It's already nearly July. I've been slammed with compiling, editing, and revising music lists for both bands. Rock and Blues songs for our band, "On the Rocks", playing hits from the 1960s and 1970s, here in Southern California. I've also been working on sacred music for the church band, though I don't know how much longer it will hang together. I say that, because our little Episcopal church is barely hanging on after COVID. Some are moving away. Others are burnt out from volunteering 50 hours a week to keep this tiny community alive. More elderly folks passed away, and quite a few just don't see the point of returning to church. I can't blame them. I volunteer so much at times, that I think, "God! I just want to escape from all the work I have to do at church! I don't want to go to church either!"
I have to laugh as I contemplate the two disparate styles of band: Rock & Blues v Contemporary Christian music. As a 1980s Evangelical kid, I was dragged to more than one church seminar to discuss all the evils of rock music. LOL!!! I look back now, shake my head and laugh. People just love to hate, don't they? We just love to feel morally superior. We love to sit in judgment on everyone and everything. And Christians are among the absolute worst offenders, I say as one who grew up in that legalistic, judgmental environment. Talk about toxic! As they preached about how rock music was poisoning our minds, they were dumping their toxic sludge of judgment into our souls!
Frankly, I love the episcopal church with its view to social justice, sacred ecology, and spiritual openness, but it seems that it is dying. Literally, dying off. I have buried over 2 dozen dear, elderly friends in the last 5 years. These sweet friends are often very socially conscious, generous, and compassionate. Their capacity to love and accept everyone is truly the best part of humanity in action. And yet, though they all raised their children (now adults with kids and grandkids of their own) in the church, NONE of their progeny attend church at all or the episcopal church, in particular.
So, the church needs to be asking itself: "What did we miss? Are we even relevant to any of the younger generations?" But instead of asking themselves, "What could we do differently?" Or "How could we reach a younger generation who feel no compulsion to join yet another organization and yet who are spiritual?" Or "Why is it that most people under 60 years old would define themselves as 'spiritual, not religious'?" Instead of asking these questions, they seem, in my limited perspective, to be circling the wagons around their standards, rituals, and old traditions. Or maybe they should be asking, "Has our time come to die? Has our purpose been fulfilled? Or are we just propping up yet another bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy?"
Sacred music? It means many things to many people. But for the "unchurched" who do not even care to ever hear a choir or an organ, and who are, quite frankly, turned off by such antiquated types of music, good luck getting anyone under 60 or even 80 years old to come to your church! So why do Episcopalians (and certainly not only them, but many denominations) insist on choir and organ as the ONLY acceptable form of worship? Who determined that organ and choir are the only form of sacred music? I used to teach at a private, Christian school where most of the students were from the Church of Christ, which believes that ALL INSTRUMENTS in church, outside of a cappella voices, are demonic. Who told them that load of crap? Again, how little their view of God must be, how limiting a creator. I would not want to serve that God. Ick! What kind of Creator God do they serve? A creator who hates modern music? If their version of God is that petty, no wonder the unchurched want nothing to do with this hateful, narrow minded, exclusive God. The Episcopal church teaches and preaches inclusion, but their God tends to be very exclusive, especially when it comes to "so-called sacred music." I actually read a quote on an Episcopal church website recently (it's 2021 for God's sake!) that
"We have a quite traditional conception of the use of music in church, exemplified by the following words:'Just as swine run to a place where there is mire and bees dwell where there are fragrances and incense, likewise demons gather where there are carnal songs and the grace of the Holy Spirit settles where there are spiritual melodies, sanctifying both mouth and soul.'
- St. John Chrysostom"
WHOA! Talk about a LOAD of judgment in that statement. As they go on to describe what they consider acceptable sacred music, it basically boils down to chants, organ, and choir. Implying that any music which is appealing to a non-churchgoer, that is not hundreds or thousands of years old is automatically demonic. Wow. Perhaps I am focusing too much on the negative part of that ancient quote, I'll admit it. But it was a total turn off for me when I read it.
The older I get, the more expansive my view of God becomes. I enjoy many, many types of music: creating, writing, composing, recording, editing, mixing, engineering, playing, singing, learning new instruments, etc. I don't enjoy only one kind of music. I like nearly every kind of music out there, with the exception of heavy or death metal, but that is just personal preference, and I recognize it as such. The creative process is such a joy! So, I have a really, really hard time imagining that a creator god hates any kind of music, or calls it demonic.
I've seen it done in many places. It can be done. I have seen very traditional Episcopal churches keep the liturgy (the form) and embrace modern praise and worship music. It's beautiful and elegant and raw and authentic and honest worship. Or it can be. I miss that.
Recognizing that each church is a minuscule ecosystem or sub-sub-culture within itself, with its own preferences, norms, traditions, jargon, and music styles, I propose that if churches coming out of COVID lockdowns are finding that no one wants to come back, that maybe they should re-examine their traditions, music styles, and insular "us four and no more" approaches to community.
A friend confided in me recently that she really missed her little Episcopal mission church, which closed after 20-some years. Why did it close? It never grew beyond 40 people attending. The children have grown up, whom they raised together in a very supportive, small, family environment. But again, none of those grown kids see the need to go to church. To be very clear, going to church is NOT the end all. I know it may sound that I am preaching that everyone should go to church. Nope. God is everywhere and in everything. So God can be found everywhere.
What can church add to a person's spiritual growth? A lot and nothing at all! If making people all think like each other or believe like everyone else or love the same things or hate or judge or condemn outsiders is the goal of church, then run! Run far away. They will only poison your heart and your mind. In fact, don't go to church at all if it only insists on conformity. A true spiritual teacher or guide will simply reveal to you what you already know in your spirit. They don't force you to change or believe what they do. They let you come to your own awakening. They can point you in the direction of soul or spirit or god or consciousness, but they do not manipulate or force or coerce or try to get you to be anything than what you already are. A real spiritual person will not even try to make you believe the same as them. They can, however, point you toward ultimate connection to all.
So, going back to the discussion of churches... Am I advocating for large churches only, or implying that only churches which grow are worth while? Is there a place for tiny groups like my friend's old church? Of course. But the reason they never grew, as she explained innocently, was that they liked having a tiny group of people and really did not want anyone else to join them. I know! I visited their church before it closed. Those few families were very close and very happy to keep everyone else out. This is not to say or imply, in any way, that only huge, mega churches are "successful". Not at all. But a church which is not inclusive or welcoming and which is content to only remain "us four and no more" is a church that will eventually die. Then again, all things die. This material world and its temporary forms were never meant to last forever. Maybe some churches should die off. Maybe they have served their purpose, and now that purpose is over.
I also accept that denominations often morph from a spontaneous movement of like-minded, spiritual seekers to a bureaucratic organization, which feels compelled to keep propping itself up. The denomination becomes an end, rather than a means or a tool to help humans find connection to the "deeper I" or the soul. When the denomination only propagates itself, its ideas, its beliefs, its worldview, it becomes insular, isolated, and out of touch with the rest of humanity. Instead of keeping relevant, in whatever form that takes, they tend to try to keep pumping up their organization, especially through the mentality of "we've always done it this way", or "change is bad", or "only OUR way of doing life is acceptable". This leads to what Madeleine L'Engle called "the making muffins of us all." If church is only a place where people get indoctrinated to believe all the "right things" and do all the "right things" or avoid doing all the "bad things", then it is doomed to add to the burden of humanity with its narrow, dualistic worldview. However, community (be it a church, a family, a group of friends, whatever) can point us in the direction of connection with God and the entire cosmos. And when it gently points, but does not forcefully shove us in that direction, then it can be a beautiful thing, no matter what form it takes.
No comments:
Post a Comment