Next week is our annual pulpit exchange with the Temple. The Rabbi preaches here Sunday, I preach there Friday. The choirs combine for both services. I'm working on the liturgy and finding hymn/song selection challenging. Can't be all Jesus-y. No Trinitarian stuff. Trying to avoid hymns that lean heavily toward Zion/Israel/Promised Land imagery as that plays really differently in an interfaith crowd. We've got some Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian Christians who attend our church that get a little queasy about the Temple exchange anyway without adding that layer of potential misunderstanding.
So--what to sing? Also, it has to work musically and be especially singer friendly given all the guests that will be here.
Ideas??
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6 comments:
This is my father's world popped into my head...
O When the Saints Come Marching In?
Good luch with this... and whatever you end up with, file it someplace easy to find for next year's exchange. No sense scrounging year after year!
Any hymn that is taken pretty literally from a Psalm would be perfect.
Elaine
Norman, OK
first thing that came to mind for me was "a mighty fortress is our God" i checked and it isn't jesusy- that surprised me, but its not. that could work.
creation hymns- all things bright and beautiful, earth and all stars (if the test tube bit doesn't make you gag- like it does me), for the beauty of the earth (skip the last verse), god who stretched the spangled heavens...
the psalm idea is a good one.
i don't know if you could get away with "help us accept each other" since it mentions christ, also don't know about that music, but lyricly it is nice for the occasion.
"I'm gonna live so God can use me"
"O God of earth and space"- I think that's a Jewish tune... it does mention Christ once though.
"O Sing to the Lord- Cantad al Senor"
for a closing- God be with you till we meet again.
Sorry to go on like this... this was a fun challenge and I have the hymn book on the computer. Didn't make it all the way through the alphabet, but hope something here is helpful. Course if you don't use the most recent Presby hymnal, you might not have all of these. What are the texts? Hope you'll post whatever you decide on.
too late to make suggestions (be thou my vision?) but wanted to check in and say good luck with this and I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Yeah--I have Cantad al Senor and God be with you on my list. A mighty fortress actually has a big,fat Christological affirmation right in the middle of it: "Doth ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is he! . . ." Also, many Jews are pretty aware of some of Martin Luther's anti-Jewish rants, so even without that, it's probably not a good choice.
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