Ramadan day 14
One really integral part of church attendance is the corporate singing of hymns. Yes, there are corporate chants that are very moving and I will talk about chants and corporate prayer in a later post.
Today’s topic is about the corporate singing of hymns. Being in the middle of a room, singing harmony or the melody of a particularly wonderful song just fills the body with awe and gratitude at the same time. It just moves you to worship.
I am always personally disclosing something. This time, it is that my husband has become paranoied about myself and my children attending *any* church service. He had attended much more conservative services with me before our marriage. Honestly, I have become much more of a liberal Christian since our marriage. Before our marriage, I never knew that there were Christians who ascribed to the notion that it was inappropriate and emotionally damaging as well as spiritually manipulative to publicly call children up to an altar and accept Jesus as their savior. Public confessions are traumatic enough, but specifically children have yet the maturity to understand such a choice. When you add the public declaration in the mix, it is a recipe for psychological turmoil.
Sometimes, we are taught something and when we get that uncertain feeling deep in our bones, we are taught to second guess ourselves and squelch it, especially if it is for the good of God. How are we to argue with what God wants us to do? I had always felt uncomfortable when the time came for an end of the service altar call. During my conservative Christian days, my discomfort would be followed by a sharp wave of guilt. I certainly felt uncomfortable with the subtle … and not so subtle coercions to the altar. Then, I would feel guilty, as if I were trying to keep people from God. This would be a weekly progression. Yes, sometimes church could be so emotionally exhausting. The dichotomy was that it could also be so fulfilling, especially if there was good music involved. Sitting with these two opposites, especially when this range of emotions was present in each service could definitely make one reflective, to say the least.
If I attended church, I confess, it would be more for the fellowship and communal aspect. And, maybe that is not the correct reason to go. Yet, fellowship is very important and I am sure that there would be something that I could take from a good sermon or even the silent leanings of a Quaker worship.
My husband is afraid that someone will try to convert the children to Christianity. I think he is just afraid that he will have less power and they will resemble my character and demeanor more than his. Fears are rarely rational, so it is useless to combat them with rational arguments. I have looked for Unitarian Universalist churches that don’t have an altar call at the end of each service. I honestly no longer feel comfortable in churches that take the Bible literally, use manipulation and make every attempt to convince you to believe everything that they do. I prefer finding congregations that certainly speak and teach, but respect everyone’s own faith journey. I find respect among Unitarian / Universalists and solace in the silence of the Quakers. I have spoken to my husband several times about my personal views on church and what I would and/or would not be comfortable with, if my children attended service with me. . Still, he won’t budge and it is just not worth a fight.
So, here I am, missing some of the hymns of the past. I admit that many hymns that I use to enjoy so much, seem to have a hollow ring. As my understanding of faith has evolved, I no longer feel comfortable singing some hymns that I feel are theologically inaccurate and, if taken literally, can contribute to the psychological and/or spiritual abuse of others. I am confessing right here, I never liked the hymn Amazing Grace. First, I never felt comfortable calling myself “Wretched.” Surely, if I was fearfully and wonderfully made, I could not be “wretched.” Second, it just made blindness sound so close to death, itself. I could hear the collective body thanking God that they were BLIND NO MORE. I will skip over even the best and most harmonious vocal version. It is just too cringe-worthy for me.
I have thought about getting the instrumentals to some hymns and changing the words entirely. My memory seems to be going and I am certain that I could not retain my new words, however. It is worth mentioning that others have suggested that I overthink certain subjects and concepts. I am certain that their assessment is accurate. Yet, these are my own opinions and since songs are forms of worship, I choose to either change the words (if it can be done without too much effort) or not sing songs that cause me to cringe.
I am painfully and embarrassingly aware that when I say “HYMN,” I automatically think of and am talking about the western definition and sound of “hymns.” This precludes chants, which I will discuss later. But, this also precludes hymns like the South Asian Ismaili hymns discussed in this lecture.
I confess that I am introducing more music into my playlist and my tastes are always evolving to become more eclectic.
Still, because I am western, I was looking for western sounding hymns for me to sing. I can already hear the Wahhabis in my head,”We are not trying to imitate the Christians.” But, I dismiss this voice and the argument that goes along with it for a different venue. These debates are about as useful as those fire and brimstone preachers.
- I already had a few favorite hymn-like selections, but I scoured the net to see what others were saying or contributing to this subject. I found a wonderful discussion from 2011 about Islamic choral music. Is it a coincidence that this was the exact year that my child, A, was born?
- The Choral version of Tala al Badru Alayna, sung by a Canadian children’s choir to welcome refugees was performed in 2015, the year my last child was born. Oh, how I wish that it could be performed in America, with the accompanying sentiments, of course.
- There is actually a site called Islamic hymns that has some really good hymn-like songs. Check out this piece set to the music of Cannon in D.
Many, like the one listed above, are sung by the president of Muslims for progressive Values, Ani Zonneveld. Check out her biography and listen to her other songs.
https://www.anizonneveld.com/biography
- As long as we are talking about Cannon in D, here is Al Habeeb which also follows this progression.
- Here is a Muslim children’s Choir in the United Kingdom performing a contemporary Islamic nasheed called Insha Allah by Maher Zain. I might have posted this song somewhere else in the blog, but not this specific version. The choir gives it a regal feel. I do wish they had added some harmony, instead of it being sung in unison. Yet, it is beautifully sung. .
- Next is a choral arrangement of a newly written nasheed Ya Habeeb Allah. There is a soloist and the song is a bit like a chant. Yet, it felt more like a hymn to me, so I included it here.
- One of my absolute favorite choral Islamic selections is by Zain Bhikha. The song is called Here I am Lord. The song is sung with an accompanying choir. Although I really enjoy Zain Bhikha’s voice and music, I do wish that the entire piece was performed in harmony by the choir without a lead voice. Here is the song. Tell me what you think.
Ummah Wake Up
One by Ani Zonneveld
Biography:
https://www.anizonneveld.com/biography
Ramadan day 14
One really integral part of church attendance is the corporate singing of hymns. Yes, there are corporate chants that are very moving and I will talk about chants and corporate prayer in a later post.
Today’s topic is about the corporate singing of hymns. Being in the middle of a room, singing harmony or the melody of a particularly wonderful song just fills the body with awe and gratitude at the same time. It just moves you to worship.
I am always personally disclosing something. This time, it is that my husband has become paranoied about myself and my children attending *any* church service. He had attended much more conservative services with me before our marriage. Honestly, I have become much more of a liberal Christian since our marriage. Before our marriage, I never knew that there were Christians who ascribed to the notion that it was inappropriate and emotionally damaging as well as spiritually manipulative to publicly call children up to an altar and accept Jesus as their savior. Public confessions are traumatic enough, but specifically children have yet the maturity to understand such a choice. When you add the public declaration in the mix, it is a recipe for psychological turmoil.
Sometimes, we are taught something and when we get that uncertain feeling deep in our bones, we are taught to second guess ourselves and squelch it, especially if it is for the good of God. How are we to argue with what God wants us to do? I had always felt uncomfortable when the time came for an end of the service altar call. During my conservative Christian days, my discomfort would be followed by a sharp wave of guilt. I certainly felt uncomfortable with the subtle … and not so subtle coercions to the altar. Then, I would feel guilty, as if I were trying to keep people from God. This would be a weekly progression. Yes, sometimes church could be so emotionally exhausting. The dichotomy was that it could also be so fulfilling, especially if there was good music involved. Sitting with these two opposites, especially when this range of emotions was present in each service could definitely make one reflective, to say the least.
If I attended church, I confess, it would be more for the fellowship and communal aspect. And, maybe that is not the correct reason to go. Yet, fellowship is very important and I am sure that there would be something that I could take from a good sermon or even the silent leanings of a Quaker worship.
My husband is afraid that someone will try to convert the children to Christianity. I think he is just afraid that he will have less power and they will resemble my character and demeanor more than his. Fears are rarely rational, so it is useless to combat them with rational arguments. I have looked for Unitarian Universalist churches that don’t have an altar call at the end of each service. I honestly no longer feel comfortable in churches that take the Bible literally, use manipulation and make every attempt to convince you to believe everything that they do. I prefer finding congregations that certainly speak and teach, but respect everyone’s own faith journey. I find respect among Unitarian / Universalists and solace in the silence of the Quakers. I have spoken to my husband several times about my personal views on church and what I would and/or would not be comfortable with, if my children attended service with me. . Still, he won’t budge and it is just not worth a fight.
So, here I am, missing some of the hymns of the past. I admit that many hymns that I use to enjoy so much, seem to have a hollow ring. As my understanding of faith has evolved, I no longer feel comfortable singing some hymns that I feel are theologically inaccurate and, if taken literally, can contribute to the psychological and/or spiritual abuse of others. I am confessing right here, I never liked the hymn Amazing Grace. First, I never felt comfortable calling myself “Wretched.” Surely, if I was fearfully and wonderfully made, I could not be “wretched.” Second, it just made blindness sound so close to death, itself. I could hear the collective body thanking God that they were BLIND NO MORE. I will skip over even the best and most harmonious vocal version. It is just too cringe-worthy for me.
I have thought about getting the instrumentals to some hymns and changing the words entirely. My memory seems to be going and I am certain that I could not retain my new words, however. It is worth mentioning that others have suggested that I overthink certain subjects and concepts. I am certain that their assessment is accurate. Yet, these are my own opinions and since songs are forms of worship, I choose to either change the words (if it can be done without too much effort) or not sing songs that cause me to cringe.
I am painfully and embarrassingly aware that when I say “HYMN,” I automatically think of and am talking about the western definition and sound of “hymns.” This precludes chants, which I will discuss later. But, this also precludes hymns like the South Asian Ismaili hymns discussed in this lecture.
I confess that I am introducing more music into my playlist and my tastes are always evolving to become more eclectic.
Still, because I am western, I was looking for western sounding hymns for me to sing. I can already hear the Wahhabis in my head,”We are not trying to imitate the Christians.” But, I dismiss this voice and the argument that goes along with it for a different venue. These debates are about as useful as those fire and brimstone preachers.
- I already had a few favorite hymn-like selections, but I scoured the net to see what others were saying or contributing to this subject. I found a wonderful discussion from 2011 about Islamic choral music. Is it a coincidence that this was the exact year that my child, A, was born?
- The Choral version of Tala al Badru Alayna, sung by a Canadian children’s choir to welcome refugees was performed in 2015, the year my last child was born. Oh, how I wish that it could be performed in America, with the accompanying sentiments, of course.
- There is actually a site called Islamic hymns that has some really good hymn-like songs. Check out this piece set to the music of Cannon in D.
Many, like the one listed above, are sung by the president of Muslims for progressive Values, Ani Zonneveld. Check out her biography and listen to her other songs.
https://www.anizonneveld.com/biography
- As long as we are talking about Cannon in D, here is Al Habeeb which also follows this progression.
- Here is a Muslim children’s Choir in the United Kingdom performing a contemporary Islamic nasheed called Insha Allah by Maher Zain. I might have posted this song somewhere else in the blog, but not this specific version. The choir gives it a regal feel. I do wish they had added some harmony, instead of it being sung in unison. Yet, it is beautifully sung. .
- Next is a choral arrangement of a newly written nasheed Ya Habeeb Allah. There is a soloist and the song is a bit like a chant. Yet, it felt more like a hymn to me, so I included it here.
- One of my absolute favorite choral Islamic selections is by Zain Bhikha. The song is called Here I am Lord. The song is sung with an accompanying choir. Although I really enjoy Zain Bhikha’s voice and music, I do wish that the entire piece was performed in harmony by the choir without a lead voice. Here is the song. Tell me what you think.
Ummah Wake Up
One by Ani Zonneveld
Biography:
The melodious journey through Ramadan: 