Now I’ve Seen (Heard!) It All!
Read more articles on Life and Scattered Thoughts.July 30, 2007
Posted by Tiffany Aller
July 30, 2007
Posted by Tiffany Aller
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Howdy, folks. Just popping in, briefly, for a quick post after another long absence. Can’t stay long - our niece and nephew arrive on Tuesday for a 22-day visit (pray for us as we become the temporary parents to an 11-year-old and a 14-year old!) and I still have a bunch left to do around the house to prepare for their arrival. The post that follows is being simultaneously published on my MySpace and Facebook accounts, and is about my experience at church this morning. As a rule, I rarely write about religious topics. But for this, I’m making an exception!
Hope all is well with my dear readers and fellow ArsC editors!
~~~
We haven’t been to church in awhile - between moving and weekend trips out of town and whatever else, we haven’t been going as regularly as we should for the past two months or so. That needs to change - so today, tired as we were, we drug ourselves up and got out the door to Southlake.
Our church, for the past few years, has been doing themed services. I don’t just mean “a” service based on “a” topic from the Bible. I mean a series of services over several weeks or months that are tied together by a common thread.
The theme, currently, is iGod.
Give me a flipping break. I have definitely not become so modern/moderate/contemporary in my religious views that I really find this acceptable. Joining a Methodist church in Texas was a logical transition, since Methodist churches typically have fairly traditional gatherings with similar parts to the service as what I’m used to from my Catholic upbringing. And Whites Chapel, our church in Southlake, is typically fairly traditional. You’d be hardpressed to find any difference between a Catholic Good Friday service and a Good Friday service at Whites Chapel.
But sometimes…our pastors get a little off the traditional path and head into contemporary world. Mind you, there are specific contemporary services at the church as well - they’re called Praise services, I believe…and although I find them fascinating, they do not make me feel comfortable. I am definitely not the “call out to God” kind of Christian - I prefer more rigid order and traditional music and prayers. (Go figure - me, rigid?)
So anywho…back to iGod. It’s based on the concept of, of course, the iPod. Each week in the series, a song that they figure most folks have on their iPods is used to tie into a theme from the Bible.
The first error, here, is that it is assumed that everyone has an iPod. I don’t - nor do I feel I need one. I have 3000+ songs on my laptop, and the laptop travels with my anywhere I go. In the car, I listen, as a rule, to talk radio. It keeps me grounded and informed. At the gym, I read. Well, hell…everywhere I go, I read. So why, then, do I need an iPod?
But I digress.
In any case, this week’s iTune from your iPod for the sermon series called iGod was “Let It Be” by, of course, the Beatles.
Now, I have a healthy respect for the Beatles and their music. I’m not obsessed, like I know some of my friends are, and do not own a single Beatles album. I do own a Beatles Keyboard book, but that’s it. Nifty folks, good pop music.
But in church?!
The verse used today was Luke 1:26-38. In this passage, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary to tell her of the coming of Jesus. In the last line, Mary says “Let it be with me according to your word,” signaling her acceptance of her impending pregnancy. The message of the sermon that followed, of course, was acceptance of the things life throws us, over which we have little or no control. Nice message…hard for a control freak for me to swallow.
Following the sermon was a live performance of “Let it Be”. One lead singer, two back-ups, two guitars, a drum and the piano. VERY nicely performed, but I’ll tell you that I NEVER would have expected to hear Beatles music in a church.
Come on now - the radio, karaoke, a piano bar - fine.
Church?
I was one of the few that did not stand while applauding at the end. I rarely fail to stand when other music is performed - reverant, religious music. We’ve had some lovely country renditions, even - but they were all very religious in nature. (Or, in the case of the Fourth of July, patriotic in nature. We have GOT to get back in the practice of singing “Proud to be an American” on the Fourth…I still can’t understand why we stopped.)
But I digress, again.
“Let it Be” is not a religious song. The “mother Mary” the lyrics refer to is not the Virgin Mary - it is Lennon’s own mother, named Mary, written after she died and he dreamed of her one night.
It’s a touching song, and certainly popular. I’ve performed it myself a time or two.
But I’m really struggling to accept it’s performance at a church.
Changing topics briefly - I finally got my violin bow repaired, as well as Chris’ great-grampa’s violin bow, so I’m back in business on that end. Yahoo! I played for about an hour yesterday when we got home - my fingers were a bit bumbly, but didn’t sound half-bad. A little practice and I’ll really be back in business. YAY!
Alrighty…off to bed!
Smiles,
Tiffany
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