There are two churches here in Rimbach: a Catholic one and a Lutheran one ("Evangelische"). I have gone some Sundays to the Evangelische Kirche Rimbach. Each week they have a different worship style including traditional worship with hymns and an organ; "Alpha" which is a service with contemporary music, a topic on the essentials of faith (somewhat connected to the famous Alpha program), and coffee and snacks; and a music service that emphasizes the musical offerings of whatever group is leading (I've heard music from both the 17th century and the local gospel choir).
Anyways, because my German is only developing, I often have a difficult time understanding what is going on in the service. There are two things that have been easier to understand. The first was when the service was devoted to the children. There was a puppet show and the pastor spoke slowly and used small words. I really appreciated it! The second is with the contemporary music. There is a band (with the English name "Living Bones") led by guitars which usually also has a keyboard player and drum set. Not only did they do a song in English, but the songs in German were repetitive and used simpler language; I had a chance to figure out what they meant, and I appreciated it.
In the past, worshiping in my mother tongue, I have been disappointed by the shallowness of some contemporary worship music because of simple language and repetition (musical quality is a whole other subject). But in this circumstance, it is what allows me to worship more easily.
Perhaps there is a larger place for simpler lyrics in worship than I had realized. And it can be for more than just those with a smaller grasp of the language. Variety in worship is a good thing: it helps us stay fresh and aware of what we are doing and not bogged down in "the usual."
Hey Michael,
ReplyDeleteGlad things are going well, and that the Lutheran church has a wide variety of worship styles. I'm finding as I work more at church here in Omaha that each worship style has its own beauty and everyone connects through that style differently.
Now this may sound very American centric, but is there a German Contemporary Music style or are they borrowing a lot from the American Contemporary music artists?
Jason
Are there contemporary Christian German artists? As in, is there a market for that in the music world there? I'd be interested in hearing some..
ReplyDeleteI will have to check and see what kind of following there is nationally. There is a lot I don't know about it. Save one, all of the songs were in German, and I had never heard any of them before. So if they are borrowing from someone, it's someone I don't know well. There are so many styles of contemporary music in America that it isn't surprising what I heard sounds like one of those styles. And this is the only church I've been to in Germany, so there is much I don't know.
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