REBIRTH: Singing Death, Singing Life

Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, Silver Sponsor

This sectional will take the form of a reflexive group learning experience for and about Christian congregational music scholar-practitioners (also identified as teacher-scholars), defined as those with professional training and experience in both academic scholarship and church music practice. The leaders of the session, who are working on a larger research project that focuses on what church musicians can learn from the experience of scholar-practitioners, will share select findings of their work as a prompt for dialogue with sectional participants who are either scholar-practitioners themselves or are interested in contributions from this intersection. This dialogic learning session will also be oriented to the theme of the conference, focusing on notions of rebirth, death and life from the scholar-practitioner perspective.

Jan Lindholm & Christine Draper, Sponsors

Short songs for praying together - 1-8 part tunes for use in worship, on pilgrimage, in school, or anywhere you find yourself. Flexible, with room for improv. Suitable for all ages and abilities.

Martin Seltz, Sponsor

On the rare occasions when the church’s music engages with the non-human world, other beings in God’s creation are typically treated as objects to sing about, rather than fellow worshipers to sing with. For example, most “creation hymns” extol the goodness of God’s creation (e.g., “All things bright and beautiful”) or, more recently, lament the human desecration of God’s creation with calls for creation care (e.g., “Touch the earth lightly”). Very few explicitly unite human singers with the rest of creation as fellow worshipers of God (“All creatures worship God most high” being a notable exception). What would it sound like to sing with all creation more intentionally? This session builds on the theological insight that all creation worships God and that human expressions of worship should be integrally connected to this universal song of praise. From ancient sources, such as Psalm 148 and the Benedicite, to contemporary resources, this practical workshop explores ways to join our voices with the non-human world in praise and prayer. It also points to gaps in the church’s repertoire of song where songwriters and worship leaders can experiment with creative new ways to sing with all creation.