High Church--Low Church (part 20) Contemporary Worship

 Sixth Thursday after the Epiphany

Thanks, as always, to April for her comment.

Contemporary Worship is low church. Having said that, there are forms of contemporary worship that resist categorization. I'm writing this out of some degree of ignorance. I have read more about contemporary worship than I have experienced it. I would love to get some correction comments on anything I write here that may be misleading.

The largest difference between contemporary worship and traditional worship is the music. The guitar replaces the organ. Guitars are essential; drums are desirable. Songs replace hymns. Many of them are the songs one hears on Christian radio stations. Others are in are a large variety of Christian songbooks. The closest thing we have to that in the United Methodist Church is The Faith We Sing. Contemporary Christian songbooks are in paperback. One underlying feature of contemporary worship is lack of permanence. Contemporary sanctuaries have moveable chairs, not pews, minimal, if any, chancel furniture--no pulpits, perhaps a small, moveable lectern. It's a stage rather than a chancel. There's a band rather than a choir. There may be a communion table at the back of the stage.

Screens are crucial for contemporary worship. Screens come in pairs, one on the left, one on the right. Even if there is only one screen (which is rare), it will not be in the middle, but on one side. I've thought about the reasons for the two screens rather than one, even though people in the congregation can easily see both screens and even though both screens have the same things on them. Have you ever wondered why virtually all Bibles have two columns per page? I think that sub-consciously contemporary worship (CW) people made contemporary worship to have two screens because Bibles have two columns.

When I speak of CW songbooks, those tend to go only to worship leaders and musicians. The words are on the screens for everyone else. There is a distinct advantage to having the words on the screens. People are looking up at the screens rather than down at a hymnal. Their voices project better when they are looking up. Also, their peripheral vision sees other people singing, which encourages them in their own singing. The result of these two factors makes for louder and better and more meaningful congregational singing. 

Another advantage of screens is that things like responsive Psalter readings, creeds, and scripture lessons can be put on the screen. People do not need to be scrambling through a hymnal to get the right page. Pew Bibles tend to be unused.

CW music can vary a lot from denomination to denomination and from church to church. Many of the songs are highly repetitive. Critics of CW call them 7-11 songs (seven words repeated 11 times). I have, in fact, heard many such songs. I don't think they are entirely bad. Their is a chant like quality, similar to Taize and Gregorian, although the music is entirely different. 

Another difference in CW from traditional is uplifited hands, both in prayer and in singing. Having screens makes uplifted hands possible in singing--no hymnal to hold. Uplifted hands are totally Biblical. The Psalms are full of them. For me and for a lot of CW folks, lifting up your hands makes you more receptive to the Holy Spirit. There is a spiritual energy in uplifted hands. We could do it in traditional worship too, but I've never seen it. In CW singing people feel much freer to let their bodies sway with the music, to feel the music as well as hear it. 

Enough for now. I prefer traditional worship, but I can do just about any kind of worship. There are more kinds than just CW and Traditional. All of it is worship of God, which is an amazing joy. 

I got a new I-phone today. Email on both our I-phones and our computers is out of wack. I hope to have it working in a couple of days. Comments on the blog do work. Please send comments and questions on the blog.Weird day for us today. Three hours getting the new phone. I don't have either lectionary texts or a prayer today. I will tomorrow.

Faithfully

Christian