John Bell Music and Worship Workshop
Posted Friday 22 October 2010 ~ 12:35pm
On Sunday 17th October, three of us from Holy Trinity travelled across to Denholm for an afternoon of music and worship led by John Bell. In his inimitable way, within five minutes of starting the workshop, he had a group of about 60 people of varying musical knowledge and ability singing in three-part harmony without words or music.
Part of his goal was to show exactly how easy it can be to sing – and sing well – but through the stories he told about the music he taught us, he also stressed the importance of placing the music within a context and tradition. He lamented the disappearance of participative singing both from our culture and churches, and urged church communities to be more creative in their use of music in worship.
He gave examples of how to more fully integrate participative music into our services by using music as a response to readings and prayers. It is so simple, but in its simplicity, invites those present to engage with the worship in new ways.
He also clearly sees a need for pastorally appropriate songs to use in different types of liturgies – weddings, funerals, healing services, etc. Whilst traditional hymns have their place and value, many express theology which is not always appropriate for the situation, and the music is often difficult to learn. He shared a number of songs he had written for such circumstances, and which were sung to folk tunes, thus making them easy to learn and rooting them in a familiar culture.
The afternoon was enjoyable, inspiring and thought-provoking, and we all came away excited about new ways we might use music in our services here at Holy Trinity.
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