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Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Twitter Tees
For anyone who uses twitter you may be interested in Twitter Tees, a competition being run by Threadless. The concept behind Threadless is that people submit designs for t-shirts and the best ones are chosen and made for people to buy. Twitter Tees is following along the same lines and inviting people to submit or nominate tweets to be slogans on t-shirts. These are then voted on and the most popular ones will get made up. The best thing about it is that if your tweet or one you've nominated gets selected then you win money! So get started, you can see my current efforts here. If you think you can do better then have a go yourself and make sure to let me know by commenting here or sending a tweet to @iainmclarty so I can vote for it. Here's a selection of the twitter themed t-shirts they currently have in stock.
The Fly-Swatting President
Nice to see a President who is willing to get his hands dirty. Of course this video raises all sorts of questions about Obama's attitude to diplomacy versus military action. After very little attempt to shoo the fly away he gos straight in for the kill, and then gloats about his bloody victory to a TV camera afterwards!
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Ben Zander at Davos and "The Art of Possibility"
Thought I should share this video, it is very long but well worth watching. I spent a week in London last summer doing a conducting course with Ben Zander and it was one of the most challenging and also transforming weeks of my life. This video shows a talk that he does all around the world to leaders in all branches of life and it draws on principles which he espouses constantly in daily life (during the course we went along to one for around a thousand executives of Deloitte). Our course was focussed on conducting but more on looking at our attitudes in life and the way we interacted with others than technique which so many others focus on. At first I dismissed it all as the same old positive thinking stuff you always hear, but perhaps because it is very much based in something important to me - classical music and specifically conducting - I actually think it is very good. It is accessible even if you're not a classical music enthusiast because the talk itself is normally given to non classical music fans. And if you really like it then it's well worth getting the book he co-authored with his wife "The Art of Possibility". [Not sure why I'm suddenly plugging so many books on here]
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Archbishop Mandelson
I have recently discovered the "Archbishop Cranmer" blog and I would like to share something from one superb post there. The section of this video from 1:30-2:45 had me in hysterics for ages, even on repeated viewings, but the whole thing is well worth watching. I always think it's a shame that I completely disagree with William Hague on most political issues because he really is one of the most talented public speakers the House of Commons has seen in a long time.
Monday, 15 June 2009
The Message in the Music
For the past few decades churches have been struggling with the issue of Contemporary Worship Music. CWM is a term which developed in the latter half of the twentieth century to define worship music that uses styles used in the popular music of the time, which is sometimes also used to include world music and music used by communities such as Iona and Taize. It is also distinct from Contemporary Christian Music (or CCM) which is more focussed on performance music. This really started in the States but has been adopted more and more in the UK, particularly in churches with strong groups of young people.
Ok, so you probably knew most of that already, but now that we've set the scene ask yourself what your views are on CWM as opposed to more traditional church hymns. Do you like it? What do you think of the theology behind the songs? Does it allow you to worship God? Does it allow for corporate worship? Is the music itself well written? How does the language used reflect and shape your relationship with different parts of the Trinity? Do you think the language is accessible for different ages/genders? Do the popular songs reflect a good balance of the different elements needed in worship?
All these questions and many more are addressed in an excellent book I read today called "The Message in the Music". Comprising ten different essays written by academics you would think initially that this must be the dullest book on CWM ever written but in fact it is one of the best books I have read recently on any type of sacred music.
It takes as its starting point the 77 most popular songs from the CCLI Index drawn up by looking at their lists of 25 most popular songs every six months (the latest one can be found here). Each writer then takes this as their starting point for looking at the songs from a different angle, ranging from whether they reflect a Trinitarian theology and whether they deal with issues of social justice to whether young men can engage with the language and the quality of the music.
Perhaps the most important thing about it is that it not only deals with the songs from an academic perspective, where each writer adopts their own methods for analysing and proving the conclusions they come to. It also offers practical advice for worship leaders and songwriters, looking at what is done well already and what needs to be done better to improve the quality of the songs and their appropriateness for use in worship. Many of the writers obviously come from backgrounds where they are regularly involved in using CWM too which is obviously an advantage.
The benefit of an academic book like this is that it allows a relatively unbiased exploration of issues around CWM because of its use of scientific research models in trying to answer the questions it asks. When I asked the series of questions earlier some of them might have provoked a strong reaction. For example I know that there is some language in some modern songs which makes me distinctly uncomfortable in singing it because of its apparent personalisation and sexualisation of my relationship with God. However, it is interesting to see that explored academically and while it reinforces my views on that it also let me see the benefits which the language I am uncomfortable with can have for others, and also consider it in relation to wider issues such as the Trinitarian (or un-Trinitarian) theology behind the songs.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in church music at all. It's not currently available on Amazon but you can buy it for £9.99 at Blackwell's. Whether it's music you love, hate or just accept as being there, it will challenge your preconceptions about it and leave you with a better understanding of how songs relate to your faith.
Ok, so you probably knew most of that already, but now that we've set the scene ask yourself what your views are on CWM as opposed to more traditional church hymns. Do you like it? What do you think of the theology behind the songs? Does it allow you to worship God? Does it allow for corporate worship? Is the music itself well written? How does the language used reflect and shape your relationship with different parts of the Trinity? Do you think the language is accessible for different ages/genders? Do the popular songs reflect a good balance of the different elements needed in worship?
All these questions and many more are addressed in an excellent book I read today called "The Message in the Music". Comprising ten different essays written by academics you would think initially that this must be the dullest book on CWM ever written but in fact it is one of the best books I have read recently on any type of sacred music.It takes as its starting point the 77 most popular songs from the CCLI Index drawn up by looking at their lists of 25 most popular songs every six months (the latest one can be found here). Each writer then takes this as their starting point for looking at the songs from a different angle, ranging from whether they reflect a Trinitarian theology and whether they deal with issues of social justice to whether young men can engage with the language and the quality of the music.
Perhaps the most important thing about it is that it not only deals with the songs from an academic perspective, where each writer adopts their own methods for analysing and proving the conclusions they come to. It also offers practical advice for worship leaders and songwriters, looking at what is done well already and what needs to be done better to improve the quality of the songs and their appropriateness for use in worship. Many of the writers obviously come from backgrounds where they are regularly involved in using CWM too which is obviously an advantage.
The benefit of an academic book like this is that it allows a relatively unbiased exploration of issues around CWM because of its use of scientific research models in trying to answer the questions it asks. When I asked the series of questions earlier some of them might have provoked a strong reaction. For example I know that there is some language in some modern songs which makes me distinctly uncomfortable in singing it because of its apparent personalisation and sexualisation of my relationship with God. However, it is interesting to see that explored academically and while it reinforces my views on that it also let me see the benefits which the language I am uncomfortable with can have for others, and also consider it in relation to wider issues such as the Trinitarian (or un-Trinitarian) theology behind the songs.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in church music at all. It's not currently available on Amazon but you can buy it for £9.99 at Blackwell's. Whether it's music you love, hate or just accept as being there, it will challenge your preconceptions about it and leave you with a better understanding of how songs relate to your faith.
General Assembly - Round Up
I've not blogged for a while now and so missed finishing my reflections on General Assembly. After Saturday the week became incredibly hectic and also much more emotional and I didn't really have the time or the words to finish blogging. I think the best thing to do now would be to post a brief comment on my highlight of each of the remaining days.
Saturday night - A very odd debate which has now received much media attention. For various reasons I'm not going to comment on the content of the debate itself, not least because of the moratorium imposed later in the week on any public discussion of these issues (You can find an official statement about it on the Church website here). It really saddened me that the debate had many times more public interest than any other debate I have witnessed in the hall, with the public gallery full and a hall used as an overflow room with a video link also full. It's been said before but the church and the media between them love to seize on anything to do with sex and blow it out of all proportion. I know the issues are important to some people but they should not be at the centre of the church's passions. There must be thousands of references in the bible to social justice and a very small number (10-20) relating to sexuality, some of which are ambiguous. I'm not saying it's not important to talk about it but I think the Bible is quite clear about what the more important issues are.
Sunday - The Assembly service is held at my church (St Giles') and I always love the sound the congregation makes during hymns in that service, when hundreds of minsters and elders who all know them really well and are enthusiastic belt them out at the top of their voices it's an amazing experience of worship. Also had a fantastic game of ultimate frisbee on the Meadows after church with the other youth reps.
Monday - Again the day centred around the Overture from Lochcarron and Skye Presbytery which hadn't been heard on the Saturday night because the Petition debate took about four hours. In fact Monday didn't get onto the Overture either because first of all the moratorium I previously mentioned was proposed and then the Overture was withdrawn. The Presbytery have since said they were unhappy at withdrawing the Overture but as someone who sat through all of the debates on the subject I have to say that the Moderator and Clerks were completely fair in the way they handled it and it was not rigged at all. You could sense in the hall that because of the gracious, open and honest way that Saturday night had been debated they didn't want to debate the Overture and it was the will of the Assembly rather than its officials that forced it to be withdrawn. If evidence is needed of this then the rapturous applause from the floor when it was done should be enough.
Tuesday - This was my busiest day of the week. First of all I had to be a "shaker", greeting the Lord High Commissioner as he arrived. Then I went to help organise the Children's choir which I was conducting to promote a new music programme called "Sing Out" which I may mention at another time. You can see the video of it here. After lunch I then gave the Youth Assembly report which seemed to go down well, which included a new video about NYA which I can hopefully post here at some point. The rest of the day was more of a social nature - a reception for the youth reps with the Moderator, the Beating of the Retreat at Holyrood Palace followed by a reception there, and finally a meal at Hard Rock Cafe generously paid for by Mission and Discipleship as a nice finish for our week.
Wednesday - The final day also started a little stressfully for me as I was doing the bible reading at morning worship. In a slightly ironic twist the reading was the story of Zacchaeus and I had to do it from a different lectern from normal because it had a box at it for a very little man to stand on. This was of course Desmond Tutu who was a guest and gave a wonderful talk which can also be seen on the Assembly's webcast page here and is compulsory viewing! (even at 26 mins long)
It was so nice to finish the week on such a positive note. Even the much publicised debates had been conducted well and there were many amazing things discussed during the week. It's always a privilege to be involved in the General Assembly and I think until you have been to one you never realise the amount that the Church of Scotland does across the country. The time away with the other youth reps is also something I treasure. Despite the lack of sleep it always leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to go back out into the world reinvigorated and more positive about the place of the church and also young people in it.
Saturday night - A very odd debate which has now received much media attention. For various reasons I'm not going to comment on the content of the debate itself, not least because of the moratorium imposed later in the week on any public discussion of these issues (You can find an official statement about it on the Church website here). It really saddened me that the debate had many times more public interest than any other debate I have witnessed in the hall, with the public gallery full and a hall used as an overflow room with a video link also full. It's been said before but the church and the media between them love to seize on anything to do with sex and blow it out of all proportion. I know the issues are important to some people but they should not be at the centre of the church's passions. There must be thousands of references in the bible to social justice and a very small number (10-20) relating to sexuality, some of which are ambiguous. I'm not saying it's not important to talk about it but I think the Bible is quite clear about what the more important issues are.
Sunday - The Assembly service is held at my church (St Giles') and I always love the sound the congregation makes during hymns in that service, when hundreds of minsters and elders who all know them really well and are enthusiastic belt them out at the top of their voices it's an amazing experience of worship. Also had a fantastic game of ultimate frisbee on the Meadows after church with the other youth reps.
Monday - Again the day centred around the Overture from Lochcarron and Skye Presbytery which hadn't been heard on the Saturday night because the Petition debate took about four hours. In fact Monday didn't get onto the Overture either because first of all the moratorium I previously mentioned was proposed and then the Overture was withdrawn. The Presbytery have since said they were unhappy at withdrawing the Overture but as someone who sat through all of the debates on the subject I have to say that the Moderator and Clerks were completely fair in the way they handled it and it was not rigged at all. You could sense in the hall that because of the gracious, open and honest way that Saturday night had been debated they didn't want to debate the Overture and it was the will of the Assembly rather than its officials that forced it to be withdrawn. If evidence is needed of this then the rapturous applause from the floor when it was done should be enough.
Tuesday - This was my busiest day of the week. First of all I had to be a "shaker", greeting the Lord High Commissioner as he arrived. Then I went to help organise the Children's choir which I was conducting to promote a new music programme called "Sing Out" which I may mention at another time. You can see the video of it here. After lunch I then gave the Youth Assembly report which seemed to go down well, which included a new video about NYA which I can hopefully post here at some point. The rest of the day was more of a social nature - a reception for the youth reps with the Moderator, the Beating of the Retreat at Holyrood Palace followed by a reception there, and finally a meal at Hard Rock Cafe generously paid for by Mission and Discipleship as a nice finish for our week.
Wednesday - The final day also started a little stressfully for me as I was doing the bible reading at morning worship. In a slightly ironic twist the reading was the story of Zacchaeus and I had to do it from a different lectern from normal because it had a box at it for a very little man to stand on. This was of course Desmond Tutu who was a guest and gave a wonderful talk which can also be seen on the Assembly's webcast page here and is compulsory viewing! (even at 26 mins long)
It was so nice to finish the week on such a positive note. Even the much publicised debates had been conducted well and there were many amazing things discussed during the week. It's always a privilege to be involved in the General Assembly and I think until you have been to one you never realise the amount that the Church of Scotland does across the country. The time away with the other youth reps is also something I treasure. Despite the lack of sleep it always leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to go back out into the world reinvigorated and more positive about the place of the church and also young people in it.
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