New worship in old ways

Sir Ronald, who is organist at St Philip’s Scottish Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, and President of the Edinburgh Society of Organists, discusses the importance of hymn singing and calls for at least one hymn standing on the highest level of poetic fervour, scriptural truth and personal commitment at each service. He recounts a service experienced at Arundel where there was congregational participation in singing liturgical texts. The use of a cantor and antiphonal singing is urged and an expansion of short musical settings advocated. He classifies, but does not dismiss, some contemporary compositions as ‘ditties’. A re-ordering of congregational praise along these lines would enable congregations to break out of passivity.