A Moment for Monday - Advent 23

 Hark!.....

(Photo krb - 2022)

One of the great things about Advent and Christmas is that we get to sing together intentionally, at least we did until covid arrived. We don't often get to do that so much any more. There used to be lots of occasions in which community singing was appropriate. It was a catalyst for the creation of community. But carol singing was different. It didn't matter the context. It could be church or community or family. In any or all of these situations singing carols was appropriate and still is.  And everyone joined in. Whether you could sing or not it was okay to be part of the joyful noise. And everyone knew the carols. So, all inhibitions flew out the window. 

I have been fortunate to be part of community carol singing all my adult life, from serenading hospital patients with a group of young people in a small country town, to driving around caroling on the back of a truck in another country town. We would probably get arrested if we tried that today.  I have sung with a very fine choir in a church in the city, a church which still maintains its fine choral tradition. It used to have a regular carol service on Christmas night. It was a very special way to celebrate the end of the day. And I have been part of special carol services in a tiny country village. All of these experiences have been a mechanism through which the community has come together in readiness to celebrate the great festival of Christmas.

But all of that has changed somewhat in recent times. Not surprisingly the church is not such an important community building institution it once was. This is particularly because what the broader world sees as the representation of the church tends to be an extreme expression. Spokespeople for the church tend to be from the fundamentalist end of the spectrum. This has certainly undermined trust in the institution. It has become no longer politically correct to pass on the traditions of religion such as singing Christmas carols.  This is unsurprising and probably appropriate in a multicultural world. Generally speaking, carols are no longer allowed to be sung in schools. I wonder how the long tradition of community singing is to be maintained under these circumstances. It too is probably gone forever replaced with the singing of Christmas songs most of which come from American popular music which really does nothing for the development of a unique worldview for our society which allows the inclusion of all in a unique integrated community.

The relevant cartoon that started my thinking along these lines was published by the Anglican Diocese of Grafton. You can find it on their Facebook page or on the web site cartoonchurch.com. It is 'Nine Lessons Learned at the Carol Service'.

Advent peace and blessings to all.