Tuesday, June 24, 2008

In Endless Song

Six days a week, I am a dedicated Quaker. But on the seventh day, for one hour, I pretend to be part of the United Church of Christ. The one thing I really miss in attending an unprogrammed meeting is singing. Although I am not a soloist by any means, I love singing with other people and I especially enjoy singing traditional hymns. University Friends does have singing before meeting occasionally, but this is not nearly enough for me.

So I have started going to the Wednesday Jazz Worship at Plymouth Church. I highly recommend it if you happen to be in downtown Seattle on a Wednesday. The service is mostly music played by a jazz trio, comprised of a xylophone, an upright bass, and a grand piano. They play a mix of traditional and newer music, and the congregation gets to sing along to at least one song. And even though I thought I gave up on regular sermons years ago, I usually come away feeling like something in the message spoke to me. It's a nice feeling to have in the middle of the week.

This past Sunday, I was delighted when I walked into the meeting house and found people singing. Even better, my friend Sarah P was already there, songbook in hand. She was in town on other Quaker business (as she says) and it was her first time visiting University Friends. I was glad to see her and glad she came on a week with music. We sang together, and it was good.

2 comments:

  1. Dude, yes. Quakerism is awesome for what is has, but almost every (unprogrammed) Quaker I know misses singing in worship. It's funny, because it seems like those Quakers who pine for singing are more committed to singing as a means of worship than are many people in congregations who sing all the time. People who are serious like that about singing are the ones I love singing with the most. -SP

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  2. Hi,

    I too miss singing at worship (I came to Friends from the Catholic Church). Our meeting almost never has music these days...

    But I was thinking the other day: a Meeting is what the members/attenders make it. Perhaps I should search for ways to bring more music to my worship community? Or at least bring the subject to the Meeting as a concern?

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