Liturgy Geek at 2am

Okay - I think I'm officially a Litugy Geek.

Who else would be awake around 2am figuring out how to chant the opening acclamation, versicles, and Thanksgiving over the Water for a Baptism? Me, that's who. All because of a stupid phrase on a Baptism planning sheet (my last 2 liturgy assignments involve Baptism) that asks if the whole service is going to be sung. If not, then at different points in the service is the continuing question (sung?). Well since I can sing okay and am comfortable with chanting and to me there's something about praying in chant that adds another layer (I often feel connected to God and the community through music), here I am trying to figure out what I will and won't chant.

My first inclination was to scale back because this is not about me... it's about the sacrament and about the person being baptized and about the gathered community and the whole church. However in "A Theology of Worship" Louis Weil makes a pretty convincing argument that music should not be reserved just for special occasions but that liturgy is inherantly musical, and so music should be a normal, integral part of worship. The other reasons given are the nonverbal emotional power of music because it engages another sense, and that singing invites us to encounter God with our whole body (rather than with just our minds), and singing together as a congregation can bring us together, building our sense of unity as the body of Christ.

So... hmmm. I admit that I'm probably more easily swayed because I like music and singing anyway. So anyway I was chanting it to see what such a service would sound like.

This summer when I was home I got the question from a parishioner/vestry member, "are you going to be a priest who sings?" My immediate response without even needing to stop and think about it was, "oh yeah." This was asked of me after I had the supply priest show me the Simple Tone chant in the altar book since it was slightly different from the Solemn Tone that we had learned in our music class.

God knew that music was a part of me when I was called, so it leaves me wondering here in the middle of the night if music/chant is a particular part of my ministry.

I know, I know. There are concerns such as: adding music makes the service run longer and many people want to be in and out of there in an hour or so, and that some people (especially nowadays with music/art programs being cut in schools) can't read music, and some people are kind of tone-deaf and get frustrated when they try to sing, and others may just not like music. So I'm not sure how to strike a balance. Does one need to strike a balance?

If we constantly shy away from music, will it eventually become extinct in our services (all except the "Doxology", Hymn 380, verse 3 - which people sing in a non-rubrical place as it is)? Already many parishes say the Sanctus, which is supposed to be a hymn of praise. According to our old liturgy prof ideally the Sanctus should always be sung, and only rarely said under special circumstances (i.e. no musicican and people who can carry enough of a tune to lead a simple version acappella).

Okay, enough music rambling for now. I don't think I'll figure this all out tonight.