kallah: (some) services

[cellio]

I attended a variety of services at the kallah (though I did not manage all three each day due to schedule complications). Here are some thoughts on some of them.
Shabbat morning had about six different options. I went to the service

Comments

[anonymous]

I'm with you on the whole projector thing. This is becoming more and more common in churches as well. Rather than giving a hymn number or a sheet/book with choruses in it, the words are projected onto a screen. Aside from the obvious problems for those of us whose vision is not correctable to 20/20, I find that it totally distracts me from focusing on the more important aspects of worship. I'm sorry, but bright and shiny text with a picture in the background commands my attention in a way that a piece of paper just cannot.

In addition, I think the music suffers as well. Because singing is one of the few ways that the congregation takes an active role in worship in a Protestant church, it is very meaningful to me. I can get lost in the words of a hymn and the experience of singing in church. But if you take away the sheet music from everyone, you're left with people either singing the melody (because they don't know or can't remember the other vocal parts) or just muddling through because they're unfamiliar with the song. At that point, I find it uncomfortable and distracting, and it no longer feels like worship to me -- it feels like a trial. The worst part is that this shift to projectors usually seems to stem from a desire to be "modern." I could understand it if the congregation couldn't afford the hymnals/song books or if the music in question were hard to get.

--Pamela