What's up with the Chanting?

-The Rev. Sylvia Miller-Mutia

It's only my second week at Canterbury, and you're probably already wondering "what's UP with that?"  What's up with the ribbons?  What's up with the bells?  What's up with the waving arms?  What's up with all this singing? 

Bear with me...there really is a method to my madness!   And there is usually a robust theology behind my liturgical choices.  Over time, I'll do my level best to engage our entire congregation in thoughtful reflection about our shared liturgical theology and practice.   In the meantime...I hope you'll bear with me!   Give some new things a shot.  Notice your own experience as you try new things, and notice the experience of the people around you.  Pay special attention to the strangers, newcomers, and children in our midst.  Be gentle with yourselves, with one another, and with me!  Be open to whatever surprises the Holy Spirit might have in store for us!  

This week I want to take an opportunity to consider the very good question, "What's up with all the chanting?"  

There's a saying, "He who sings, prays twice."  You'll notice that I sing (or chant) a lot in the liturgy, and I invite you to do the same.    I do like singing, but that's not the actually the point.  (It is interesting to notice what we like and don't like, but it's not a particular solid foundation on which to base our communal liturgical practice.) Rather, I sing and invite you to join me because I believe that singing and chanting in the liturgy is essential. Among other things, singing and chanting in the liturgy is:

• Historical--From the earliest times, Christian liturgy (and the Jewish liturgy before it) has been sung.  A spoken liturgy is a modern innovation. Sometimes, it is a very useful innovation.  There are occasions when a spoken liturgy makes excellent practical and pastoral sense.  However, as a general  principle I assume that liturgical singing is the norm-- especially when it comes to psalms and canticles (which are, by definition, songs)--and liturgical speaking is the exception.
• Holistic--Sung text invites us to engage our breath, bodies, and brains differently then spoken text does.  Singing text requires us to engage our breath--and by extension our bodies--with more intention.  Hearing sung text engages our affective and imaginative faculties along with our analytical and discursive ones.   
• Communal--Notice how you can hear and feel the vibrations of the people around you when we're singing together.
• Formational- Music sticks with us in a way that nothing else does!   Even very young children can hum or sing along with the music during the Sunday liturgy (and subsequently throughout the week!)   When we sing scripture, it lodges itself in our brains and bodies in wonderful, mysterious, and enduring ways.   The songs of our childhood come back to us in an instant.  Elders with significant memory loss can often recall and participate fully in singing songs from their youth, even when most other language has become inaccessible to them.   

I could go on and on, but I won't.  Instead, I invite you to spend some time this week SINGING!  If you want to learn more (or begin practicing chanting at home) I encourage you to visit the "Chant" page I created at http://sgnsource.weebly.com/chant.html 

The "Chant" page is a great resource, with basic instructions and audio files, if you're new to chanting, or (like me) you want to chant, but you can't really read music. 

Have a great week!  I look forward to singing with you soon!  sylvia+