CONNECTING SINGING AND DOING IN UNITED CHURCH CONGREGATIONAL SONG: A LITURGICAL THEOLOGY OF MISSION by Nancy Elizabeth Hardy A thesis submitted to Emmanuel College, Victoria University, and the Pastoral Department of the Toronto School of Theology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology awarded by Victoria University, the Toronto School of Theology, and the University of Toronto © Nancy Elizabeth Hardy 2012 CONNECTING SINGING AND DOING IN UNITED CHURCH CONGREGATION SONG: A LITURGICAL THEOLOGY OF MISSION Nancy Elizabeth Hardy Doctor of Theology Emmanuel College, Victoria University, of the University of Toronto 2012 ABSTRACT In The United Church of Canada, congregational song serves as a key source of both personal and communal missional identity. This dissertation will investigate the liturgical and missiological functions of United Church hymnody as found in hymn resources published after union in 1925. Its focus will be on the role of congregational songs, their missional qualities, and their capacity to encourage and enable worshippers to enact peace and justice. Mission has been central to The United Church of Canada since its formation in 1925, and in its mission work, the United Church has sought to move from early twentieth century well-intentioned paternalism to a more postcolonial emphasis on justice, mutuality, and openness to other faiths. Worship has also been important to the church, and singing an essential element of its liturgical life. In the worshipping assembly, the singing of hymns involves both learning about and encountering God; it is also about mission and the living out of faith. As the church’s activity in God’s mission has changed over the years, the same kind of shift in the hymn repertoire can be noted. Moreover, singing can also become a personal expression of mission, predisposing people of faith to embody the peace and justice they sing about. In this study, congregational song is set in the context of primary theology, in which worshippers encounter the Holy by enacting their beliefs and singing their faith. Both texts and tunes are examined as components of a sung theology which can effect transformation through symbols, metaphorical and expansive language, and hymns that themselves affect behaviour. The connection between mission and music in the United Church is also studied through a “thick description” of four hymns which embody the development of mission consciousness. In this way, singing and doing are connected in a liturgical theology of mission: a song of God’s intentions for the world. ii CONTENTS PREFACE ............................................................................................................................. vi INTRODUCTION “Come, Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love” ............................................................................1 Methodology ..................................................................................................................3 The Roots of Mission .....................................................................................................9 CHAPTER ONE “Tell Me The Old, Old, Story” – Mission and Congregational Song ................................. 19 Foundations Mission and The United Church of Canada ........................................................19 Milestones in Mission ...............................................................................22 Establishment of a Unified Mission Fund Vision of a Social Gospel The Commission on World Mission The Apology to the First Nations Peoples Reviewing Partnership in the Context of Empire Mission and Congregational Song .......................................................................35 Case Study: The Doxological Legacy of the Wesleys and the Methodist Church Methodism and the Wesleys ................................................................................39 The Publication of The Hymnary .........................................................................46 Case Study: The Peace and Justice Songs of the Iona Community ........................51 Case Study: The Publication of More Voices ............................................................61 United Church Hymnbook Supplements .............................................................62 The Gift of Global Song ......................................................................................65 Reflections ...................................................................................................................70 iii CHAPTER TWO “Will You Come and Follow Me?” – The Transforming Power of Congregational Song: Personal and Communal Responses ............................................75 Foundations Congregational Song as Primary Theology .........................................................76 Congregational Song as Symbol ..........................................................................82 The Language of Congregational Song ...............................................................92 Metaphorical Language Transformative Language Connecting Singing and Doing ..........................................................................106 Case Study: The Taizé Community .........................................................................113 Sung Prayer at Taizé ..........................................................................................115 Taizé Song as Symbol ........................................................................................118 Taizé Song and Transformed Behaviour ...........................................................120 Case Study: Voices United ........................................................................................123 Inclusive Language ............................................................................................126 Mission Hymns ..................................................................................................130 The Hymn and Worship Resource Committee – A Missional Unit? ................133 Reflections ..................................................................................................................136 CHAPTER THREE “O For a Thousand Tongues” – The United Church of Canada in Mission and Song ...............................................................................................................139 Foundations Thick Description ..............................................................................................139 Case Study: “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains” ..................................................143 Historical and Cultural Context .........................................................................145 Biblical and Theological Foundations ...............................................................148 Liturgical Function ............................................................................................150 Missiological Implications ................................................................................152 Case Study: “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling” .............................................155 Historical and Cultural Context .........................................................................156 Biblical and Theological Foundations ...............................................................160 Liturgical Function ............................................................................................162 Missiological Implications ................................................................................164 iv Case Study: “As a Fire Is Meant for Burning” .....................................................167 Historical and Cultural Context .........................................................................168 Biblical and Theological Foundations ...............................................................170 Liturgical Function ............................................................................................173 Missiological Implications ................................................................................174 Case Study: “With the Wings of Our Mind” ..........................................................177 Historical and Cultural Context .........................................................................178 Biblical and Theological Foundations ...............................................................180 Liturgical Function ............................................................................................183 Missiological Implications ................................................................................187 Reflections ..................................................................................................................189 CONCLUSIONS “How Can I Keep from Singing?” – Connecting Singing and Doing .............................. 193 Answering the Critical Questions ............................................................................ 193 Possibilities for Further Research ...........................................................................199 Matters of Mission and Congregational Song ........................................................204 Singing Matters ............................................................................................204 Music Matters ..............................................................................................207 Language Matters ........................................................................................210