Worship
Sunday morning worship at Northside Drive is formal in character and steeped in the rich, liturgical tradition of the Christian Church. We gather as a local manifestation of the Body of Christ - baptized believers striving to live out the teachings of Christ. Through form and order of worship, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and his saving work among us as Prophet, Priest and King. The liturgy we follow is shaped by theological and biblical principles incorporated in centuries of Christian Worship. The traditions include observing the seasons of the Christian year - Advent, Christians, Ephiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost - and special days such as Reformation Sunday, All Saints Day and the Festival of Thanksgiving. Throughout the year, we participate in the worship of the larger Christian Church by reading from a common lectionary, a collection of scripture passages from the Old Testament, Gospels and Epistles.
Please join us for the Worship of God each Sunday beginning at 11:00 AM!
Pondering the Possibilities of a New Hymnal
For a while now, several members (including me) believe we, as a church, have outgrown our current hymnal, the Pilgrim Hymnal - both in depth and breadth. The hymnal was published over fifty years ago and it has been our Sanctuary hymnal for about thirty-five years. It is composed mostly of hymns from the English (Anglo-Celtic) tradition, as well as a few examples from the Swiss Psalter, German chorale, and European carols. As a result, the Worship and Music Committee (Karen Massey, chair) has established a sub-committee to consider the validity of these concerns and, if needed, choose a new hymnal.
After several months of consideration and review, we have decided that we do, indeed, need a new hymnal. Here's why.
A. The Pilgrim Hymnal is a good hymnal; it is simply not large or inclusive enough regarding gender, textual and musical variety, and style.
B. Worship resources are generally a part of many contemporary hymnals. The Pilgrim Hymnal does not include such resources (i.e. handbell scores, loose-leaf editions for choir and organ; instrumental and orchestral settings of the included hymns, descants, plus on-line planning and informational resources, etc.).
C. Our hymnal needs to reflect the current needs of the congregation.Our people have changed a lot since the purchase of our current hymnal.
1. We are theologically broader than the Pilgrim Hymnal.
2. The Pilgrim Hymnaldoes not match our liturgical ecclesiology and thus leaves us lacking hymnody in certain seasons.
3. The Pilgrim Hymnal does not address many more contemporary social issues in ways that are helpful (i.e. modern family life, ordination, economic justice, ethical concerns, etc.).
Even so we wish to retain most all the hymns we currently use and lovewhile adding to our "musical prayer book'. Many hymns known and loved by this congregation are not in Pilgrim Hymnal (i.e. Amazing Grace, Blessed Assurance, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Fairest Lord Jesus, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, How Great Thou Art, Jesus Loves Me, To God Be the Glory—just to mention a very few.).
The thoughts above grew out of our comparison of our current hymnal with two important church documents. When we reviewed our recent Vision Statement, three points particularly rose to the surface of our awareness.
A. We believe God calls us into Christian community with the challenge to discern and act upon the ongoing revelation of God in our time and place. Thought: We need current hymnody that reflects God's 'on-going revelation' and 'our time and place'. For instance, most hymnody from previous centuries pulls from agrarian images, not from the urban context in which we find ourselves.
B. We celebrate this vision through...the strength of Baptist freedoms, and the reach of an ecumenical and inclusive spirit. Thought: We have a need for hymnody that has Baptist roots, some of which are Gospel songs and hymns; plus hymnody that is broad in scope that alludes to inclusivity as represented in 'gender awareness,' etc.
C. ...being a church rooted deeply in liturgical traditions. Thought: Liturgical tradition is our strong-suit, yet there are few Lenten hymns and fewer Advent hymns in Pilgrim Hymnal.Additionally we need more hymns on Baptism, Communion, Child Dedication, Ordination, etc.
Two important points called for attention when we reviewed our Church Covenant.
A. We will proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and God's call to all people to repentance and faith, to reconciliation and hope, to social and economic justice. Thought: There are few references to 'economic or social justice' in Pilgrim Hymnal; yet, this is one of our covenantal values.
B. ... and ordain any Christian whom we perceive as gifted for ministry Thought: Again, this alludes to an inclusive understanding that men and women are equal servants of God. The language of our hymnody should reflect this.
Over the coming weeks we will visit the church leadership (we already have the awareness and support of the Church Council), all church school classes, and give you accessibility to hymnals we are considering, and use various means to share our thoughts on this matter with you. We hope you will do the same with your insight, concerns and ideas. The sub-committee consists of Paul Fletcher, Jeff Harbin, Zach Bay, Mike Gregg, Mary Lester and Irwin Ray.
W. Irwin Ray
Chair, Hymnal Sub-Committee
NO LONGER PONDERING….
After much pondering, prayer and discussion, the Hymnal Sub-Committee of the Worship and Music Committee, has narrowed the large list of potential new hymnals first to seven and now to three. As reported earlier to you, we followed a specific set of guidelines in our individual and collective review of the hymnals and compared them against our current Pilgrim Hymnal as well as a series of benchmarks and priorities. In that manner, each hymnal was fairly compared. It has been very labor-intensive, but we feel all three to be excellent choices for our church.
We are at the point where we need your help and insight. Beginning Sunday, June 19 and running through Sunday, August 14, three hymnals that have risen to the top of our research will be available for your personal review in the second floor Conference Room. They will be available from before church school until after worship each of the Sundays. Our hope is that the congregation will offer a few minutes to looking at each book and sharing your thoughts with us. To that end, a Congregational Review Form will be provided that you may complete and leave in the room for the sub-committee. The form uses the same 'benchmarks' as the ones used by the sub-committee and will help us further narrow the choices and arrive at the decision we bring to the Worship and Music Committee. Please include your name and specific comments; our members agree that general statements will not be of help.
In addition there will be copies of reports which have appeared in The Pinnacle and the E-Newsletter which tell why we need a new hymnal, what criterion we used to review each hymnal and websites of the publishers of these three so you may read more (or in one instance watch a video) about each on-line. We genuinely appreciate both your prayers as we move forward and your thoughts as we deliberate.
Irwin Ray, Chair
Hymnal Sub-Committee
