wfn.org | New hymns help congregations mourn, heal

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 24, 2001 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{488}

By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The writing of hymns and inspiration music is
offering a kind of catharsis for church music directors and worship leaders
seeking to help congregations deal with the impact of the terrorist attacks
and the military response. 

United Methodists are creating new lyrics and music or doing new
arrangements of familiar tunes as they confront their emotions and sense of
grief.

"Anything that hits close to home pushes poets, worship leaders, etc., to
write new hymns and music," said Dean McIntyre, director of music resources
at the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. The new compositions and
hymns not only contribute to the body of worship resources but also to the
emotional health of the people, he said.

"Any time people are confronted with an obvious emotional impact that has
drawn a curtain on lives, artists of all kinds are moved to write something
new, and many new texts are being written," he said. 

In e-mail notes, pastors and music leader have indicated that Sept. 11 will
hold an indelible place on the psyche of Americans, like the bombing of
Pearl Harbor and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, he said. It is a day
that will help people define and understand themselves and their place in
this world, he said.

McIntyre's discussions with musicians, hymn writers and others revealed that
churches had three main reactions to the attacks in terms of how they
selected music: Some sought out songs that spoke directly to the tragedy;
others sought to deny the expression of fear and anxiety through music; and
others sought to identify with a strongly patriotic and nationalistic theme.

United Methodists immediately turned to the United Methodist Hymnal, Book of
Worship, The Faith We Sing songbook and other music resources for comfort.
McIntyre said the familiar songs such as "A Mighty Fortress" or Psalm 23, "O
God Our Help in Ages Past," were deemed inadequate by people mourning.

"We found these inadequate in seeking personal expression of and coping with
the level of pain, fear, loss and suffering that comes from such an
unspeakable act," he said. Numerous people were asking what to pray and sing
after television showed a person who tried to fly away from the burning
World Trade Center by flapping his arms and then fell to the ground below.
"The hymn we sang at Uncle Joe's funeral somehow just doesn't serve well
this time," McIntyre said.  

In the wake of the tragedy, the board's staff has concentrated on providing
worship and music resources to help the church respond. The staff solicited
some of the denomination's noted hymn writers to compose prayers and worship
materials for www.umcworship.org, the board's worship Web site. The board
also received unsolicited hymn texts from across the denomination following
the tragic events.  

The writers responded "with a new kind of hymn and resource, one which makes
an immediate connection to the attacks and aftermath," McIntyre said. The
compositions, with their direct language and use of imagery related to Sept
11, have helped individuals and congregations express their emotions, he
said. 

Some of those who provided hymns that could be freely shared across the
denomination include Ruth Duck, professor of worship at United
Methodist-related Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Ill.;
Carl P. Daw Jr., executive director of the Hymn Society of America and
Canada, with offices at United Methodist-related Boston University; James
Strathdee, who directs music ministries with wife Jean at St. Mark's United
Methodist Church in Sacramento, Calif.; and Jane Marshall, a widely known
teacher and writer of choral music. Music and worship staffs are also
responding to anxieties as the nation goes to war against the Taliban.

"This is a first step toward emotional recovery," McIntyre said. "The shock,
grief and fear will undoubtedly remain with us -- music and poetry will not
remove those -- but by speaking the words, praying the prayers, and reading
the responses and singing the hymns, we are somehow able to express to God,
to others and even to ourselves, the depth of what we are feeling, and to
hear what they may have to say to us. It is through this marvelous
communication through music that healing begins."

The Rev. E.W. "Gene" Hamilton, pastor at St. Paul's United Methodist Church
in Nyack, N.Y., wrote "O God, Our Strength and Refuge," to help people deal
with "feelings of despair, brokenness and assault, with the hope that God
will see us through." 

Nyack is a suburb of New York City, and many in the congregation and
community were impacted by the World Trade Center events. Hamilton said that
a few days following the attack, he was at the kitchen sink at noon, and the
tune to "O Sacred Head," popped into his mind and soon after words began to
flow. "The Holy Spirit chose to use me as a vehicle to put these words
down." He submitted his copyrighted song to www.umcworship.org and gave his
permission for its free use in congregational worship.

Another hymn, "Prince of Peace, Heal Our Nation," was composed by Jason
Vaughan, on Oct. 7, after America began military action against Afghanistan.
Vaughan, a member of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ga.,
wrote the lyrics as a prayer for peace and mediation on Jeremiah 24:6-7.  He
said the song should be sung to the tune of HYFRYDOL. The first stanza:
"Prince of Peace, heal our nation! We lift up one voice to you. Hear our
prayer, our humble pleading; in our lives your work renew. Fill us with your
Holy Spirit; guide our heart's return to home. We will be your people ever;
you will reign in us alone."

New hymns and lyrics are OK for congregations accustomed to singing songs of
lament or grief, but how are congregations that only use "yeah, God" music
helping their people cope, express grief, and hear the word of God? The
contemporary praise style of music is largely upbeat and celebratory, with
words that "are designed to contribute to a sense of feeling good with one's
self, each other and with God," McIntyre said. "Sometimes there is no
opportunity in these services for grieving or for lament. These kinds of
human emotions don't find expression very often." 

By e-mail, McIntyre polled United Methodist church musicians, liturgical
artists, worship planners and leaders, and pastors that primarily use
contemporary worship. He asked how they helped their people emotionally
address the aftermath of Sept. 11, and he found two factions.

Some churches sang slower and more expressive songs, although the hymns are
not tied to texts of grief, loss or fear, he said. Songs sung immediately
following Sept. 11 and still being used today include, "More Love, More
Power," "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" and "Thy Word," he said.

Musicians also listed titles such as "A Mighty Fortress" and "My Hope is
Built," McIntyre said. These are "traditional hymns of a more positive,
uplifting, celebratory quality ... which, given the nature of the events,
might be seen as almost leading the people into denying any deep feelings of
pain and grief."

The other group of churches used patriotic songs, such as "Mighty Warrior,"
"Battle Hymn of the Republic" and hymns that use images of militarism and
warfare, McIntyre said. Some congregations opened their worship with an
honor guard posting the American flag and by reciting the Pledge of
Allegiance and singing the national anthem. Other musicians led the
congregation in a medley that included "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High,"
"God is the Strength of My Heart, "I Stand in Awe" and "His Presence," which
is "a medley that might have been sung on any Sunday of any month," he said.

New hymns and helping people cope with the aftermath of the terrorist
attacks "is all new ground for most of us, and it remains pretty shaky
ground," McIntyre said. "Although most of us were hundreds or thousands of
miles away from New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, we are
still to be counted among the walking wounded. But with God's help, we are
on the way to recovery."
# # #
*Green is news director of the Nashville, Tenn.,-based office of United
Methodist News Service.

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United Methodist News Service
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