Worship Through Music...One Of The Best Ways

I've been attending church on Sundays for the past 53 years--it'll be 54 in a couple of weeks. Sure, there were times when I missed. I've had many jobs that have kept me from going, and, of course, other things have prevented me from going. But, in general, I go more than I don't.

Today's meeting was special.

All we did was sing.

Okay, it wasn't all we did. We had the usual activities found in a Latter-Day Saint Sunday sacrament meeting. Usually, there's between 30 - 40 minutes of talks, and an occasional musical number. I don't know who came up with it, but this morning for the "talk" section of the meeting, we sang songs. They asked for members to come to the pulpit and introduce the song they would like to sing and explain a little why that particular song was so special to them.

I loved it.

A mentor once told me that the reason we have musical theater is because some stories require that emotional "punch" only music can provide. He said we sing to express emotions that ordinary speaking cannot deliver. Those thoughts came to me as the Sunday service continued. The music adds a feeling, a spirit, that talks just can't match. I wanted to go up and have the congregation sing a Christmas song, but someone beat me to it. Good for him. After all, on the night of Christ's birth, the shepherds heard concourses of angels singing, "Glory to God on high, and on earth, peace good will towards men." Now, that's how to worship.

I understand why we can't do this sort of thing every week, but I wish we could. Worshiping through music...there's not much better.

The Return Of Three-Hour Church...At Least, This One Time

The e-mail asked whether or not we wanted to meet before church, or after. In reality, it didn't matter. What it meant was my Sunday worship would last a total of three hours.

I know I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to religions that are not my own. I have no idea if three hours of worship on a Sunday is a little or a lot. I do know that up until last year, the average time for Sunday services in my religion was three hours. Three hours = three meetings.

In January, the three hours changed to two.

And there was much rejoicing.

I'm old enough to know that thinking two hours of worship is much better than three is all an illusion. It's a mind trick. We think that we'll never reach a point where two hours is too long, that it should be cut down even more until we're only meeting for sixty minutes, or even thirty. But, because we're humans, in time some will wish we only met for an hour or less.

How long is too long? I'll bet that question has existed as long as people have been required to do stuff that takes time. It's only natural. We complain about how hard we have it, no matter where or when we live. I'll bet hundreds of years ago parents told their kids that the kids "nowadays" had it too soft because the younger generation only had to work in the fields twelve hours a day instead of eighteen like the parents did.

Then again, maybe not.

I've taken no formal surveys or quizzes but I'll bet most members of our congregation (including me...) like the change. In all honesty, three-hour church has technically not changed. We're supposed to have two hours of church in the building and the other hour we're to have church study at home, with the family.

Today, I was in the church building for three hours. Three hours = three meetings. It's something we did all the time. And we should still be doing now.