Canticles, charisma and chat (Religion thread number 2)

[BaroqueAroundTheClock]

the first one is nearly full.

Anyone welcome, it's basically a "what happened in church/spiritual life/anything else you want to chat about that's vaguely related (or not) to churchy stuff.

ooo no I haven't sorry - just had a little bit of icing to do

I am very at your Evensong you had on Sunday night - we also had "Evensong" on Sunday night..........I just wanted to cry .

It's just awful we have about 6 people turn up. Only one bloke knows the Ferrial (sp) responses - so if he's not there the whole of that bit is said........so yep - he wasn't there so it was said. Wwith no choir we just can't sing the psalsm as apart from the 2 singers than sometimes come no-one else "gets" psalm singing at all.

I did attempt to do the Mag and Nunc - to our usual setting - but they couldn't even do that properly and it was just awful.

that is awful.
we get fewer than 6 in our congregation sometimes - i think last night it was 5.
At least we have the choir.
although, it's not such a brillaint choir any more. :(
but we try, and we do turn up, and we do our best.

our mag and nunc were a leeetle crap. (blame me in part - there was a bit i couldn't get - we were doing Stanford in C and it kind of goes updownupdownupdown in quavers and i couldn't get the right notes. not just me, though, in parts of that, it sounds really out of tune, so i haven't put that bit in.
The preces and responses were good but the cantor has a bad hip at the mo, so can't stand, and he's sat at hte back, so you can't hear him. which emans the responses sound odd.

I might put the psalm up for you, though.
it's got some good bits in it.

DH said "it's better than not having a service at all"
so you could count your blessings with that.
he asks did you have any hymns?

thing is our Mag and nunc should be ok - because we have such small numbers we do the exact same (chant) setting every single time - so it's pretty much like singing a hymn...........except it was awful.

It's really "evensaid" dressed up as Evensong to placate someone, somewhere, in reality we'd be better off totally scrapping Evensong (until we have a choir again at least) and replacing it with one of the evening services (we have 2 a month - 1st and 3rd Sunday's and rotate Praise Service, Evensong, Evening Worship, Night Prayer and Taizie).

could you compromise by having traditional words fro mthe BCP but modern settings? and modern hymns?
then you could dress it up as a "modern evensong"
get the music group to play/sing the settings?

no it's really not better than having no service at all.

If I were to visit a church which was advetising "Evensong" - I would expect an Evensong - not an absolute joke. It certainly wouldn't make me want to go back to that church, for any service.

Sometimes I think you have to hold your hands up and say "we can't do this".

you've got a fair point there. :(

Could you advertise it as "evensong will be said" ?
St Cyp's used to have an evensong every week and when they announced it they said "evensong is sung this week at 6:30" or "evensong is said this week at 6:30"

did you see my post about modern evensong? (17:29)

it's stilly really as since we cut down to 2 evening sevices a month it only comes round every 2 or 3 months. We managed to miss the last one as I disappeared off to Edinburgh for a weekend away - an although U'd got the morning service covered, I'd totally forgotten about the Evening Service (I usually only play for Evensong - they usually make "other" arrangements for the other services because of my childcare issues). It happened to be an Evensong - so as it was only a week to go - and NO chance of finding an organist that was up to the challenge (or musician of any sort that was prepared to take it on) they swapped it to Evenwing Worship.....

AFAIK no-one complained, or moaned, or has mentioned the fact that it's been about 4 months since our last Evensong.........

yes I did - we keep it because people (person?) want the "traditional" - we have other "modern" Evening services to cater for other folk in the church, so don't really need another one - that probably wouldn't even keep the traditionalists happy anyhow.

Music group only plays once a month at the All Age Worship - and it's horrendously difficult to get them together in the Evenings (especially Sunday evenings as they're mostly all youngsters - in the middle of Exams and goodness knows what else with school) - plus I think it would give the traditionalists a heart attack if they turned up to play

ah. maybe in their heads they think they don't have evensong then?

I think, with some things, you've got to have them regularly or the attendance drops off.
like it's dropped out of their heads and no longer habit?

Shame about your Evensong Baroque :(

nickel will go take a look when I get a min. Have been busy with the newsletter today, and playing with ds as he is bored without dd here.

Impressed at the cupcakes cooking - you good mummy you.

Must go cook tea.

Oh back to the prayer thing above. I keep a prayer journal and have found it interesting to look back, you can clearly see answered prayer, not always how you think it will be. It can be v encouraging. I agree with Mary re prayer. God answers, not always how we want. It's good to keep asking. For instance, I have never been healed of chronic lung disease despite being prayed for time and again. But I have come so much closer to God throughout the process and feel that actually it is not always God's will or way to heal, or that it is necessarily 'the best thing'. I worry about a church that says you have to be 'whole' physically and mentally to serve God. I think God is with us in our brokenness, and that is reflected in prayer, answered or not.

Glad I hadn't scared you all off!

I've just been teaching DD1 song which she wants to do in church on Sunday. She needs to learn it a bit more but she's pretty good for a 5 year old (ok she'll be six in a weeks time and I'm obviously biased!). I really love the song and have to contain myself from singing too loudly with her little tiny 5 year old voice

no numbers have always been small - it used to be once a Month

(used to be Holy Communion on the 1st Sunday of the month in the evening (as that was our all age worship in the morning, 2nd Sunday was Evening Worship, 3rd was Evensong, 4th was Praise Service, 5th - if there was one was Taize/Night Prayer/alternative).

We hardly used to have anyone turn up then either. Even though it was a regular thing. It's the same few people

And actually the other night the "congregation" included the Church Warden, the woman doing the reading and the bloke doing the prayers.......so they (along with me and soon to be licensed Reader all had to be there)

oh I love that song MHD. Actually it gets me all emotional - it was one I discovered when I was at my lowest point I've ever been 3yrs ago

we used to get that a lot in my old church - the only people there were "staff".
that's why having a choir's good, because they show up on the books as attendees, and if you've got 15-18 people there, they can't stop you holding it. (£2.50 collection this week though, not a money spinner!)

do you get more for the other type of services?

just did a count on my fingers and we had seven congregation, and 11 in the choir
that's loads !
the congregation counts a bible reader, a church warden, a sidesperson and a pray-er.
choir includes organist and churchwarden....

aw, that sounds like it'll be lovely, a duet! awwww

Evening Worship we usually get around 10-15, similar for praise services, Taize sometimes gets over 20.

wow thanksamillion, great song, I love Hillsong but had not heard this one before, putting it on my playlist :)

just catching up...

Dilly - you could also try pray-as-you-go - you can download to ipod/mp3 or just listen on the web. when I remember get chance I download & listen to them on the move :)

Baroque - if it makes you feel any better our evensong is apparently pretty poorly attended (about half a dozen who don't have to be there) and this is from a church with 150ish in the Sunday Eucharist... (Must admit I've never ever been to evensong . I remember my Mum going when I was little suspect that was her quiet time in church away from me!. Perhaps that's part of a general problem that for a lot of people including me it's never ever been a "habit" to go & they don't know what it's all about.

lyra - I know what you mean, I'm a "see the answers" person too :) but as I get older and perhaps wiser I'm becoming a bit more mellow & generally go for the "God, I need your help/guidance with this in whatever was you feel is best". Very often, looking back, I'm amazed how often prayers are answered, just not always in the way you anticipated :)

good day today at Grandpa's apart from the diet aspects. Tomorrow will be a day of reckoning at WW....,

Still, on a brighter note, I am off to netball tonight, and although i only play goal keeper, it is some exercise at least.

ds2 is finally asleep, dd wants me to buy a birthday present online for her friend, so chores are nearly done.

that's about it for tonight I think, maybe I'll check in later. x

You people are fabulous - thank you for that tip Betsy . Off to downlaod for the iphone now.

I just had a pretty dreadful blobful at netball, only 2 mins into the game. I dashed outside the sportshall in the dark, couldn't find a loo, tried to sort out my mooncup, which has fallen out in my pants, came across a caretaker, thankfully I'd got my hand out of my pants by now, and had to tell him I'd cut my hand and could he lead me to a toilet....oh the joys of being a woman. That'll teach me to play netball. We did win for a change however, so that makes up for it a bit. Better go and shower now.

sorry if that's tmi for all you lovely ladies, but I had to tell someone, and dd would've been disgusted! dh isn't home yet, he has that lovely story to look forward to later.

see yous tomorrow. x

Morning!

Lyra - oh no! Glad you managed to find a friendly caretaker and had the presence of mind to come up with a suitable story!

Baroque - that does sound like Evensong isn't really working at the moment. What does your priest/vicar think?

Prayer - My favourite saying about prayer when I find it hard is "Pray as you can, not as you can't" (Cardinal Hume)
Sometimes just a simple prayer asking God to help with prayer as I'm finding it difficult really helps as it gets me started - and works!

I do think that prayer is about building our own personal relationship with God which then helps us to be more "in tune" with his plan, through the Holy Spirit. A bit like any friendship - the more time you spend with them, the more you know and understand them.
This however, sometimes makes me wonder what is the point in praying to ask for things (eg: getting pg!) as God has his plan all set out. What do you think?