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How Long?
How long must we wear these chains and mute the songs of our hearts? Songs meant for praise and
love and meant to extol the Kingdom of God. Our hearts are breaking for our
neighbors and for a broken world consumed by a focus on self.
Turn our heats to
you, Lord. Let us go to our knees in humility rather than stomping in protest.
Let us cry out for your Kingdom coming. Who can stop it? And who can stop
praises from entering your throne room? None. There are none that can do this.
Our hearts pour out worship in spirit and truth and we are those you seek and
call to yourself.
I heard it in the
quiet of Your sanctuary.
I was free not to
sing.
I tell you that I
found a deep well of untapped love and adoration for our King dammed up for the
need to sound out words and notes in precise and harmonic ways. When that need
for the mechanics of song was broken by the command not to sing, worship gushed
forth and broke chains. The logjam has moved downstream. Lord, let the force
of your rushing waters take it down to the ocean and leave me free.
The Lord was good
to me, he broke through my reticence and allowed me to move, clap, raise my hands
in praise, and punch out emphasis to the prayers and worship during the
service. I felt liberated, likely more so than I have in the years since
returning to my home church.
I am thankful. It
is not too much to ask that the fires to remain hot and that our ardor continue
for the King.
In His grip,
jerry
Facebook comment from Ashley Cornelius: We also were disappointed to not sing this week, but also proud that our church leaders are striving to model how we should respond to the advice given by experts.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear Ashley. We are a creative people and we can do better than rely the sound of our own voices to express love and adoration to the Father/Creator. I'm in contact with another of the 32 churches in our Presbytery and he is unaware of any other church that has reopened let alone considering singing against the ordinance not to. Wisdom won out or rashness and I believe God is pleased with it.
DeleteFacebook share of my original post by Ashley Cornelius: For anyone in my church community who was challenged by the don’t sing in church advice given this week.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Ashley. For a blogger of my stature it is one of the highest of compliments. And since this post is particularly from my heart sharing with many people is both awesome and frightening. My wish, my hope, is that every reader come to a moment of clarity in their worship and reach through the veil to put their hand to the cross.
DeleteYou are always in my heart.
Facebook reply to Ashley from Dick McTeachens: It's about time the church was reminded that worship is more than music. Sad it took a global pandemic, but /gestures wildly around
DeleteAgree Dick. Worship is more than singing, more than clapping, dancing, arms lifted up, or persons on their knees in quiet meditation. It is our love of the Father that must infuse any or all of those things to make us worshipers in spirit and truth.
DeleteFacebook share to Ashley from Betty White: Well done, Jer! And thanks, Ashley, for explaining the medical purpose of not singing.
DeleteThanks mom. Ashley is a powerful advocate and ally. I believe the got a good portion of that from her grandmothers. ;-)
DeleteFacebook comment to Ashley's share by Joe Bergesen: Now I’m super curious about what the “don’t sing in church” advice was, and why.
ReplyDeleteFacebook reply from Ashley: Joe Bergesen it’s the idea that when you sing you are expelling your spit(and virus) out into the public much more forcefully and longer than if you just have a conversation.
DeleteFacebook reply from Lauren Rotella Bergesen: Joe Bergesen we have the same mandate here. Our churches opened without singing.
DeleteMy Facebook reply: Good morning Joe. Ashley's reply here is spot on but I'd like to weigh in a bit and give you a little more background on what led up to my post. The 'don't sing in church' is an ordinance by Governor Newsome that was included by Los Angeles County in their ordinances. The Session (group of elected ruling Elders) of our church met to discuss weather we should violate the order and have corporate singing. I believe the Holy Spirit gave good advice and led us to the place where we could express our worship in different ways and, for me, it worked wonderfully.
DeleteFootnote: Of the 18 voting elders on the Zoom call there was no one who advocated for violating the order and only the one person who put the proposal out for voting. We Presbyterian’s loving voting.