Fifty Acts 5. A Big Kirk

A short hop to the city centre saw me visit a pretty big church.  Now I like church interiors, and the older the better so today I wasn't disappointed.  Despite going past this church on many an occasion, and being inside for concerts, it's the first time I have experienced worship there (edit. It's the second.I went a couple of years ago)  I arrived in time to be able to sit and get my bearings and observe the building and the people around me.

The building.  Well it's certainly well looked after with carved heads sticking out of odd places, observing in lithic silence.  When it comes to carvings, I often wonder who the carving depicts versus who it is meant to depict.  Something supposedly depicting a long dead saintly visage will probably bear a more striking resemblance to someone who was working in the mason's yard at the time.  And you should never upset a stonemason, otherwise your face will be the next carved Judas. 

The live humans around me were pleasant enough, not over-enthusiastic with their welcome, but sincere and good to speak to. I was feeling a little under-dressed, but as I never wear a tie to work, I'm not about to start wearing one on a Sunday.   My pew-mates, an organist and her friend, and I sat to the very end to hear the church organist finish.  While there's a place for the modern, an expertly played organ just cannot be beaten.  My two pew-mates agreed entirely.

And here's the thing.  I'm quite a traditionalist at heart, so I'm still not entirely comfortable with more modern music.  Despite being brought up on a steady diet of Status Quo, Guns n Roses and Metallica, I think guitar bands just aren't for me in a church.  And yet on the couple of times I went away with my Youth Fellowship group, the band added considerably to the worship.  Praise bands seem to take up so much space, and yet, just consider the size of an average church organ.  Organs dominate a room, both with their powerful resonance and their sheer scale, but they seem such a natural thing to be in a church.

In 1909, Andrew Carnegie gifted a pipe organ to Burntisland Church.  I'm told that objectons were so strong to the presence of an organ in the church that it sat outside for a couple of days after it was delivered due to an argument over whether it would be allowed in the church.  100 years later and  the same organ is going strong.

I think my attitude to music in church comes back to my attitude to music in general.  Sometimes I may not appreciate the style, but I can certainly appreciate when it's played well.  So whether it's a century old pipe organ, your Taylor guitar*, or the Young Church on the kazoo, play it like you mean it, God is listening.



*Did you hear about the broken Taylor Guitar?  A true tale of customer service in the social media age.