tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post477802631768474424..comments2024-03-23T18:50:32.902-04:00Comments on Telling Secrets: Thy chastening rodElizabeth Kaetonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-11128524305775313242012-09-05T16:50:41.032-04:002012-09-05T16:50:41.032-04:00I'm hoping that more rectors and choir directo...I'm hoping that more rectors and choir director/organist look at more words to more of the hymns after this post.Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-66150173580631231352012-09-05T15:28:32.676-04:002012-09-05T15:28:32.676-04:00Thanks for this. Over a lifetime, I think many pe...Thanks for this. Over a lifetime, I think many people get more theology from hymns than they do from sermons. We sang that hymn last Sunday too and it was a shock -- don't think we have done it in previous years.<br /><br />I'm sure it's listed in one of those books, which hymns go with which readings, and many worship planners don't even look carefully before slotting it in.C.W.S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04745714524175357522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-7164680608810800262012-09-05T12:49:28.522-04:002012-09-05T12:49:28.522-04:00How much fun was THAT? LOL. You know I'm going...How much fun was THAT? LOL. You know I'm going to be sending this to my rector and organist/choir director.Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-26150518796430457812012-09-05T10:13:46.946-04:002012-09-05T10:13:46.946-04:00Oh, the re-writing that goes on ... not so secret ...Oh, the re-writing that goes on ... not so secret among choir veterans ...<br />Under cassock and cotta, these lay ministers of music fuss and opine, the murmur more Greek chorus than claque.<br />And woe be unto the priest with no sense of humor!<br />If the tenors don’t come first with a parody hymn,<br />altos can be relied upon to offer their favorite anthem:<br /> How lonely are the ministers who mess with the choir’s routine.<br /> How lovely is the peace you preach, so live it and leave us alone.<br /> Don’t make us mad, it would be sad to tell what we’ve seen.<br />Baritones like pretending to be above inter-sectional friction,<br />(yes, altos, we know, getting the melody doesn’t make sopranos special)<br />but blew their cover the day I heard booming in the procession:<br /> How firm a foundation the organist wears,<br /> no need to suck in gut, by Playtex he swears.<br /> The toupee less certain, it shifts on his head,<br /> exotic, quixotic, we’re not sure it’s dead.<br />"Regulars" will recognize the tunes ... Canon 24 notwithstanding, the faithful have been editing for years, just don't generally get caught or worry about "official" sanction. This is, after all, a radical religion not particularly inclined to follow orders, thank God!Genettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-6750823034501013622012-09-05T08:37:02.157-04:002012-09-05T08:37:02.157-04:00LOL, Kirke. I'll have to try that next time. H...LOL, Kirke. I'll have to try that next time. Hopefully, there won't be a next time but if there is, I'll be more prepared.Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-43100543668422980102012-09-05T00:18:21.383-04:002012-09-05T00:18:21.383-04:00I have enough trouble with sounds as it is, withou...I have enough trouble with sounds as it is, without adding the sounds of certain hymn verses (as evidenced from this post of mine in 2011):<br /><br />http://kirkepiscatoid.blogspot.com/2011/05/sound-reminders.html<br /><br />As you well know, I just won't sing some phrases. Sometimes I make up new lines. Sometimes I make up nonsense words or phrases. For instance, "Wean us and train us with Thy rod" might become "Weiners and tragus with thyroid." If you don't sing it very loud, it works. Kirkepiscatoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02651684515435040529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-46296320787458278132012-09-04T23:11:26.559-04:002012-09-04T23:11:26.559-04:00HILARIOUS. Thanks so much for that link!HILARIOUS. Thanks so much for that link!Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-21567125160956563292012-09-04T22:35:22.116-04:002012-09-04T22:35:22.116-04:00I read your post, and then I saw this. I'm st...I read your post, and then I saw <a href="http://everydayimpastoring.tumblr.com/post/30544642572/when-the-music-director-suggests-a-song-that-goes-with" rel="nofollow">this</a>. I'm still giggling.Jane Ellen+https://www.blogger.com/profile/07930706962327994732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-43682840527119599982012-09-04T20:33:12.451-04:002012-09-04T20:33:12.451-04:00Whiteycat - Whenever I'm asked a question like...Whiteycat - Whenever I'm asked a question like that, I think of all the stories of persistent women in scripture. I would gather as many women as agree with you to have a meeting with your rector and organist/choir director. If you don't see any changes, have another meeting. Keep having meetings until you wear them down. And/or tell them that you will refuse to sing in the choir when those hymns are selected. <br /><br />Persistence will win the day. Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-65256353898532049312012-09-04T20:28:25.889-04:002012-09-04T20:28:25.889-04:00Matthew - I'm inspired by your post to ask if ...Matthew - I'm inspired by your post to ask if there are any musicians who can compile a list of hymns that we ought to consider not singing. I would be happy to post that list here. Thank you.Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-5930468186436802262012-09-04T18:40:00.186-04:002012-09-04T18:40:00.186-04:00Elizabeth, you are so "right on" with th...Elizabeth, you are so "right on" with this post! Just a few weeks ago I got to an offensive verse in a hymn and closed the hymnal and would not sing. This has happened more than a couple of times. However, what do you do if your choir/music director continues to include the offensive hymns? That is after being reminded about how the words matter.whiteycathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04278420345601368200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-8603887660195206302012-09-04T18:27:14.774-04:002012-09-04T18:27:14.774-04:00Is there a good list of hymns to avoid -- not want...Is there a good list of hymns to avoid -- not wanting to reinvent wheels -- and our music person does not read them, just assigns one of the ones recommended for that Sunday? A few weeks back we sang Onward Christian Soldiers and in my head, I thought, better add that one to the list. I must be on a Swedish kick (see post about Rape 101) these days but I would mention that Sweden was the first country in the world in 1979 to outlaw parental spanking of children. <br /><br />I also discipline children running around in stores, etc. and am amazed at how many parents get mad at me for getting after their children. Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16855171851801011788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-44057983760533274812012-09-04T17:42:28.414-04:002012-09-04T17:42:28.414-04:00Terri - I love that hymn, too and I cringe every t...Terri - I love that hymn, too and I cringe every time I get to that line. I can't sing it anymore. There's another hymn about "wash me white as snow" that I can't sing. <br /><br />I love what the UCC's have done in terms of taking standard hymn tunes and writing new words to them to make the language more expansive. Great stuff. Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-1931606885496293522012-09-04T14:27:18.020-04:002012-09-04T14:27:18.020-04:00As a general rule of thumb I read the text of ever...As a general rule of thumb I read the text of every hymn we decide to use in worship - I read them for any use of violence, war, or other metaphors that harm. For instance last fall my new congregation sang, every Sunday, as our verse for the CHildren's Worship Procession "I want to walk as a child of the light" - now I love that hymn for a very personal experience I once had in the chapel on a Maundy Thur night keeping vigil...but I have a very difficult time singing, "In him there is no darkness at all" when I have congregants who were brutalized in a civil war in their home country. (and they happen to be dark skinned). In him there is no darkness at all? sigh. SO very many ways we can hurt people around us when we aren't attentive to the words we use.<br /><br />Thank you Elizabeth, for writing about this.Terrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15667178624061122421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-75437817882601558132012-09-04T13:22:59.107-04:002012-09-04T13:22:59.107-04:00Caminante - Absolutely. There are all kinds of abu...Caminante - Absolutely. There are all kinds of abuse. Hymns are more important than we know. <br /><br />On a positive note, as it were, I just got a private note from my rector who had read my blog and said that he, too had flinched when he sang those words. I thought I noticed it but was too wrapped up in my own stuff to check it out more carefully. Bottom line: He assured me that he and the Organist/Choir Director will be having a conversation about this. We both know he will be deeply troubled by it as well. <br /><br />Am I blessed or what?Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-74916532051475792782012-09-04T13:19:55.470-04:002012-09-04T13:19:55.470-04:00LOL, Sagewoman. Whatever works for you.LOL, Sagewoman. Whatever works for you.Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-52788186069695176342012-09-04T12:43:52.890-04:002012-09-04T12:43:52.890-04:00I know of some children who have so manyprivileges...I know of some children who have so manyprivileges revoked for this and that -- minor things -- that they live under a constant cloud of suspension. So, the use of 'privileges' should be done in moderation, lest the child resist and actually act out more out of frustration. This said, I believe in discipline, setting limits and teaching manners.<br />As far as the theology in hymns, ay... don't get me going.Caminantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16610142955176992982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-24856152137993431712012-09-04T12:15:34.170-04:002012-09-04T12:15:34.170-04:00Whew, Elizabeth. You just knock my socks off on a...Whew, Elizabeth. You just knock my socks off on a regular basis. I have taken to reading you barefoot.Sagewomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506354722787879652noreply@blogger.com