Post on Liturgical Music Stirs Debate

The Lead, a blog sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, posted a brief item today titled “Does trite music block us from God?” The question was inspired by an essay from a priest in Perth, Australia, appearing at Times Online. The Lead’s post has elicited an unusually large number of unusually long comments. This outpouring of sentiment is consistent with my observation that church discussions of liturgical music tend to be rather more heated than similar discussions about church doctrine.

Read “Does trite music block us from God?” and “Trite music blocks our ears to the divine in the liturgy,” the essay that inspired it. Also read the comments on The Lead.

At St. Paul’s we seem to be constantly expanding the range of music we offer. Is that a good thing, do you think? We are always asking how we can bring more people into our congregation. Frankly, I haven’t a clue as to how to do that, but I do know that potential members tend to react strongly, one way or another, to the music used in church.