Organ bench comfort

During my organ playing career I have usually found that wooden organ benches are, well, wooden and smooth. Occasionally I have seen examples which have fixed padding and I have not enjoyed playing these because the friction between trousers and padding makes it difficult to move about - not that one does so a great deal but even necessary slight rotation is compromised.

Now that I am over 60 and I have had to lose weight for medical reasons, the fat has vanished from my backside and I cannot sit on an organ bench for very long before I experience pain and discomfort.

So I have taken to using a cushion at home, on my digital organ, which is not fixed to the bench and I will need to invest in a cushion I can take around with me when I visit elsewhere. So the bench below would probably be OK

Audience participation

I am not used to audience participation in church, other than in the hymns. Yesterday the lady who did the intercessions invited anyone who wanted to pray for somebody to call out their first name. Only one person did so.

Whatever happened to "Let us hold in our hearts anyone in particular we wish to pray for" on the basis that they are known to God? This seems to me all to be part of the 'show and tell' culture in church.

Perhaps God needs a helping hand these days.

A clever sermon

The local vicar is on holiday and the service today (not at my usual church in the benefice) was taken by a retired but very experienced 85 year old priest. One reading was from Acts 16:16-34 about Paul and Silas being chucked into prison for casting out a fortune-telling spirit from a girl who was being exploited by her owners.

His thrust was that Satan sometimes speaks the truth, but not all of it. In order to make his lies sound more plausible he sprinkles them with truth so people get taken in.

He did not go so far as to mention the Sue Gray 'partygate' report or Boris but I knew this was what he was referencing.

Well done that man!

Church Archives

It is well known that churches have generated many historical records over hundreds of years. As a family historian I know that many such records have been transcribed by societies and are now on the internet, hosted by various commerical sites as well as free ones.

However, much information which could be of great interest to researchers has been distributed widely and is hard to locate when one would have thought that a copy, at least, would have been retained locally.

Yesterday I visited a Records Office and I was able to see research carried out over the last 20-30 years which is not available anywhere else. Both documents contained plot maps for cemeteries which had been painstakingly drawn by hand over many hours. Essentially, these are lost except for those motivated enough to look into it.

England's family history societies are producing Memorial Inscription (MI) booklets and these often have maps in them. However, the old research contained details of the inscriptions which are now illegible on the headstones themselves so it is impossible for the average churchyard visitor to know who is buried where.

My research has long conviced me that - largely - once you have gone, you are gone and forgotten.

Ringing is suspended

I have decided to cut right back on my bellringing, for now. I started in 1973 so I suppose I may do a little to 'celebrate' 50 years, next year. Henceforth I shall ring once a month with a group which does outings.

I have had other breaks in the past. I had some arm problems in the 1970s and RSI in the 1980s. I didn't ring at university at all (1977-1980) although I did on my PGCE course (1981).

Once I started work I went out to get myself away from the flat when I lived alone. From 2005-2021 I didn't go ringing much as working in boarding school leaves one pretty exhausted in the evenings and there are duties to do some evenings.

The final straw came last week when I left the ringing room suddenly. I've been reflecting on this. IT was caused by frustration but not necessarily with the other ringers. It was just the realisation that I am wasting my time as I've been 'stagnant' for so long.

There isn't any point in learning harder methods because, well, who would I ring them with? The reason I do not ring London is because it isn't rung around here so there is no point in learning it.

I am not ringing for the Queen's Jubilee.

The Comfortable Words

Another element of the communion service which seems to have been discarded - at least in my area - is the comfortable words. Why is this? I miss them.

To be honest I didn't bother about them when I was young. Even then I wondered why the church used such complicated language. After all, what young chorister/organist knows what propitiation means? Still, I heard them every week and they became like a friend to me.

Just as yesterday I moaned about the disappearance of the Sursum Corda and it seems to me that the C of E is chucking out vital texts and replacing them with chatter.

Sursum Corda

Many, many years ago it was common for the Sursum Corda to be a part of the communion service. There were problems such as

• the priest could not sing very well
• the priest simply didn't know the tune
• the pitch would wander about
• it was too slow and/or painful
  

The excruciating aspect was that, after the intial 'call and repsonse' section between priest and congregation, the remainder of the Eucharistic prayer was often sung, very badly. Now and again a priest would admit that he had no vocal skills and he would say the prayer.

The other problem was that the cue for the Sanctus is likely to have been in the wrong key unless the organist had previousy worked out in what key the plainsong ought to begin in order to end up 'right'. The danger there was that a priest would be used to a certain pitch and could naturally slip back into his habitual pitch.

I have not heard a true Sursum Corda for many years. If you do a search on https://www.churchofengland.org/ it does not turn up. (When I started as an organist in 1974 we used Merbecke's communion setting.) The words have since been modernised and shortened. Here is and example and you will note the pitch drifting as the priest gets into the long section.

Passing notes

Honestly! Musical aural skills in the pews of the C of E are at a low ebb. Passing notes are regularly inserted into melodies which do not have or need them. The most famous case is in "O come, all ye faithful" at"... born the King of An - - gels".

There is another I know of in "At the name of Jesus" when sung to Camberwell: "Every tongue confess him" usually gets a passing note. There are no examples on YouTube but, in a few, you can just imagine someone gagging to put one in.

Typical - you can never find one when you actually want one! I think there is a a slight one HERE.

What struck me on Sunday was that there was a complete absence of the dreaded passing note. Hoorah!

Clothing

On the one hand I would never turn up to a church service wearing jeans, especially if I expected to be part of the service - such as a parent or Godparent at a Christening & Baptism (see below). On the other I do believe that God does not care what we wear and is more concerned with what is on the inside.

Clothing traditions in church are 'thought up' by society. I was told a man should never wear a hat in church so I never did until I lost my hair. Now, if I go to play in a cold church (not for a service) I wear a hat. If nobody sees it is between me and God: the sky isn't going to fall in.

A Christening is not the same as a Baptism. The former is when a baby, child or adult is annointed with the oil of Chrism.

Baptism is the act of sploshing water over the baby, child or adult's head three times whilst saying "I baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost".

Another long drive

I am just back from playing at 2 churches over 50 miles away. Mad? Maybe, but I went first as an emergency organist and liked it so much I have been back: twice: so, including today, that's 3 visits in all.

I have discovered more about religion in these 6 services than I ever thought I would. I have never liked passing the Peace. At least today the incumbent explained why it is done. Had this been explained years ago I might have warmed to the feature: I am still with Mrs Beamish, as I said in 2020.

When I re-started this blog I wondered how I would find things to say every day. It is good to force oneself to write each day and to muster a few thoughts: that's what I tell myself anyway. I now have ammunition for a few days as I took notes on my phone.

I knew all the music today and had prepared pre- and post-service voluntaries. I am getting to know organ #1 quite well but the lower 4 notes of the pedal board on organ #2 always catch me out: I think it is because it is continental as it is not very concave and radiates in a slightly unusual way.

My 2nd organ teacher had a bee in his bonnet about organists not being able to adjust to different instruments. These days any mistakes I make are also due to the fact that I do not practise as much as in my 20s and 30s. This got me thinking about the question, "When is an organist old?" Footballers and athletes expect to retire as do ballet dancers; they go into coaching. We organists battle on as long as we can and it does us good to keep our fingers moving. However, reactions slow and fingers become less supple. (Even the brain goes because I originally put subtle rather than supple!). Some of the bum notes I play occur when I try to be too clever and change stops 'on the fly' without being 100% sure where the knobs are or how long it will take me to get my hand back to the keys.

I shall keep going as long as I can.

Save the Parish

A short post today as all the information you need is on this website.

SAVE THE PARISH

The last time the C of E made a major financial decision it went pear-shaped thanks to the Church Commissioners.

The Church Commissioners lost a staggering £800m in the late 1980s, chiefly the result of unwise investments in property. Now, they have fallen victim to the slump in the telecommunications sector and, according to an article in the Church Times, have seen their Vodafone portfolio fall by more than £78m since the start of 2000. [Source: www.theguardian.com]

Commandment number 3

There are some amusing videos about which I first saw on Facebook. A guy pretends to be a bush and then he suddenly moves as people approach. See the example below. It is revealing of 21st century life and attitudes that the reaction of so many thus shocked is to utter a profanity.

Society is increasingly secular. I remember that my aunt hated anyone calling another person a fool and would mention the danger of hell fire as in Matthew 5:22. How she would react to the kind of language so many people these days I do not know (well, I guess I do!). With the 'F' word so common on TV it is hardly surprising that standards have dropped.

Years ago I suppose the church acted as an influencer as regards acceptable public speaking but, these days, I never hear any church members registering dismay at the words and phrases which are now in common use. The first reaction on the video is typical, others blurt out OMG. If you explore his channel you will note many similar reactions.

It can be done

A recent post on Facebook concerning St Lawrence, York.

This is what can be done if you simply ignore all those older people whose response to everything is to say that it can't be done, it won't work, no one will come. This church was scheduled for closure. It was to become some form of multi-faith community centre. The old guard pronounced that there was no alternative. A group of young people came along and said, "No". They said that they were going to turn it back into a thriving parish church with top rate music and a new organ. The old guard responded with their usual defeatest negativity. "It can't be done". Well they were shown to be wrong. It was done. The money needed to restore the church and get a new organ was found. The church has a growing young congregation; first rate music, no "worship songs and choruses". Only the very old members liked them anyway. Look at what was done here. This is the answer to all those who insist "It can't be done". It can be done. They did it, you can do it too.

Religion and young people

When I was young it seemed to me that to be accepted by God one had to be a 'good person'. One aspect of this involved not hating people. As John and Matthew put it...

• If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
• But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

This caused me anxiety because there were several boys I did not like at school. Now this is perfectly normal because, let's face it, some people can be complete twats. Even those who were not in that category could have personalities so alien to one's own that - they could be loud and 'in your face'  - that one felt very uncomfortable when they were around.

So, essentially, the church seemed to be saying that the normal feelings one had whilst growing up and learning how to deal with people were wrong because you had to like everybody.

These days there is possibly more guidance. Last Sunday the sermon involved the vicar telling us that some students at theological college used to make her blood boil - gosh, honesty in church. I cannot quite recall how she dealt with this.

Feelings of guilt (i.e. that one is falling short of what is expected) are dangerous for children and can give them a complex of inadequacy.

Clang

I blew my top. I stormed out. Enough is enough.

I used to enjoy bellringing but no longer. Bad ringing, people who handle a bell badly (despite having been told about it) and inflicting clashes on the public all frustrate me.

Last night was a case in point. A chap was asked if he had looked at Grandsire Doubles bobs and singles: he hadn't. (The last time I was there I called a touch of Plain Bob minor with all singles, which he had never properly learnt, just to make sure he did some.) He was put in a touch of Grandsire and did OK with a guide. He is a decent chap and may not find aspects ringing easy but he seems content to stay at the same level where he has been for years.

Then there is the guy who now refuses to improve his handling and striking. He rings a large bell like a small one. He could not even stay in the correct place when hunting the treble. Others, who should have learned the method just hadn't.

These days, when the church needs to protect its reputation in society, why does it allow bad ringing to continue? Whilst it is a fact that a bell practice will, by definition, result in mistakes happening this is no reason to accept a lazy approach to ringing. It is tantamount to reinforcing bad habits, bad striking, poor rhythm and an attitude of  'it's not perfect but it will do'.

Peals - don't get me started. There are certain ringers who devote all their free time to ringing as many peals as possible in as many places as possible. They are the 'Olympians' of the ringing fraternity. There is usually one guy who arranges and calls these peals for whatever reason, such as it being Friday 13th (search Peterborough Diocesan Guild on Bellboard). I've never met him. He has done little to help folk like me do more.

Every pastime needs rank and file members who are never going to reach great heights. I've recently taken up indoor bowls and I am happy just being a club player once or twice a week. The 'hair and teeth brigade' (apparently that phrase is not a 'thing' but one I've grown up with) take it oh so seriously.

I have been ringing for 50 years - aolmost to the day. may be it is time to stop.

Speed

My main memory of the service yesterday (other than a key on the swell which dropped, never to rise again - luckily with no cipher) is the fact that someone in the choir was in a hurry.

For some reason the hymns got faster and faster. Now this started to happen before I realised and I felt a little foolish. It is my job to establish and maintain the tempo and not follow the singers: I've known this since I was at school. I did my best but it wasn't my finest hour. I think this is because it has happened so rarely to me that I wasn't prepared.

It happens that the choir were also speeding up during the spoken parts of the service too which were not as dreadful as they can be in some churches, but still rather ragged.

The communion hymn is sung by the choir with soft organ accompaniment; in unison as far as I could tell. In this, one chap was very loud and he ran out of breath on the long notes. So, when he reached a three beat note he ignored the dot, took a breath and ploughed straight on.

Prayer

Does God answer prayer(s)? This is a debate I shall touch on now and then.

There are several churches without organists this morning according to Organistsonline, and I wonder if the people at each of them prayed for God to supply one.

Does the infinite go in for fulfilling the items on a prayer 'shopping list'? If prayers are not answered, what is the point? Is it just wishing? It has always puzzled me.

Saturdays

• When I was a young organist, Saturday was the day I went to practise the hymns for church the next day.
• When I was older it was a day when I used to go bellringing, often in the afternoons if there was a  branch meeting
• At university I would go shopping when I had eventually got up and I might even have studied in the afternoon
  
• For much of my life it was the day for a late brunch, a family trip to Tescos, and lots of lesson planning for the week ahead at school
• Often, from 1981 to 2005, I might have a wedding to play for in the summer months
  
• From 2005 to about 2010 it was a school morning (boarding school) until I sacrificed my Thursday half day so give me a whole Saturday off
• From 2015, living alone, it has been a day for household chores

Of the above I miss the practice in church with Molly and Violet doing the flowers. These days I practise at home on my digital organ: I cannot remember when I last did any serious practice on a pipe organ.

I am not feeling very energetic today. I shall not see or talk to anybody. Nobody will phone me.

I need to prepare my music for tomorrow but I shall do so without any enthusiasm.

EDIT: I have looked at tomorrow's hymns and two of them are in lower keys thna I am used to which is annoying. I could put them back into the keys which my fingers 'know' but - happily - they work OK in the new keys. Congregations can strain these days if a tune goes too high.

Have there been sermons about Halal?

This is a rant and may not be well thought out, but it is my blog.

Sermons should instruct and guide. The C of E is not known for taking a strong stance on issues such as Halal meat. Oh yes, there is plenty about whether Christians can eat it or not and the justification is usually taken from St. Paul's writings.

My gripe is that we have, in the country, the RSPCA, laws, customs and traditions whereby we do not cause unnecessary suffering to animals. The debate should not be "Is it OK for Christians to eat Halal meat?", but rather, "Should Christians object to the practice of Halal slaughter?" [Yes!]

In a typically English way, the church does not want to offend anybody and so I found little about Halal slaughter (with reference to the C of E): there is plenty to tell peope how not to offend others.

See https://www.compellingtruth.org/halal-food.html and https://www.thetablet.co.uk/blogs/1/309/halal-or-not-to-halal- The Tablet is an RC publication I believe. I think Catholics have thought about this issue a little more. Here is a longer article.

Halal in general makes my blood boil. I can find nothing on Christian websites about the fact that slaughter without stunning is cruel. I guess there is nothing particularly pleasant about slaughter anyway which is why so many are turning to other food philosophies such as Veganism.

Another case of "Let's avoid the difficult issues". As long as the annual church fête goes ahead OK that's that matters.

Virtual Vespers

Hot on the heels of my post Time for God I have discovered Virtual Vespers which is an oasis of calm in my life. This is an initiative from James Flores on his channel.

For me, these videos 'hit the spot' and it must be that organ music speaks to me of the Divine as much as the spoken word: the mix of the two is well-judged. Also, I am discovering attractive new organ repertoire which I may actually be able to play even with my fingers starting to show signs of arthritis.

I also quite like the MP3s from Pray as you go which I linked to the other day but they keep telling me my browser it out of date, no matter which browser I use.

Once again, I think I enjoy these types of media because they get on with the job in hand - worship and meditation - without the chatty "let's all be friends" emphasis I find in church these days when real spirituality and single-mindedness gets pushed aside.

If the church wants to encourage people to spend quality time with God then services need to ignore the world outside (notices, announcements and meaningless long sermons) and get on with reaching the inner core of peoples' souls.

Shortage of Organists

The shortage of organists has been in the news recently (I shall not put up a link but an article arrived in my Facebook feed yesterday). I have been playing a long time. Today I picked up a piece of music I bought in 1974 when I was 15: I remember learning it. It is Yon's "Toccatina" but it has a longer title.

Back in the 70s there were several of us learning the organ at Peterborough cathedral, all of us choristers or ex-choristers. We all wanted to be cathedral organists, I expect, but the reality is that church organs are smaller and more difficult to play and cathedral posts are limited! Some organs are real beasts with heavy action and a poor selection of stops. They were installed to accompany hymns not to allow chaps like me to play Widor's "Toccata".

I was lucky in Peterborough as there were quite a few good instruments about but, where I live now, I am surrounded by uninspiring instruments. There is the problem. All organs are different. If you learn the clarinet then you generally have your own clarinet and it is the same everytime you pick it up. Not so with organs. Stops can be in different places, they can be drawstops or tabs, above the keys or on either side. There can be some playing aids (pistons) or none.

Unless one is motivated to play the organ at an early age one is hardly likely to take it up. One will only be motivated if one goes to church and falls in love with the instrument. Church attendance is falling. On top of that musical trends are changing as are modes of worship.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of organists around the world and sales of digital organs for home use are on the up.

So, is there really a shortage of organists?

All spread out

I mentioned that there were only 18 people at a one of the services on Sunday.

It has long been a bit of a joke that people who attend church sit at the back and they certainly spread out to use as much of a building as possible. This, of course, has been essential when folk returned to church when Covid restrictions were eased.

In some ways this is perfectly natural. The English do not want others to hear them pray and the art of mumbling is a skill oft found in the C of E. That said, I try not to mumble but I do vary in my level of participation on those rare times when I am not at the organ (and they are very rare). If I attend a service where there are great hymns, then I do like a good sing and I give it some vocal welly. Even as an organist I have been known to give a vocal lead in the spoken parts if I feel the congregation needs encouragement, and I sometimes sing as I play if the console is near the congregation.

At the first service on Sunday 8th I was near the (small) choir and I felt it only right to join in the Creed and other spoken parts of the service because we were a team: teams thrive on mutual support.

It was a hallmark of the worship at church #1 that conregational participation was positive and not feeble. To "The Lord be with you", the reponse "And with Thy spirit" was firm and confident (actually, I cannot recall if that one as actually used but it is very likely!). As I said before, I did feel this was an act of worship and, oddly (although I could not see the congregation very well) they were not spread out quite as much as one might expect.

I do find sharing the Peace very uncomfortable. It has not been done by people moving about during Covid - British Sign Language has been used in some places. Even before Covid I hated this aspect of the service and people would deliberately walk up to you and force a handshake on you. Hideous!

It is the sudden change of mood, the ripping one out of one's comfort zone, which is so disturbing. One can sit alone in church doing one's best to worship in solitude (with one's inner thoughts) and then one is expected to be all pally with several people for no good reason. Is it virtue signalling at its worst?

Time for God

"Vicars only work on Sundays" is a thought which passes the minds of many people. It is not true: if fact most have one day off a week. The Sunday schedule of the incumbent who took yesterday's services was exhausting. When I arrived at St. John's at 08:40 she was already in the church having had an 08:00 Communion. She stayed on for the 09:30 Sung Eucharist, we went to the next village for the 11:15 service and I knew she had a baptism at 13:00. Later the same day there was an Evensong (18:30) back at St. John's. How she filled her afternoon I am not sure.

The sermon was about finding time for God each day: just 15 minutes. "Even I can do that" she said which is not to say that is all the time she finds in a day for the deity. The introduction to the sermon concerned those who have lost their faith and she postulated that people lose their faith because they do not maintain a relationship with God. This is certainly true in my case following my dalliance with an Evangelical church and a few major life issues.

The congregation was encouraged to find ways of engaging with God through private prayer and/or Bible reading. There was an A4 handout to take home with a list of low-tech and higher-tech methods. Here are a few.

• https://www.brfonline.org.uk/collections/our-notes
• https://content.scriptureunion.org.uk/bible-reading-guides
• www.thegoodbook.co.uk/daily-bible-reading/ 

Then there are the apps and websites

• https://www.sacredspace.ie/
• https://www.prayermate.net/app
• https://www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/
• https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/centering-prayer-mobile-app/
• https://pray-as-you-go.org/ie.php

This is the first time I have taken away from a church something to investigate in my own time. I have attended many services which have been only perfunctory.

 

A good morning

To avoid an excessively long post (but it has turned out to be long), I shall reflect upon today’s events over the coming week as and when thoughts crystallize in my mind. There is, however, a good chance that I shall forget what I was going to say: I am sure my reader will not mind!

I got up at 06:30, dressed, had breakfast and, wearing my deputy organist hat, drove some 54 miles to play for 2 services – one at 09:30 and another at 11:15 at different churches in a benefice. I have been there before.

There was a short choir practice before the service in the first warm church (the heat was on) and I had had the music a few days in advance. I set up the pistons, although I did 50% of the registration by hand. I had prepared “Sheep may safely graze” by Bach as it is Good Shepherd Sunday although it took me a page to get used to the organ again so there were some odd notes! I played a second pre-service piece and then the vicar came to start the service. This is just what I like: a clear beginning and a moment of calm before the first hymn. None of the dreadful chatter I get locally nor the need to shout “Good morning” over the sound system. (Also, the sound systems worked very well in both churches whereas, locally, there is always some issue or other with flat battery, poor reception or crackles in the sound).

The service – at both places – progressed straight through according to the service book. Each was orderly, dignified and totally lacking in “Show and Tell Church”: the act of worship was indeed an act of worship in which I was fully focussed throughout and the chatty, socialising aspect of the occasion was reserved for post-service coffee; as it should be.

I knew I was going to hear the same sermon twice today but I enjoy listening to this incumbent, because she is worth listening to. It was a joy to hear lovely clear diction, a genuine sense of conviction combined with a sense of friendly authority. In so many services I attend I do feel that the priest is verging on banter with the congregation or is actually being far too ‘chummy’. It could be that – by virtue of my upbringing and my pre-retirement job – I expect clergy to have about them the air of an educator. I did feel we were being given advice about how to incorporate both God and religion into our lives which is something I seldom feel. More on this tomorrow.

Normally I am relieved when a service ends and I can go home. After the first service I drove to church #2 ready to repeat the same hymns and most of the same music to a fresh set of ears. The second organ keeps one on one's toes because it is new and very responsive. It is, however, small so it needs careful registration to allow one to keep sound in reserve yet still lead the singing.

Sadly there were only 18 people present, including myself the priest and the server(s). The sermon was almost identical but not read from notes; again it lasted just 10 minutes but seemed shorter. It turns out that the priest was previously a barrister and so she would have needed to speak clearly and with conviction to win over a jury!

The drive home (mainly up the M1) took 1 hour 20 minutes and, no doubt, I shall be tired tomorrow. Nevertheless it was well worth going and I do feel uplifted, not just because I played tolerably well but because my jaundiced view of the C of E could well be affected by the diocese in which I live.

Beware of door handles

Churches have large door handles and some are very old.  I have injured myself on two church door handles in the past.

• By my finger meeting a hiddle sharp piece of metal
• Trapping my finger in a door latch because there was not enough light to see the potential risk

The handle below (both outside and inside are shown) was quite safe but shows the typical age of device I am talking about.

 

Visiting Choirs

When I was an organ scholar, many years ago, the university choir would visit a cathedral for a week during the summer. The idea of choirs singing the services at a large church or cathedral has grown and is now extremely common. I am bombarded with posts on Facebook about Evensongs.

I used to sing with such a group but it struck me that I was trying to re-live my youth and also playing at 'dressing up'. These days I do not care about wearing my diploma hood and showing the world how clever I think I am.

Looking a the repertoire choices of these advertised evensongs one cannot help thinking that they are just an opportunity for the choir to wallow in the music they like. Nothing wrong with that but it does mean that certain music gets over-used.

Typically a service will have canticle by Wood, Howells, or Dyson, and an anthem such as "O Thou, the Central Orb" by Wood or "Evening Hymn" by Balfour Gardiner.

Just as Classic FM keeps playing the same few tracks, one does need variety now and again. Sadly - as I have blogged before - conductors can go to the other extreme of selecting music which is far too dissonant.

Another glory hole

As I travel I now seek out the wonders of church glory holes. Enjoy these 2 views of the same place.

Preserving the past

A dilemma for churches is whether or not to preserve the past. For major work to be carried out in churches a Faculty is required. Clearly, many church congregations are bringing their buildings into the 20th (no that isn't an mistake but a joke!) or even the 21st century by adding toilets, kitchens, removing pews and having comfortable chairs and so on. As I've said before, many places install data projectors, screens and goodness knows what.

Then there is the issue of the organ. Organs take up space, they need regular maintenance and people to play them: this all costs money. However, some organs are linked to the church in which they reside because they are of national or historical importance, or both: they cannot easily be ripped out. (Much the same is true of bell frames but that is another topic).

I converted to a PC many years ago and got rid of my Commodore 64: you cannot keep using old technology and the same is partly true of organs. I have known organs to have been 'restored' or cleaned and yet they are as hard to play - as regards effort - as they ever were. Lots of money spent for no real advantage.

On Facebook there is a post about an organ which is no longer used. It has history and was a very fine example of its kind, years ago. These days the specification looks drab with 8, 8ft stops amongst its 11 manual stops. They have left it in place and now use an electronic organ.

There is a photo on Facebook of the organ case which has had banners positioned for display and this has caused consternation for some. These are the comments:

• It's an inappropriate place for secular activism and the signalling of trends, virtues or vices. (I'm not sure that seeing God as Alpha and Omega is a modern trend, but the NHS rainbow so common in the Covid Lockdown is different!)
  
• Sad use of an organ facade - who in their right mind would hide beautiful pipes and woodwork with (and excuse me) hideous contemporary banners?
• Depressing to see "Holy Roller" banners blocking the front pipes!

It may be that this is an old photo and the banners are no longer there. I do think they look out of place. It is a matter of taste.

 

A glimpse of heaven

On this blog I bemoan the low standards in church. On this earth we can only catch a glimpse of heaven and I suppose our ideas of heaven will all be different.

I was brought up with the idea that worship should be as perfect as we can make it. For me this involves great music and great singing. This post is about 2 videos which both happen to be from Trinity College Cambridge. I will reserve judgement on the organ which was a poor choice - I feel - for a college which performs English choral music: the organist does a great job.

Video 1 is of Stanford Magnificat in A, sung superbly. Video 2 is of a secular piece - again sung superbly - featuring the brilliant Helen Charlston.

Enjoy these.

A church service is not a housegroup

It would be an interesting study to make a pie chart of the way time is used in a church service. I know I have droned on about this before, but yesterday was a case in point.

If we, as humans, see the need to worship an almighty being, learn from scripture and improve our outlook on the world and towards our fellow humans, then the hour a week most of us devote to this needs to be rather more productive and inspiring.

To start a service with "Show and Tell church" seems to be a waste of time. I don't mind the old, "Let us spend a moment in quiet prayer as we remember the many blessings God has bestowed on us this week". To expect people to share details of their personal lives can be invasive and it makes me cringe, to be honest. When the invitation goes out there is often a silence until some brave soul comes up with something mundane. So often what people are thankful for veers towards the "God helped me find  a parking space" type of comment. There are some which go deeper such as the lady who was thankful for increased confidence after a period when life had been cruel to her, resulting in her confidence being sapped.

When I attended an Evangelical church it was common for members of the congregation to 'share'. Indeed I did so myself because I had briefly (I thought) 'Got' religion. So, what I think is happening in the 21st century church is that 'normal' C of E services are having aspects of the evangelical tradition introduced and - I am afraid, at least for me - it does not work. The English church attendee of a certain age (55+) does not want to be all luvvy-duvvy and open. I digress, slightly.

So too much time is taken up chatting and letting people chat. This can be fine in a house group but a service is not, IMHO, a housegroup.

Add in notices & announcements, directed prayers (consecration) and a long sermon (to a captive audience) and much of the time is spent listening and not on active worship. I guess some 10-12 minutes of an hour (+) are spent singing whilst up to 6 minutes are spent saying the Creed and other parts which require folk to join in.

What I also find annoying is the frequent change from one mood to another. A topic for another day?

At the name of Jesus

When I was a chorister we used to bow our heads on three main occasions.

1. When crossing from one side of the cathedral to the other (North to South or vice versa) when we had to stop, face the altar and bow either from the waist or just the head. This was especially done when we crossed on, say, an errand near the choir stalls. If we were right at the West end or in the nave it didn't seem to matter.
   
   
2. As we entered or departed from the choir stalls in procession. We would bow in pairs (Dec. and Can.) as we entered, pausing for half a second (or the next pair would bump into you). On the way out we did rather a clever move: we got out of our respective stalls and joined the growing procession but, for a brief time, we walked backwards as we bowed and then did a 180 degree turn and continued to process in a dignified manner.
   
   That's what I recall anyway. Many choirs you see these days do a corporate bow - if memory serves, we only did this on Sundays when the crucifer was present. Obviously, we did not bow when singing about Jesus!
   
   
3. During the Apostles' Creed, in Evensong, when we got to the name of Jesus. We were bang on with our bows just as the syllable 'Je-' left our lips. I knew it was coming, I would get ready and be keen not to miss it.
   

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost... (people do not like ghosts these days and Spirit is used, as well as Creator not Maker. In fact, I am disgusted with the C of E for the text on that page)

I do not see '3' happening these days. Certainly '1' does not (although it may do in places I have not been to). I always found it difficult if there were visitors about, as I felt they would not understand. When I first became an organist my then vicar would actually stop and genuflect when walking around the church.

I have to say I miss bowing: I did it this morning - automatically - in the Nicene Creed which we say rather than sing. I was the only one.

I miss saying the Creed in Evensong in a choir and it is one of my strongest boyhood memories, as I often stood near one of the bass lay clerks, Bill, who joined in with a quiet confidence I sought to emulate. It was team action; a programmed response; the right thing to do; "a sign [which] lifted us all from the mundane and served as a convenient reminder that there are lofty realities that transcend and beckon us." (I have quoted from HERE)

Church today has been the usual disappointingly casual affair. Noise during my pre- and post-service voluntaries: not just chatter [in the vestry which is adjacent to the organ] but loud, excessive chatter.

I'm not sure I want to bother much more. Nobody else does.