Deeper Conversations #2
thinking about singing
Thanks to everyone who added their thoughts to #1, why you attend services. The two-week gap you experienced between #1 and #2 is because my D.Min. intensives were more intense (in a good way) than I expected, and as a result, were quite exhausting. Thank god I suggested this series would be mostly weekly.
The gap also gave me some time to read your comments more deeply. They provoked a lot of thoughts and further questions, and the next few weeks will likely be drawn from those first comments about why you attend services, and what matters to you.
This week, our conversation will be about singing. Several of you talked about how singing together mattered - from the welcome song at a new congregation to just the being together and hearing each other.
My questions for you this week are these - answer any or all:
What does the experience of singing with others in a service feel like/do for you?
Is there something in particular that happens for you when singing with others?
Is there a difference when you’re singing as part of the congregation versus, say, as part of a choir?
What do you most like to sing with others? Are there particular songs or styles that feed you more?
What don’t you like about singing together - in your setting or others you’ve experienced?
Do you have thoughts on singing from a hymnal versus singing from a projection?
Let the conversation commence!
I love to sing. I’ve sung in church choirs for almost 40 years. And I also love singing hymns as a congregation. Singing is meditation to me. And choir practice is especially so. But your question is about congregational communal singing. For me, it is the blending of voices and creating beauty as one body that is so sacred. Time stops when we sing. And emotions feel deep.
So much to say about this, but I can't seem to organize my thoughts. I will share something amazing my husband came up with recently, though. We were talking casually about spiritual practices on the wiccan/pagan/tarot/earth-based side of the house.... and were also talking about music... and he said that he's always thought that:
Songs are spells.
And my mind was blown! Songs are spells. I don't know quite what that means to me yet, but I think I agree, especially when songs are sung in groups. What spells are we casting when we sing together?
(For context: I come to UUism as an atheist/rationalist/trained scientist, and it's only in the last few years that I've found myself open receptive to exploring the 'mysteries' side of religion and spirituality..)