The Church and a new music

Children will, I hope, return to singing in RE and worship not simply the music that is placed there to illustrate, entertain, punctuate or decorate teaching and educational points, but which builds up their understanding of the Church at worship, and access to a store of music that is in common with the local, living, universal worshipping Church. They can learn that a key part of music is the rest, and knowing how to stay silent, to listen, or to make the silence speak.

Perhaps we can reflect, then, on why it should be that both the Anglican and Catholic Churches publish books of worship, of which they are justly proud, but which appear without the comprehensive provision of music with which to offer it. We can also wonder why excellent Christians in modern music, such as George Michael (an Orthodox) and Bono (a Catholic) are not being commissioned to write contemporary music of the greatest calibre, like the rest of their music, for use in our worship as appropriate by the people who want to use it. Why does the contemporary liturgy and music of the church not have its Sondheim? And why inventive dance music creators like Roni Size and Judge Jules can produce music of exciting magic for the clubs yet in church we so often settle for the second and third rate? No wonder young people go to clubs on a Saturday and don't come to church on Sunday. 'We too would thither bend our joyful footsteps' refers now to the Ministry of Sound rather than the Ministry of the Word in the Father's house of prayer for all people.

Clearly we have a capital fund in music from which we are preventing the flow and refreshing power of creative art. Instead the place we give to music in church and in school is not sustainable, and generates little re-growth. Are we back to using it for self-entertainment, catchiness to divert ourselves and our children, while we lose touch more and more with the beauty we are bound to represent, the glory of the Lord?

So let us have no equal music. 'God is love, God is truth, God is beauty: praise him.'