Page 48 - Presbyterian Connection

48
PRESBYTERIAN
SUMMER 2023
presbyterian.ca
Connection
JUST WONDERING...
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How are we supposed to decide when to have communion and baptism in our church?
I’m wondering about the types of music a congregation plays. My church doesn’t play traditional hymns very often anymore. I like the new music, but is it a problem to move away from hymns? Is it the music director who gets to decide?
Answered by the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald, General Secretary
Concerning the celebration of the sacra- ments generally, Section 111 of the Book of Forms instructs that, “The Session de- termines the appointed times and provides for the administration of the sacraments.”
Section 110.4 of the Book of Forms states that, “The Session is responsible for provision for the Sacrament of Bap- tism. This sacrament is normally to be celebrated in a service of public worship.” The Session, not the minister alone, ap- proves requests for baptism and arranges for when baptisms are celebrated. The minister, and possibly some elders, meet with the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the child or children being baptized or with adults seeking baptism for themselves, to dis- cuss the meaning of baptism and the vows
that they will take. In some congregations, candidates for baptism are asked to wait until a Sunday when other baptisms will be celebrated, while in other congregations, baptisms are celebrated as requests are approved by the Session.
The Session is also responsible for ap- pointing when Holy Communion will be celebrated, based on local custom, need and the nature of the worship service. In some congregations, Holy Communion is celebrated four times a year. In other congregations, Holy Communion may be celebrated as many as 25 times a year, or more. It is advisable that the Session of each congregation occasionally reflect on the meaning of Holy Communion and consider whether the means and frequency of providing the sacrament is fitting for the evolving circumstances and needs of the congregation.
Answered by the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald, General Secretary
Every congregation has its own signature musical identity. Hymns that one congre- gation thinks are standards are totally un- known to others. I had been in the PCC for over 30 years before I heard or sung “Blessed Assurance” (words by Fanny Crosby), which was an old favourite in the first congregation I was called to. Hymns like “Lord Jesus, You Shall be My Song” (by Les Petites Soeurs de Jésus) and “Lord, You Have Come by The Seashore” (words by Cesáreo Gabaráin) are stand- ard for me but unknown in congregations I have served.
And then there is the contested matter of hymn tunes. I think it’s normal to sing “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” to the “Blaenwern” by William P. Rowlands. But many of my friends and colleagues think it heresy to sing that same hymn to anything other than the Welsh tune “Hyfrydol.” My great-grandparents had psalm books with pages literally cut halfway with words on the top and music on the bottom pages. It was normal to sing the words to one tune
one week and flip the pages and sing the same words to a different tune another week, depending on the mood and context of the service. In some respects, the 1800s was a more flexible time.
Generally, a thoughtful mix of famil- iar and new hymns is enjoyed by people in churches. Old hymns remind us of the long history of faith and how faith has been expressed differently over the ages. New hymns speak to our current situation and help us “sing a new song to the Lord” that reflects contemporary expressions of faith.
Section 111 of the Book of Forms teach- es that, “As the executive of the presbytery, the minister is responsible for the conduct and content of public worship and for the supply of the pulpit.” While the minister is ultimately responsible for all that is said and sung during worship, normally, the minister and organist, and perhaps others, will work together to select hymns that re- flect the traditions and tastes of the congre- gation and that are suitable for the context of the service and reflective of the biblical texts chosen for the service. Generally, a thoughtful mix of familiar and new hymns is appreciated.
We attend a Presbyterian church in Florida, where the congregation reads lots of responses or reads prayers together instead of the minister leading prayers spontaneously off the top of his head. This is very different from what we do in our church in Canada. Why the difference?
Answered by the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald, General Secretary
There is a remarkable diversity in the style and content of worship in Presbyterian congregations in Canada. It is as common to worship in a congregation that prays in unison and participates in many responses as it is common to be in a church where the minister leads all the prayers and does all the readings themselves. In some con- gregations, ministers spend time preparing prayers to recall and reflect the needs and experiences of the congregation and craft prayer-language in deliberate ways. In oth- er congregations, ministers will let ideas and images stream into their mind as they are inspired. These differences are the re-
sult of the history, theology and preference of the congregation; and some differences reflect the theology, gifts and preferences of the minister.
Reading things in unison and having many responses by the congregation is relatively new in the PCC. For a long time, the congregation’s par ticipation in wor- ship was restricted to singing hymns and possibly reading the psalms responsively. Over the last 50 years, there has been a movement to find more ways for the con- gregation to par ticipate more actively in worship, lest congregations resemble passive audiences than a community of people called together to do the work and fulfill our corporate duty of worshipping God together.