July 2011
47 posts
Embracing the Discomfort of Diversity, by Mark...
This article is reposted from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship website, originally posted on Mar 01, 2009 at http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/embracing-the-discomfort-of-diversity
The author is Mark Charles. He describes himself this way on his blog: “I am the son of an American woman (of Dutch heritage) and a Navajo man, who is living on our Navajo Reservation...
Choosing Global Songs for Christian Worship in...
“The 21st century is characterized by people moving and mixing all over the world, trying to fit into new communities that are varied and diverse. That reality is pushing the church to be multiethnic like the church of the 1st century. We’ll explore how to plan worship that is inclusive, allowing everyone to feel welcome by including musical gifts from their culture and worship ‘back...
"Multicultural Worship: Melting Pot or Fruit...
“Multicultural”Worship: Melting Pot of Fruit Salad?” was presented by Pedrito Maynard-Reid at the Andrews University Music and Worship conference, March 24-26, 2011.
[Embedded from original posting at http://vimeo.com/album/1612865/video/24295728]
Dr. Maynard-Reid is the author of Diverse Worship: African-American, Caribbean and Hispanic Perspectives (2000, IVP)....
Liturgy, Formation, Mission and Art: A Conference...
Announcement from http://artspastor.blogspot.com/2011/07/liturgy-formation-mission-and-art.html
Liturgy, Formation, Mission and Art: A Conference
“Liturgy is not play acting, but [rather] the evocation of an alternate reality that comes into play in the very moment of the liturgy.” — Walter Brueggeman, The Message of the Psalms I’m very excited to announce a conference taking place...
Jazz classics done by Pakistani orchestra
[This post does not pertain to worship, but is such a great example of cross-cultural fusion music that I’m publicizing it for fun.]
A new orchestra in the Pakistani city of Lahore is causing some excitement in the world of jazz - and turning around their own fortunes at the same time.
For years, classical musicians in Pakistan have faced tough times. As well as the issues everyone else in...
1,500+ global worship songs: get ready to sing!
Dr. C. Michael Hawn produces the best bibliographies of resources related to global Christian worship. See this 2010 bibliography for a wealth of global hymnbooks:
http://globalchristianworship.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/hawns-bibliography-2010.pdf
Altogether, there are 1,500+ global worship songs which have been compiled and transcribed, and considered useful for western churches to use. Most...
"The Blood of Jesus" - Reggae-style worship
You gave your body Pierced through for me You gave your blood Poured out for me Father, you gave your son A sacrifice for me I fall down to my knees Lord have mercy on me Heal me, cleanse me, cleanse me With the blood of jesus Washes white as snow On the cross, my jesus You gave your life for me Pour the blood of jesus over me
As a rebellious drug-addicted youth, Mark Mohr found an affinity for...
Guides for 'ethnic' piano styles
This post is a companion piece to the one a few days ago with resources for guitarists who want to bring some ‘ethnic styles’ into their church services.
Latin Piano Styles
Brazilian Piano - Choro, Samba, and Bossa Nova: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series (with CD)...
Halle, Halle: We Sing the World Round (book...
Halle, Halle: We Sing the World Round —compiled and written by C. Michael Hawn, Garland, TX: Chorister’s Guild, 1999 & 2010 revised edition. Teacher’s edition, 88 pages.
Halle, Halle is an inspirational, practical, and well-informed compilation of global Christian worship songs. The author has drawn on his own travels in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as upon work by noted...
Texas meets New Orleans: "I'll Fly Away" on...
Last night, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band joined forces for a foot-stomping, soul movin’ version of the gospel classic “I’ll Fly Away” on the TV stages of the Late Show with David Letterman.
See the video here:
Thanks to John S who pointed me to the story at...
Worship - The Global Hallelujah! (book review)
Worship - The Global Hallelujah! Edited by Barbara Colburn, designed by Jewel Fink, Wycliffe Bible Translators, 2000
Wycliffe Bible Translators published a wonderful book: “Worship - The Global Hallelujah!” Full of Bible verses and photos, thoughts, prayers, and song lyrics from around the world, the 90-page book paints a panorama of all peoples coming to God “in need, in...
Multicultural Hymns in Church of Christ Hymnbooks
Here’s a helpful online listing of resources for multicultural worship that are found in 2 Church of Christ hymnals:
* Chalice Hymnal * New Century Hymnal
http://globalministries.org/resources/worship-resources/global-hymn-resource.html#_chalice_readings
There are 2 lists for each hymnal: * Alphabetical by song’s country of origin * Alphabetical by song title
In addition, there is...
'Holy River' - music video from India
Aradhna is a Sanskrit word meaning an act of glorifying God, as in worship, adoration and prayer. It’s also the name of an “east-west fusion band.” Led by Chris Hale (raised in Nepal, studied sitar and voice in India) and Pete Hicks (born in India, great guitar player), Aradhna has produced 7 CDs and toured parts of Asia, Europe and North America.
Aradhna was formed in 2000. The...
Guides for 'ethnic' guitar styles
As you consider using elements of various musical cultures in your church services, instructional guides can be very helpful. Here’s a series of book & CD guides for playing guitar in various global music styles. “The Guitar Atlas series is your passport to a new world of music. Learn the characteristic rhythms and techniques of some of the world’s most remarkable guitar...
Psalm 24 in the Forest: "The Earth is Yours"
A majorly popular band-of-the-moment is Gungor. One of their songs takes the chorus (and title) line from Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
The verses of the song are based on Psalm 29 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+29&version=NLT
Check out the video where they perform “The Earth is Yours” …...
World Communion Sunday: A Sample Service
“World Communion Sunday” is always celebrated the first Sunday in October (October 2, 2011 this year). This special event is celebrated by churches around the world, as they partake of Communion and affirm their unity as the global Body of Christ. This is a great opportunity to use global worship songs in your church!
The theme of ‘unity of the global church’ was important...
Planning Worship to Unify the Body (by Nikki...
This is a reposting of a great article by Nikki Lerner. It was originally published on the web on April 28th, 2011 at http://unityinchristmagazine.com/worship-arts/planning-worship-to-unify-the-body/
Hymns are old and irrelevant. At least that’s what I used to tell myself as a young worship leader. You see, my story is that I did not grow up in church. My family believed in God, but that is about...
CD Review (by Josh Davis): Worship From Urbana ’09 →
This post is excerpts from Josh Davis’ review posted at http://unityinchristmagazine.com/reviews/cd-review-worship-from-urbana-%e2%80%9909/ Go to that website to hear 3 embedded song samples, and to read the full review.
The Urbana Conference (www.urbana.org) has a reputation as a great place for multi-ethnic worship, and after listening to this CD of songs from Urbana ’09, I can understand...
One Hundred Years of Gospel Music in One Hour
At the 2008 Calvin Symposium on Worship, James Abbington presented an overview of the last 100 years in the history of black gospel music in the United States, and included piano selections and video clips.
Hear the audio and watch the video here: http://www.calvin.edu/january/2008/abbington.htm [These are both large files and take quite awhile to preload before streaming. Or you can download...
Hindi/English fusion worship: A New Song in...
Contextualizing Worship: My Journey to Worship...
“When the first Christian missionaries came to the Navajo people they unfortunately brought more than the Gospel. They also brought the message that God could only be worshiped through the Western culture. This workshop contains a collection of stories and lessons learned in my journey to understand what it means to be Navajo and Christian.”
Audio presentation by Mark Charles at the...
Worship in the Early Church: Unity in Diversity
“As much as worship practices vary across churches, denominations, and cultures in our modern world, the ancient church was also full of diverse (and sometimes conflicting) approaches to worship. This seminar explores the history of worship in the early church in the hope that we might learn about, accept, and apply different attitudes and practices in our own times.”
Hear the audio...
"The Lord is Gracious & Compassionate" - a Psalm... →
The Lord is gracious and compassionate Slow to anger and rich in love The Lord is gracious and compassionate Slow to anger and rich in love And the Lord is good to all He has compassion in all that He has made As far as the east is from the west That?s how far He has removed our transgressions from us
Psalm 145:8-9 and Psalm 103:12.
The music was composed by Graham Ord in 1998, and is heard...
Enlarging your worship culture: Taking some first...
This post is reprinted from http://www.intervarsity.org/studentsoul/item/enlarging-your-worship-culture and is written by Krista-Dawn Kimsey. She is on InterVarsity staff in Salem, Oregon, at Willamette University, and was the worship team leader for Urbana 2003. This article is written specifically for campus ministry groups but easily transfers to churches. First posted on InterVarsity’s...
"Diversity in Worship," 3/2011 video by Roberta...
The multimedia lecture “Diversity in Worship” was presented by Dr. Roberta King at the Andrews University Music and Worship conference, March 24-26, 2011.
See the hour-long video here, with many media examples of global music and global Christian worship: [http://vimeo.com/24293675 had original posting]
“Diversity in Worship” by Roberta King from Center for Youth...
2006 panel discusses "Global Perspectives on...
The 2006 Calvin Worship Symposium featured a panel hosted by Emily Brink, with Roberta King, Jorge Lockward, Setri Nyomi, Angela Tam.
“In this session, we explore cultural and liturgical issues our brothers and sisters are addressing especially in Africa and Asia—for example, intergenerational and multicultural worship; use of indigenous songs, instruments, and dance; use of technology;...
Free subscription to 'Reformed Worship' for... →
Are you a seminary or church ministry college student in the US or Canada? This Friday, July 15, is the last day to request a free student subscription ($25 value)! Go to http://www.facebook.com/reformedworship?sk=app_100986888577
The journal is highly recommended for anyone who is a worship leader. It has published 2,000 helpful articles on maaaaany topics. To see what they’ve published...
How groups like Mumford and Sons give us... →
Excerpts from article by Liz Riggs, http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/worship/features/22374-when-the-secular-is-sacred - go to webpage to read the whole article with more video links.
“What about the songs we hear outside of the church that channel an avenue of praise in us we didn’t know was possible? Can those songs be a means of worship? [Can the ‘secular’ be...
Electronica Christian Worship from Estonia
Excerpts from article “Why You Don’t Want to Miss Kye Kye” by Chris Callaway, published at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/music/features/26037-why-you-dont-want-to-miss-kye-kye [go to webpage for full interview and photos]
The Estonia-born band will win you over with their stunning music and heartfelt faith.
The family that plays ethereal electronic music together stays...
Fuller Theological Seminary Announces NEW DMiss...
Fuller Theological Seminary has the joy of announcing the 2nd DMiss cohort in Ethnomusicology. Join us in a practical field research degree that impacts your current work and ministry in culturally appropriate worship and/or witness through music and the arts. Sign up in the gathering interest link and contact us. We’d love to have you join us!...
Recent bilingual hymnal of Native American worship...
Check out this recent (2010) resource: “Singing the Sacred: Musical Gifts from Native American Communities”
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/resources/globalpraise/music/?i=20797 has contents and audio song samples, and free PDF scores for 2 of the songs.
Twenty-one songs are included from the Mohawk of New York to the Native Hawaiians of the Hawaiian Island; from the Inupiat in the...
Is Your Church Too Cool? →
I just read a great article (thanks, Del!) which will speak to many churches in the western world, and probably elsewhere as well. The article is about church services in general, not just the worship time, but is so challenging that I’m posting some excerpts here as a teaser. Please read the entire article to be challenged even more, and think about ‘distractions’ in worship...
Great Multicultural Worship Conference in St....
Kirk Ward and friends have done a great job developing multicultural worship at New City Fellowship in St. Louis. (And Kirk’s dad, famous composer and CCM artist James Ward, has helped do that at New City Fellowship in Chattanooga).
Check out this great upcoming conference!
New City Music 2011 Conference – Worship Music for Reconciliation and Justice 8/09/2011 — 8/11/2011 [Tues-Thurs]...
Study EthnoArts in England in August! →
Are you interested in using arts in cross-cultural ministry? Do you want to see nations worshipping God with their own culture’s artistic resources? Do you want to use the arts in holistic community development?
Consider this training program outside of London. Monday, 8 August 2011 - Friday, 2 September 2011
Courses are:
Research Methods for Performing Arts
Applied Cultural Arts
...
Caleb Mauwa: A Bright Star and Global Praise... →
This post is excerpts from an article written by Mary Beth Coudal and published June 29, 2011, at http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=6068 Go there to see two photos.
Caleb Mauwa graduated with honors from Africa University on June 11, 2011. He is a Global Praise Scholar, supported by the Scholarship/Leadership Development office of the General Board of Global Ministries of...
open positions for multicultural worship leaders...
MEMPHIS, TN: “currently looking for another worship pastor who is called, gifted, theologically sound, African-American, and passionate about leading God’s people in worship in a multicultural context.” ATLANTA, GA: “part-time, non-white worship leader needed for a Presbyterian church that is becoming multicultural.” HOUSTON, TX: “full-time, non-white...
Unwrapping the Gift of Music from Other Cultures
John Bell is a leader of the Wild Goose Resource Group, a ministry for worship renewal connected with the Iona Community of Scotland. http://www.wgrg.co.uk/pages.php?page=what_is_wgrg http://www.iona.org.uk/
John and friends in the Iona Community have produced many materials (songbooks and recordings) for global worship....
Learn to Help Develop Indigenous Worship in... →
Interested in helping minority groups in the Americas develop indigenous worship?
I highly recommend the YWAM School of Missions, Ethno-Arts Focus. It’s run by John and Kristina Henry, who have years of experience and deep devotion to people in the indigenous ‘tribal’ cultures of Panama. I had the privilege of teaching at this school in 2010 and was very impressed. Here’s...
Why Multicultural Worship is Coming to YOUR Church
In 2 words - changing demographics.
Look at these 2 recent reports from US Census data:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/06/hispanic.youth.majority/index.html “The Changing Face of America’s Youth” For the first time in national history, the majority of young people in 2 states — California and New Mexico — now identify as Hispanic, according to census data. In 8 more...
Arts in Mission 2011: Training for Cross-Cultural...
Over recent years, Christian communities have been giving renewed attention to the arts worldwide. Books, articles, websites, conferences and workshops all demonstrate this growing awareness of the importance of artistic means to engage with what God is doing in the world. The arts touch hearts, opening eyes and ears to God’s word and connecting people across national, cultural and linguistic...
Reformed Holy Hip Hop: Too White?
A recent article in Christianity Today connects “holy hiphop” with Reformed theologians, such as Dr. John Piper. It’s well worth a read here:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/special/pdf/110502spot_reformedrap.pdf
Martin Luther is described as the original “Reformed rapper” since in the 1500s he used rhyme and meter to teach the Creeds, the 10 Commandments, and more.
And check out...
The Whole World Will Sing For Joy: Global Worship...
The “Cape Town Commitment” document came out of the recent Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, held in Cape Town, South Africa in 2010 , where 4,200 delegates, represented 198 countries. A number of my ministry colleagues took part.
The document has two primary sections: “For the Lord We Love” (a confession of faith) and “For the World We Serve” (a call to missional action).The entire...
One of my favorite songs, new to me in 2011, is...
Upcoming Global Hymn Festival in Singapore...
Forthcoming Hymn Festival: Hymns of Praise Place: Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, Singapore Date: August 28, 2011
During the ministry of The Rev. Dr. Kang Ho Soon a hymn festival has been held annually on the last Sunday of August at Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, a unique congregation in Singapore with worship services in Mandarin, Tamil, Bahasa Malay, and English. The theme for the 2011...
One True God - a Bhangra Praise Song in English →
Bhangra dance began as a folk dance conducted by farmers in the Punjab (region of India & Pakistan) in the 11th century to celebrate the coming of the harvest season. The specific moves of bhangra reflect the manner in which villagers farmed their land.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, several Punjabi Sikh bands from the United Kingdom set the stage for bhangra to become a form of popular music...
