Inversión, ganancia y excedente

2.1.1 INITIAL EXPERIENCE OF MUSIC & WORSHIP

Worship has been a part of life for as long as I can remember. Brought up in a Non-Conformist family there was an expectation of attending church at least twice each Sunday, although memories of this as an enriching or stimulating environment, musically or spiritually. A self- taught church organist father and a reasonable piano at home encouraged an early interest in music, and from the age of 12 I was accompanying hymns on both piano and organ. Hymnody in the late 1960s felt drab and unrewarding, although the arrival of Youth Praise (Falcon 1966)38 seemed more promising, not least because sternly disapproved! As a result the world of classical piano repertoire and jazz offered greater attractions, alongside singing great choral masterpieces with the school choir. These interests continued throughout university studies, until an unexpected employment move provoked a reluctant resumption of church organist duties, slowly rekindling a much stronger awareness of the role of music as a vital component of liturgy, alongside singing in a major choir with international performers.

Working life, marriage and parenthood left little available time for active musical participation, and despite continuing to accompany congregational singing, the more compelling call was towards the priesthood. Both during ordination training and almost immediately once ordained these various musical influences and interests joined together, with regular invitations either to accompany worship and musical events or to address church groups on aspects of worship and music. Thus developed an unforeseen long-term commitment and role, as a liturgical trainer for a diocesan ordination course and a number of other groups, as a facilitator and enabler at parish and deanery level, and for a while as a writer and editor. Course handouts, lecture notes and papers have been written and revised extensively over more than two decades.

2.1.2 EXPERIENCE OF FORMATION

Already at the outset of this journey towards ordination the world of music and worship was in a process of rapid change, developments generally welcomed both at the newly formed ‘church plant’ where that calling became clear, and later at theological college. A love of jazz was adapted to recently written worship songs, and while too many of these were of mediocre quality at best, much thinking was provoked about the role of music in worship, and its significance, although regrettably with little in the formal liturgy curriculum to assist this process. Back in the Diocese of Guildford, in a relatively formal parish church with a strong choral tradition, a curacy offered both important new skills and a very different context to stimulate reflection, even if Post-Ordination Training39 covered little on liturgy and almost nothing about music. Since then, Continuing Ministerial Education within the Diocese of Guildford has incorporated an occasional session on music and worship, to which I have contributed from time to time, though these are not obligatory and are usually attended by those with a longstanding interest.

2.1.3 EXPERIENCE AS A PARISH PRIEST

Experience as priest of three different parishes over a quarter of a century confirms anecdotal observations from colleagues, that the pressures of parochial, deanery and diocesan responsibilities - not to mention ongoing pastoral care and the daily grind of finance, building maintenance and administration - restrict even routine preparation of worship into a narrow time frame. It is no surprise to discover that many with less confidence are content to delegate responsibility for musical choices to their organist or music director, while those not blessed with such resources simply stick with the familiar and tested. 20 years of ministry in an Anglican- Methodist partnership also suggests that despite the enriching, often frustrating experience of ecumenical collaboration, tensions and questions around music remain. A rather different historical context since the 18th _{century, slight divergences in musical repertoire, and minor} liturgical variances pale into insignificance when facing the same social and contemporary

39 _{Now Initial Ministerial Education, introduced following General Synod’s acceptance of the report Formation for}

challenges. Methodism, despite producing its own denominational hymnbook40, encounters precisely the same debates as the Church of England.

2.1.4 EXPERIENCE OF HELPING COLLEAGUES WITH MUSIC

An extra-parochial role contributing to the experiences that motivated this study was that of Rural Dean, a post held for nearly seven years. Among other responsibilities it involved managing 11 parishes during a ministerial vacancy over that period, not least ensuring that their worshipping life continued smoothly. In pastoral conversations with ordained colleagues over that time, it became very clear that regardless of churchmanship or style issues, ministers lacked confidence in addressing issues of worship and music. In three parishes where a robed choir led worship, the incumbents left all major decision-making to musicians on the grounds of being insufficiently knowledgeable or expert to do so themselves. In eight of the remaining twelve frustration would be expressed either at a lack of progress, or an excess. Of the remaining four, one enjoyed worship led predominantly by a well-amplified music group, and two relied regularly on pre- recorded accompaniments, leaving just one with a visible collaboration between musicians and ministers, making for a wide and enriching repertoire of hymns and music which contribute to spiritual nourishment and building up the Christian community.

2.1.5 ECUMENICAL EXPERIENCE

A further non-parochial role contributing to the investigation was that of Diocesan Ecumenical Officer, in which acting as a recognised representative between the Diocese of Guildford and other Christian denominations allowed substantial access to different musical traditions and challenges. However, the rise of non-denominational hymnals and songbooks has provided such a wealth of common musical material that denominational differences have become barely noticeable. A parallel but different aspect of this role, which raised more questions and reflections, was developing relationships with other European Protestant Churches. In particular, colleagues in the Austrian Lutheran Church and Evangelical Church of Finland provided helpful insights and comparisons with the Church of England.

2.1.6 EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE

Although a minor element in terms of overall ministry, the experience of writing for a significant liturgical publisher, and most especially working as part of a small editorial team on a best- selling hymnbook41, proved formative in many ways. Although in practical terms a one-off task, it undoubtedly contributed greatly to these investigations, not least in making judgements about quality of music and text.

2.1.7 EXPERIENCE AS LITURGICAL TRAINER

Both within the parish and beyond, liturgical formation has formed a major part throughout nearly three decades of ministerial experience to date. This involved tutoring ten separate year groups with three colleague tutors on the Guildford Diocesan Ministry Course42, a recognised scheme for ordination and LLM training. The syllabus developed from year to year, reflecting both increased experience and liturgical changes, notably the introduction of Common Worship (2000). Throughout that time music was incorporated into the ‘liturgy term’, even if the time available was constrained. At parochial level the experience of training three Title Curates43 through their first four years of ordained ministry, and an ordinand through her three-year formation period, also provided valuable opportunity for reflection. Although two of these had some limited prior experience of music in worship, all were offered the same opportunity to choose musical material and reflect on the impact of this, helped by the musicians themselves. They were unanimous that little or no background information or practical advice had been provided, but were able to carry their learning and insights into later responsibilities. While these formation roles were very different – one working with groups, the other with individuals; one more theoretical, the other practical – both emphasised the need for a resource to assist ministers with musical choices and decisions.

41

One Church, One Faith, One Lord (2004) is the ecumenical volume in the Hymns Old and New series from Kevin

Mayhew Publishers

42 _{Now known as the Local Ministry Programme}

2.1.8 CONSOLIDATING EXPERIENCES

The experiences and findings of this ministerial work over two decades formed the foundation for the research underlying this work, stimulated initially by informal research in Lutheran churches in Nordic Europe during a sabbatical leave ten years ago. Funding was offered by the Diocese as part of Continuing Ministerial Education and Professor John Harper, a former director of the Royal School of Church Music in addition to his academic credentials, agreed to act as supervisor. Following a house move and major family illness, and despite increasingly heavy demands imposed by parish ministry, work on the research began at the end of 2008.