In the 1980’s and 90’s our Mainline Protestant churches went through what we called the worship wars. They weren’t even skirmishes, but we can tend to be a bit dramatic in the church, can’t we? On the heels of the realization that it would be better if churches of all flavors worked towards a better understanding of each other, we tried to reform the liturgies we used and the music we sang. Catholic songs showed up in Protestant hymnals and Protestant hymns made their way into Catholic Missals, and nobody’s church building fell down. We expanded our use of instruments and included guitars and drums and tambourines (what?). Remarkably, many people who grew up in different denominations got see how similar we were, and getting together for ecumenical events was easier.
There were many, however, who fought these radical (sarcasm) changes, and they made life miserable for the rest of us. The battle cry of “We Never Did It That Way Before” was bandied about, as if new things – which we are told in the Psalms, come from God – were a threat to all that we held as holy. Many of us had to admit that some of the old hymns are amazing, and some are terrible; some of the new stuff is great, and some of it is bad. We learned that what worked 50 years ago doesn’t always translate well; but sometimes it does. We worked together to a better understanding, explaining why we felt the way we did. And we learned a lot along the way. When we work together, we are better together.
Things have changed since those years, and that is a good thing. Now, nobody bats an eyelid when we sing a song we’ve never sung – and some of them are really great, while some are not. That really doesn’t matter, because we are doing it together. And doing this work of the people for God (worship) together makes us better people. It doesn’t matter if we sing to an organ or a guitar or a piano – it doesn’t matter if we say a creed or not – it doesn’t matter if we change the versions of the Lord’s Prayer – as long as we learn and grow together. When we put God first, we are better together. Because God made us to change and grow and improve – together.
Prayer – Merciful God, thank You for all the new things You help us to learn. May our hearts and minds grow in love. Amen.
Today’s art is a Celtic Triskele.