Singing the Church's Song

Schalk, Carl F., Marty, Martin E.

Published by Augsburg Fortress Publishers

Schalk, Carl F. and Martin E. Marty.

Singing the Church's Song: Essays & Occasional Writings on Church Music.
Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2020.
Project MUSE. muse.jhu.edu/book/73921.

For additional information about this book

https://muse.jhu.edu/book/73921

[ Access provided at 24 Jan 2021 15:46 GMT from JULAC- Joint Univ Librarians Advisory Committee (+1 other institution account) ]
 A Song for Silent Praise

There was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

—Rev. 8:1

Americans are a noisy people, and ours is a noisy culture. Our lives
are filled with unremitting racket. Whether we live in a bustling city
or the idyllic countryside, whatever our social standing or economic
station, Americans seem obsessed by the need for unending sound to
accompany their waking hours.
We awaken to the buzzing of the alarm clock. At day’s end, we are
lulled to sleep by machines simulating rain, ocean waves, or other con-
tinuous humming. And in between, our days are filled with ceaseless
sound.
Places roaring overhead shake our walls and crack our plaster. The
rumbling of cars and trucks reverberates throughout our houses. In the
streets our ears are assaulted by oversized portable radios, and at home
the stereo devotee demonstrates enthusiasm for his or her equipment
by turning up the volume to the limits of human endurance. At work,
“white noise” machines drown out other sounds. At play, solitary joggers
need personal stereos to help them persevere. Despite the best efforts
of those who bemoan its effects on the environment and attempt to
contain it, incessant noise accompanies our lives from morning to night.
Indeed, silence is usually seen as an anomaly, a digression from the
norm, some kind of deviant behavior. “He is so quiet,” we say, suggesting
something must be wrong, that it is perhaps a symptom of illness.
Church worship leaders have not escaped this frenetic drive to avoid
silence. They believe that there must always be some sort of sound. Or-

Originally published in The Christian Century (March 23–30, 1988).

241
 SINGING THE CHURCH’S SONG

ganists, egged on by pastors and parishioners from the “no dead spots”
school of worship learn to “doodle” until the next sounds can begin.
The famous organist E. Power Biggs, once exhorted by a pastor to “play
a few chords while I go from here to there,” suggested that if he wanted
simply some kind of perfunctory noise, the pastor need merely “mumble
a few words.”
Many consider silence in worship a breach of etiquette, to be avoided
at all costs. Certainly no one would actually plan for moments in which
nothing is really happening! And should such moments occur, they are
certainly unintentional: the pastor has lost her place, the organist can’t
find the right hymn, or someone has expired in the choir loft. From
such a perspective, worship becomes continual noise, noise, noise—to be
sure, often carefully orchestrated noise, but noise nevertheless. The only
exception to this rule is the “moment of prayer,” the briefer the better,
and best accompanied by soft chords from the organ.
Traditional liturgy leads us in a different direction. In the past, si-
lence played a significant role in Christian worship. Today, despite the
general attitude described above, some worshippers, of various denom-
inations, are beginning to recover moments of silence as an important
and integral part of gathering to hear the Word and celebrate the sac-
rament. Periods of silence for quiet meditation on psalms, lessons, or
sermons are sometimes finding a place in worship. Silence following
confession and absolution, as part of community prayers and in con-
nection with the breaking of bread, is appearing as a meaningful part of
some parish liturgies.
Many of us, uncomfortable with such silence, fidget in our pews,
shuffle our bulletins, or page through the hymnal, not knowing quite
what to do or what is expected of us. But we can learn.
We can learn that if a psalm has been well sung, a lesson effectively
read, or a sermon preached with power and authority, we benefit from
quietly pondering its meaning for our lives.
We can learn that it takes time for real silence to settle in on a wor-
shipping community, and that for silence to be most effective, it must
be ample, giving us sufficient opportunity to ponder the significance of
what we have heard.

242
 A SONG FOR SILENT PRAISE

Pastors and worship leaders can learn that it takes effort and pa-
tience to help people understand how profitably to use periods of
silence. To help their congregations experience the riches inherent in
silence, worship leaders must carefully prepare and sensitively introduce
it in services.
But most of all, worshipping communities can discover the richness
and blessing of reflection and contemplation—opportunities denied by
the view of worship services as something to be rushed through or as a
form of entertainment.
Silence in worship slows the frantic pace of contemporary worship—
and contemporary life. It allows the community to contemplate and
reflect, or provides time for individual prayer in the midst of communal
prayer.
To be sure, there is a time for resounding praise, for pulling out all
the stops, for making a joyful noise. But there is also a time to “be still
and know that I am God,” for quietly pondering God’s goodness and the
meaning of the Word, for the song of silent praise.

243