Viewpoints

What do YOU think?

The Hoosier United Methodist News welcomes all letters to the editor. In order to be considered for publication, letters must be signed and should include the name of your local church along with a daytime phone number for verification purposes. All letters may be subject to editing for clarity or length. Deadline for each upcoming issue is the 15th of the month.

Our wish is to provide a forum wherein all voices and points of view have an equal opportunity to be heard.

Send to Editor, Hoosier UM News, 1100 W. 42nd St., Suite 210, Indianapolis, IN. 46208; fax: 317.924.4859; e-mail: Editor

Content over style

I was pleased to read Rob King's commentary: Beyond the Worship Wars. [March issue] At least one Methodist minister seems to be inspired by -- or in agreement with -- Lutheran theologian Marva Dawn. Unfortunately, he only scratches the surface of this burning non-issue by focusing on worship style (unimportant) rather than content (of supreme importance).

Many of the older hymns that have survived the ages are so content-rich they translate well into contemporary styles and arrangements, often passing as modern hymns. What Wondrous Love is just such a hymn. Although it bears a recent copyright, it is actually an old shape-note hymn first published circa 1840. Conversely, most modern praise songs sound eerily like commercial jingles and have meaningless, inane and even non-theological lyrics. Regardless of style, how is God glorified by banal, insipid music and theologically ambiguous lyrics?

Indeed, "contemporary Christian music" is largely a readily recognizable sub-genre of "light rock" or "soft rock" that is differentiated from its secular cousin by a handful of cloying production-studio nuances. The contrived and over-produced result is stupefying and kitschy. The lyrics are often indistinguishable from the average sappy easy-listening songs with which we are all too familiar.

With respect to Ms. Dawn's exhortation that we are ". guardians of a continuing tradition that is worthy of passing on ." while at the same time . " seeking continual renewal.," I believe we are obligated to incorporate traditional liturgy into new and modified modalities of worship. We are also obligated to rediscover lost or discarded liturgical traditions as part of that continual renewal. But above all else, we must remember that in worship, as with anything else, we "get out of it what we put into it." If you are one who continually whines about being "unfulfilled" by worship, then that probably says more about you than it does the worship.

Brad Foster
Abundant Harvest UMC, Indianapolis

A solidarity event on inclusion of gays

Barbara and I attended the St. Bede's Episcopal Church's Celebration of Solidarity last month in Santa Fe, N.M. It was an inspiring program with approximately 450 packing the sanctuary and hallways, and about 100 more on the grounds outside. Those attending and participating in the interfaith, ecumenical ceremony were very supportive, enthusiastic and diverse -- in age, race, sexual orientation and denomination.

Besides the host Episcopalians there were United Church of Christ members, Lutherans, Jewish Temple members, Unitarians, Presbyterians, Christian Scientists and a Wiccan leader. (I was the only openly UM participant.)

St. Bede's has been vandalized five times in the last couple months. It is generally believed these acts are some sort of warped response to the church's very inclusive and supportive stand with and for LGBTs [lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals].

I was an unlisted "crawl-on" participant. We arrived just as the program got underway. Barbara had to push me in my patient chair from where we could park -- some two blocks away. After a half hour of crawling over and under the packed-in folks, I was able to get to the front row. As the Lutheran minister was about to give the benediction, I asked if I could say a few words.

Among the many preceding me in the "Offering of Thanks" were the presidents of the Santa Fe NAACP [National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People] and Santa Fe PFLAG [Parents, Friends of Lesbians And Gays], the director of the Coalition for Equality, the director of the Rape Crisis Center, and a Wiccan.

I greeted, thanked and commended the participants on behalf of the "UM Resistance Fighters" (Affirmation, Cornet, Reconciling Ministries Network, Reconciling Parents Network, Methodists for Social Action) and all those who are striving for love, inclusiveness and equality for all members of the UMC -- and also on behalf of the Hammond/Northwest Indiana Chapter of PFLAG of which I am co-chair.

I recommended that they become involved with PFLAG and positive groups in the Christian Church (if they weren't already) and urged them to "stay the course" and "keep the faith." I hope I represented you well! It was quite an experience, and I got many thanks and hugs. (And believe me this old man appreciates a good hug.)

Dick Royal, Hammond UMC
Lay Member North Indiana Conference

Taking Church back 2,000 years

Rev. Daniel Eckart (April issue, p. 21) has an intriguing idea that we should take the Church back 2,000 years. I think that idea has merit, but I would ask a few questions:

Would that mean we would be absolute pacifists as the early Christians were? Should Christians of today work to eliminate nuclear weapons and support strict gun control?

The early church was clearly anti-materialistic. Should we call our fellow Christians to denounce the growing gulf between rich and poor and stop the "idolatry" of the stock market?

Jesus and the early church were strongly in favor of the poor. Should we not support all collective efforts to aid the poor in our midst today?

The early church shared their possessions with one another (see Acts 1 and 2). Should we not promote a more simpler lifestyle and more sharing among each other?

Perhaps there are no simple answers to these questions, but they should engage the Christian mind as we endeavor to promote a more Christian society.

Emory Burton, ret.
Clergy member
North Indiana Conference
Living in Dallas, Texas

Last updated January 14, 2004

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