of my reach in its timing. If anyone goes, and can gather media, I’d love to connect with its content.
CONSTRUCTING THE INEFFABLE
Contemporary Sacred Architecture
Jointly sponsored by the Yale School of Architecture, the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and the Yale Divinity School, this symposium seeks to explore ways of widening the circle of discussion about the nature of the sacred in relation to architectural and urban space. The intention of this symposium is to open a discourse between architects, sociologists, philosophers and theologians by engaging an international and interfaith audience in the consideration of the powerful influence religion has come to exert in contemporary civic life, and the concretization of that role in the design and construction of prominent religious buildings.
This symposium is held in conjunction with, and follows, the Yale Institute of Sacred Music conference “Sacred Space,” Thursday-Friday, October 25-26 (for details on that conference visit http://www.yale.edu/ism/events/sacredspacesconference.html).
Symposium | Yale School of Architecture
Another full day for the Institute Masters crew, and a great afternoon at beautiful Dominion Hill with our One Year students joining the fray for a time of focus on Elemental Leadership - keeping ourselves strong as leaders for the long haul.
Time to relax this evening… with a houseful of two teenage beauties, a pre-teen powerdude and a breathtakingly amazing wife.
Today, after a morning of the Masters students involved in Ignatian prayer and reflection, we moved into a cursory look at pre-Reformation and Reformation history.
For our Institute Masters students, this initial glance, along with extensive readings, will move us to consider the creative leader within the Church in this time frame, and to consider how they applied their creativity to their age, and to the deepening of shared faith. We’ll move all the way through the Reformation into the negro slave songs, into the contemporary worship movements (and cultural music movements) of today.
It is a humbling exercise to see ourselves, our own hearts, fleshed out in previous recorded history. May we never be frustrated by the fragile historical process of human beings stretching themselves to find faith in the midst of their unique cultural context.
It’s not easy being human; it’s not easy following Jesus.
But still, it seems clear to me, there is no escape from being human, and no other way I would choose.
We’ve just launched into our Institute Masters Module program here at SSU, with 3 Institute grad students and many others in the wider SSU Masters by Module program.
We’d welcome your prayers, even as you read this post, as we dive into the riches of history, biblical study, theology, creativity and much more.
These guys have families at home they are apart from, so your prayers for a strong 2 weeks for them and their loved ones would be great.
Our studies this module focus on writings from the Reformation to today, and wider theological, biblical and cultural studies. It’s a fascinating journey as well, considering the thinking, feeling and creative of the musicians and artist-orators of that period in Western history (only one small slice of world history on the planet). We move into the issues of slavery, and the precipitants (for the Institute students) of the modern musical expressions alive in the culture and the Church.
We live, love, create and serve in a context, these kinds of studies remind us.
This is sent to me by good friend and fine young artist, Jay Darrow.
Rarely has an instrument intrigued me as much as my glorious hammered dulcimer. This instrument, pronounced “hung drum”, but spelled HangDrum, moves me.
On a side note, at the Deeper Youth Conference in Saint John last week, during my talk we broke into a Stomp-like exercise. Rhythms cascading into rhythms, that’s what it was, until human voices began to join the frolicking - then it got serious!
What a blast. This sound is lovely - similar to the qualities of “percussion meets melody” that come from the hammered dulcimer. Thanks for putting us onto this, Jay.
Anyone know where I can get about 3 of these for the Institute?
I’m always interested in the topic of human origins, as I believe that so many of our ideas about worship have to do with basic and primal instincts woven into the human person.
The biblical story suggests these primal instincts are “bent” (Francis Shaeffer), and I contend there is much to learn from the fields of anthropology and archaeology about the origins of worship.
Here are two articles of interest,
The first claims to have found the world’s oldest painting (on a wall in Syria).
The second is from an evolutionist suggesting that human beings were never “knuckle-draggers,” based on physiological evidence from remains.
My inclusion of these articles is not meant to be an endorsement of their findings, nor a statement of affirming belief in the worldview (or even our most advanced dating techniques) that accompany.
I include these simply out of my ongoing love for, and interest in, the passionate search for human origins in our scientific community.
Human Ancestors Walked Upright, Study Claims News
This morning our Institute students (and others at SSU in our FY100) course presented their creative expressions of the early Genesis narrative and their reflections on the origins of worship.
Physical theatre, DVDs, unicycles, dance, songwriting, photojournalism, handmade books, stories for adults and children, and many other beautiful expressions of worship - all centering around the themes of Genesis, were presented.
What a stunning morning of worship, and what joy to see these guys “getting” the idea that a human being is optimally designed to glorify God.
What a privilege to teach this group of powerhouses.
Speaking at our Deeper Youth Conference today, over in St. John, New Brunswick, on Called To Creativity.
Would appreciate any prayers our way. Releasing these young men and women to embrace their creative passion is the agenda.
Good friend and fellow hammered dulcimer player/worship leader Garrett Viggers tagged me on to this brief history of the hammered dulcimer.
I’ve come across just a few of us who lead worship and instrumental fray from this glorious blend of percussion, strings and rhythmic melody. Myself and great friend Matt Frise have a hammered dulcimer/violin duo called Amicus, partially built around the friendly harmonic spirit of the instrument.
I think it may replace the acoustic guitar in worship - at least it already has in a few of our minds….
Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Hammer Dulcimer: History and Playing
Here’s another from Wikipedia.
A kind review by Vineyard Records UK (I wouldn’t expect it to be a bad one!) on the What Is Worship? event we just did in Bury St. Edmunds, UK.
Nathan Horner is a wonderful friend, a gifted musician, and a great heart who made this last Worship Artisan 4 day course and the What Is Worship? event come together from the VRUK end.
This week, our FY100 students engaged with the What Is Worship? DVD, and the Leading Worship DVD.
This week our students respond in 250 words or so, how they interacted with the ideas presented, and amplifying our session the week before.
If you’re not in the class, feel free to interact with our students.