The second candle in the Advent wreath is often called the candle of love — arguably the most generic and the most important of the Christian virtues. We know how the verses go: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” “Love is patient, Love is kind…” and after awhile, it starts to sound simple and benign. But what does it look like to love our neighbors as ourselves when our neighbors look, talk, and even worship differently than we do? How can we love a neighbor that we have never met and probably never will meet? This week, our authors explore what it looks like to love our neighbors of all different cultures – those in our midst and those around the globe – through the way we sing and worship. How does Glory to God serve as a worship resource for an African American or a Latin@ American? Where does it fall short? What are what, European Americans to make of all this new world music – in so many different languages? What does Glory to God teach us about our global neighbors, and how does it connect us to them? And what does all this have to do with love?
Multiplying the Glorias Around the Earth, Rev. Claudio Carvalhaes
Glory to God indeed! Alleluia! I add my voice to the chorus of my brothers and sisters throughout the country singing from our new hymnal. I celebrate this new powerful resource, a labor of love that took great time, energy, and perseverance from faithful people. This hymnal will help the church of Jesus Christ learn and relearn, rehearse and practice the singing, praying, and performing of God’s Glory in the world. Continue Reading
A Model Prayer: Lift Every Voice and Sing, Rev. Nathan Dell
Two widely known prayers that are often set to music are the Lord’s Prayer and the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace…” However, there is another musical prayer not so widely known. It comes out of our own African American culture: Lift Every Voice and Sing, written by James Weldon Johnson. We know it as the Negro National Anthem. Continue Reading
Singing from Every Place, in Every Tongue, for Every Time, Rev. Dr. Neddy Astudillo
My early years were filled with music, partly because I lived close to the musical talents of composer Pablo Sosa. While my father studied theology at the ISEDET seminary, Pablo Sosa was the director of the Music Department, and his children my playmates. Unlike many other seminaries, theological students were taught not only theology but also music. Continue Reading
The Power of a Good Mashup, Doug Brown
I love a good mashup; I suspect we all do. There is something powerful about the collision of two different songs, a mess of lyrics and melodies that seem to work together while simultaneously offering some degree of resistance to this mating. In essence, it works so well because it doesn’t quite work. Whether it’s the place where the chords in DJ Schmolli’s “Titanium/500 Miles” mashup don’t quite align, or when Naya Rivera pleas not to be forgotten… Continue Reading
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