“Whoa!” you say.
“Pie Jesu,” and “Down By the Riverside” and “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” and “Jesus, Name above All Names” – classical music and gospel choruses, old traditional hymns and brand new carols, praise songs and Taize canticles and jazz melodies - they all rub shoulders in the sanctuary of Madison Square Presbyterian Church?
Organ, harpsichord, electronic keyboard, bells, tambourines, drums, flutes, violins, harps, trumpets and bagpipes - they’re shoulder to shoulder, too?
“No way!” you say. No worship service can include that much musical diversity.
You’re right, of course. No one worship service could accommodate that much musical variety. But, were you to worship with us for several months, you really would hear all those types of musical expression, and every single worship service does include more than one style of music. Why?
The on-the-surface answer is obvious: we Madison Square Presbyterians have different tastes in music, and that should come as no surprise, since the Spirit has shaped our congregation in many-splendored diversity. A real shock would be all of us liking the same kind of music!
But there’s a deeper answer to the question, too. Our provision of musical variety has less to do with pleasing the diversity of ears, much more to do with lifting to the Holy a diversity of hearts.
Would you like to read more about music and worship at Madison Square? If so, click here. |
