Reverent language in UU and music
The following is a response to a humanist question on the UUMN listserv-- about why so many "God-oriented" hymns are in our new hymnal. I've submitted a response, and been asked to share it for others, so here it is. Hope this explains a little where I'm coming from.
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Because UUs come from so many backgrounds and cultures, I've found myself (humanist) having to do a little translation work when it comes to music. But I don't mean translation of the words-- changing the singing of "God" to "Love" and whatnot-- I mean a translation in how those reverent words are perceived by both myself and the choir. The fact that UUs of all backgrounds come to the same place to worship means that there has to be shared ground with some understanding-- you just have to find it.
I first had a hard time with reverent language a couple of years ago, when I first found UU-- I grew up in a strictly Lutheran household, and turned very surely anti-religious and atheist. Days before I found UU (my grandmother kidnapped me to the UU church in Clearwater, saying "It's a thinking person's religion.") I didn't want to go to church, didn't even want to discuss the concept of faith. But, after a time and many dialogues, I found there are people for whom God is the core of their being, and that's okay. We can't reject their faith if we're to also affirm the inherent worth and dignity of who they are. We just have to be okay with speaking the same language.
So, what to me is holy, or could be the essence of a god? Community. Family. The indescribable connection and affinity I have for other people, and they for others. Outreach, and reaching within to pull at the very heartstrings that make people and objects, who and what they are. Do I believe in God as an all-powerful, manipulative being with an unquestionable plan? No. I don't believe in that at all. So when I come across the reverent language in UU hymns, or any song for that matter, I try to propose it to my choir in a way that allows common framework. I explain to them my vision of god as explained above, and ask them to work with me and come up with their own common ground definitions. The result was astounding, with much happier and open-minded choir members who grabbed the true essence of the music-- knowing that "walking the path of God" means working with passion and faith towards the ideal connections we wish to have-- working within our Unitarian Universalist Faith.
Just my two cents, Hope it helps.
Nadya Hand
Interim Music Director, UU Church of St. Petersburg
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Because UUs come from so many backgrounds and cultures, I've found myself (humanist) having to do a little translation work when it comes to music. But I don't mean translation of the words-- changing the singing of "God" to "Love" and whatnot-- I mean a translation in how those reverent words are perceived by both myself and the choir. The fact that UUs of all backgrounds come to the same place to worship means that there has to be shared ground with some understanding-- you just have to find it.
I first had a hard time with reverent language a couple of years ago, when I first found UU-- I grew up in a strictly Lutheran household, and turned very surely anti-religious and atheist. Days before I found UU (my grandmother kidnapped me to the UU church in Clearwater, saying "It's a thinking person's religion.") I didn't want to go to church, didn't even want to discuss the concept of faith. But, after a time and many dialogues, I found there are people for whom God is the core of their being, and that's okay. We can't reject their faith if we're to also affirm the inherent worth and dignity of who they are. We just have to be okay with speaking the same language.
So, what to me is holy, or could be the essence of a god? Community. Family. The indescribable connection and affinity I have for other people, and they for others. Outreach, and reaching within to pull at the very heartstrings that make people and objects, who and what they are. Do I believe in God as an all-powerful, manipulative being with an unquestionable plan? No. I don't believe in that at all. So when I come across the reverent language in UU hymns, or any song for that matter, I try to propose it to my choir in a way that allows common framework. I explain to them my vision of god as explained above, and ask them to work with me and come up with their own common ground definitions. The result was astounding, with much happier and open-minded choir members who grabbed the true essence of the music-- knowing that "walking the path of God" means working with passion and faith towards the ideal connections we wish to have-- working within our Unitarian Universalist Faith.
Just my two cents, Hope it helps.
Nadya Hand
Interim Music Director, UU Church of St. Petersburg