Bidenominational Hymnal, Worship Commission & a few thoughts
Bidenominational Hymnal:
This has been a crazy week. It started out with church canceled (due to weather) on Sunday (putting me two sermons behind for the beginning of my thesis project - not a big deal though). Monday and Tuesday were filled with a meeting for a new joint hymnal project between the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA). For those of you who don’t know, I am a member of the RCA; the CRCNA split away from the RCA about 150 years ago, over a handful of reasons but is essentially within the same tradition and espouses the same theology. That said, we have often fought like the sisters we are. The idea that we would JOINTLY create a substantive worship resource is amazing - I doubt my grandfathers would have ever imagined the possibility!
Anyhow, we had the first official meeting for the hymnal on Monday and Tuesday - It is going to be an INCREDIBLE group. The wisdom, experience, insight, diversity, and enthusiasm are nearly unbelievable. Stay tuned; this hymnal has the potential of adding something to the world of worship (particularly within the Reformed tradition) that hasn’t been seen in decades. We’re hoping for a publication date of 2013.
Worship Commission:
Tuesday and Wednesday (immediately following the hymnal meeting), I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting with the RCA’s Commission on Christian Worship. Again, this is an incredible group: CJ, Kathy, Ken, Lisa, Martin - each wonderful and insightful. There isn’t an individual on the commission whom I don’t enjoy and wish I was able to spend more time with.
Excitingly, this coming General Synod (our denominations’ annual get-together) will be the first time the commission is presenting a major decision in the time I’ve been on it. We are making a recommendation that will, in specific ways, open up the potential for diversity and flexibility in sacramental celebration. This is a huge deal - the beginning of a multi-year process of changing our denominational constitution! I’m hoping and expecting this could have the potential of helping break down some of the walls and smoothing over some of the animosity that occasionally rears its head between the various style-groups in our denomination. I won’t bore you with the details here, unless you want me to…. (let me know!)
In other commission news, I’ve been elected as the upcoming moderator for the commission - wow… I can only hope to fill the shoes with the kind of grace and gentleness exhibited by my predecessor Lisa. If only I could find a way to hold on to Martin… (whose term is over on the commission)
In other news….
Valentines Day: Still ick. I posted on it last year and won’t bend your ear this year but let me note again: ick. I love my wife and hope the holiday gives her a deeper understanding of that but it has increasingly become a near-puke-inducing, overly-commercial, utterly-un-personal, halmark-holiday.
Diversity Training: The RCA is requesting all commissioners to attend a training by one of our new staff members in October on our multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-etc. future. Let me say here publicly: PLEASE take a well-informed, broad view of culture, ethnicity, etc. It is so easy to fall into the categories of African-American/White/Asian or Urban/Rural or ??? and, in the process, end up demeaning people. (Spoken, I suppose, like a slightly-embittered-toward-the-topic, white, male who went to college in the mid-90s and was repeatedly demeaned and had assumptions made about him because of his gender and genetics). There is SO much positive potential here… PLEASE, whomever helps plan the event, PLEASE do it well.
Knitting: I’m currently still working on the “Cabled Scarf” out of the Knitting (Man)ual. I took a short break and knit up the “hiking socks” from the same book, but have resumed the scarf. I traditionally get really bored with scarves and find them tedios but am really looking forward to wearing this one. At least I’ve passed the half-way mark! (FYI: it’s made out of Marr Haven wool):
By the way, the Nike bag makes a GREAT bag for carrying knitting projects!
I hope you and yours are having a blessed Lenten season.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
8 Responses to “Bidenominational Hymnal, Worship Commission & a few thoughts”
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February 14th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Congratulations and condolences (both) on becoming a commission moderator. I greatly enjoyed my five years doing that, and I also found it filled with headaches. All in all, I think it is a blessing from God. Cherish as much as you can.
For somebody like me, who has spent a career writing about and studying hymns for and in the RCA, it is hard to be on the outside of that project looking in; this may be the only time in my working life that this gets done. But I wasn’t asked. I envy you. Please watch out that this Reformed hymnal actually pays attention to Reformed hymn writers (I had to fight for that in “Sing! A New Creation;” we have a tendency to want to ignore our own). Otherwise, enjoy the journey. If I can be of any help, you know how to find me.
February 15th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
First commenting as a knitter: nice scarf! Is that garter stitch or seed stitch? Is the cable pretty on both sides?
Secondly, commenting as a RCA minister: I am so happy you are on the committee for the new hymnbook. As the child of one of the editors of Rejoice in the Lord, I feel connected to the project and hope for a beautiful, inspiring work.
February 15th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
James..
Thanks for the congrats. I’m both nervous and excited about the moderator-ship and the hymnal committee. Fortunately, regarding the commission, the worship commission is a friendly group. As for the hymnal committee, it’s a good group too. We have already talked about the desire for this to be a “reformed” hymnal. In grand reformed tradition, it will also include each of the Psalms in some form.
Apple..
The scarf is definitely one-sided. The back isn’t exactly ugly, but it’s not at all a reversible pattern. As for the stitch. It’s a proper seed stitch on the “short” side of the cable. The “wide” side of the cable is 1 row of knit followed by a row of k2/p2 (or p2/k2 depending on the row).
As for the comparison to Rejoice in the Lord, we’re hoping this hymnal has a wider audience both in the RCA and the CRC. It will follow RiL’s precedence in trying to be theologically and biblically sound as well as hymnologically (is that a word?) substantive but will draw on a broader range of genres (including global music, and non-anglo traditions) and seek to be less directly influenced by a single musical editor. (Does that make sense?)
Exciting, huh?!
Grace and Peace,
`tim
February 18th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Tim . . .
I think you missed my point. I have no doubts about this being a Reformed hymnal, both through your good influence and our partnership with the CRC, where theology is still taken seriously.
What seems to happen is that we ignore the hymn WRITERS and tune COMPOSERS from our own denominations (obviously I have a bit of self-interest here). I think there is a natural tendency toward self-deprecation in Calvinism (once we acknowledge total depravity, it’s fairly simple), and it has always seemed to me that in this and other areas of church life, there’s an unspoken sense that ‘If he/she were any good, she/he wouldn’t be in the RCA.’ Given that the last Psalter Hymnal didn’t even include “God of the prophets” without it being re-worked by an Episcopalian (a brilliant Episcopalian, but still . . .), I worry about the possibility of a book where Marty Haugen is the most Reformed presence (also brilliant, but . . .). I’ve just finished arguing (over on the CI blog), that the RCA still has things to say to the world, but doesn’t want to say it. Please prove that second clause wrong.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Point well taken. You’re right in more areas than simply music and hymnology. I’m consistently amazed that the RCA will sub-contract or hire “outside” people to do things that people “inside” the RCA could do at least as well. All I can say is that there has already been some discussion about the need & desire to ensure a certain amount of home-grown presence in the new hymnal.
Of course it’s still early and it’ll be interesting to see how things work out. But, if nothing else, I can assure you the idea has already gotten some “air-time.”
Incidentally, I didn’t see a new article from you in the CI Blog. Has it maybe not posted yet?
Grace and Peace,
`tim
February 19th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Was I supposed to be posting something in the CI Blog? I posted a reply to Al Janssen’s most recent post over the weekend; that’s what I was referring to in my post above.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:45 am
James… RE: CI Blog… I misread your comment, thinking that you had put a new “post” up on CI rather than a new “comment”.. oops.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
February 20th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
You have a really , really nice way of photographing your knitting. I love it. And nice to be mentioned on your blog as someone you’d like to spend more time with. Ditto me about you my friend!