Monday, July 26, 2010

Podcast 16: Voice

Rhett was gone this week, but we were able to talk to another Sunday school teacher in the form of repeat guest Laura! The life, power and attitude of Elijah was this week's topic.

On the secondary we took advantage of Laura being around by discussing hymns in slightly more detail than we did before.

We wrapped things up with a very fun (for Jon) rendition of The Hymn Game!

Download the podcast right about here.

4 comments:

  1. I'd be willing to be your additional enforcer. I'm just sayin'...

    Laura's point about the Lord working in extremes is well-taken. It reminds me of the story told in General Conference about teaching tithing to the poorest of the poor...how one missionary was scared to teach this family this principle, but the other was enthused about it because he knew it would bring blessings into this family's lives they couldn't have received otherwise. See here for the full text article. Lynn G. Robbins, "Tithing--a Commandment Even for the Destitute"

    I liked Peter's answer as to why the big show over Elijah vs the priests of Baal. The guilty cannot be left with an excuse for their behavior. God wants to give every person every opportunity to right the ship...even if it takes the kind of presentation experienced in 1 Kings 18.

    I spoke in church on Sunday on the topic of how the faith of the early Pioneers sustains us. I talked about how they, as a rule, went and did as the Lord commanded them...to cross the Plains, to settle other parts of Utah, the Western US, and then Canada and Mexico. The commandment was enough for them (though not for everyone, of course...there were those who refused to move). This concept would have had good application in the Sunday School lesson as well, it appears. Cool.

    I also agree with what Laura said about the Lord providing us with what we need and not usually what we want. It is our challenge to not feel cheated when this happens. I know that when I got the job I have now (which I will be leaving for a different, better job at the end of this week), I kind of felt jipped because I hadn't had a job for nine out of ten months and I had really spent that time getting excited about the great job that was going to be at the end of the tunnel. It didn't turn out that way, but it DID take care of my needs, and I kept reminding myself of that fact throughout the time I've had the job. It came along at a time when I was pretty desperate, and even though it wasn't the ideal, it was no less a blessing to me than if I'd gotten the desires of my heart.

    Having grown up Catholic, I can tell you there are plenty of contemporary hymns in use in Catholic churches. There are a lot of different missals and whatnot in circulation, some with hymn sections and some with separate hymnbooks. It's a definite work in progress...and there are a lot of crappy new ones out there...a lot of junk touchy-feely-ness. And, even though no one sings, the Mass parts and hymns are meant to be sung by the congregation.

    Also, the church choirs I was familiar with back home were all-volunteer and generally excellent. Choirs for hire are a definite rarity in my experience.

    And I loved the sound effects during the hymn game.

    And, having sung the "true" words to "Joy to the World" when I was Catholic, I am NOT a fan of the LDS alterations. Blech.

    Catholics sing the "rolling" thunder version of How Great Thou Art, btw. It's not just the Morms. You people need to get more familiar with the way music is written and performed in other churches. ;)

    [End]

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  2. Ah, I wish I could have heard your talk Stef, that would have been good.

    And thanks for shedding some light on how contemporary Catholic services are held (I knew you would). I never was sure about whether they had new hymns coming in. It seems only right that they would. I've only been to a couple Catholic services. Mostly I've been to Anglican services though. And yes, the congregation does sing the hymns, but they sing in unison right? And aren't the hymns written in unison? Mostly? That's how I remember it anyway. And I remember a lot of the time, when the churches actual choir didn't sing, the choirs that came to sing for the service were visiting choirs. Ward choirs would never go on tour like that. Unless they were totally awesome.

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  3. Yeah, it's mostly unison in the missalettes and in the singing itself. Parts is way too flashy and complicated for...lazy may be the wrong word...but largely-less-than-engaged-in-the-worship-experience Catholics. lol

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  4. Note: "Mass parts" are the different short little sung parts of the Mass, outside the hymns. I didn't mean vocal parts when I used that term. Just to clarify.

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