February 2010

Enniskerry's Gospel Choir

Judy Cameron

Our parish has shared a gospel Choir with our Roman Catholic neighbours for some years now. The choir sings and leads the worship on the first Sunday in the month at the Powerscourt Church of Ireland service, and on the second Sunday in the month, at Mass in the Catholic church of St Mary's. The members are men and women from both parishes and surrounding area. The choir is independently run; the singers generously giving their time and effort to enliven the worship of the two churches.

We are lucky also to have a Junior Gospel Choir singing once a month which makes a really positive impact on children and young families.

What was (and is) the attraction for the choir members in this venture? One adult member confides that it is wonderful to sing out for God without the reserve imposed by four part singing, unfamiliar chants or psalms, and whether or not you think you are a ‘Good Singer’. The members relish the freedom to move about, clap, use percussion and acoustic technology as well as singing in a variety of styles. They practise hard not only for the services but to produce a high quality concert programme at other times. Their verve and enthusiasm is wonderful to behold.

How does this service affect the congregations? The Catholic priest reports a church service with double the usual numbers. Younger people come who love the rhythms and the ballads and are, perhaps, not worried that they may be unable to join in a song if it is unfamiliar. The tradition in that parish is for their fine orthodox choir to sing for the congregation.

Not so, up the road! The response in the Church of Ireland is quite different. The congregation there expects to take part. They do not like being sung at. They are irritated that the words are sometimes obscure and the musical arrangements too irregular to join in. Some parishioners decided this was not their sort of thing and began to give the first Sunday service a miss. (It would be only fair to say that there were those in the Catholic parish who made the same decision.)

This was very discouraging for the choir, and it would have been easy to give up at this stage and agree that some experiments just don't work.

Nothing, however, stays the same; change takes time and there are a number of regular parishioners who do enjoy the service and make a point of attending. Even among the reluctant, attitudes are softening a little. The congregation has finally learned some of the songs, the choir's repertoire has increased, and traditional hymns with which the congregation is comfortable, are included. Parishioners cannot fail to be impressed with the commitment the choir shows to its work and understand that it deserves support, even if there are 'doubts' about the lyrics and the clapping.

Someone asked, ‘If it is not everyone's cup of tea, why persist? Why 'sacrifice' one of your Sundays once a month?’

There are three good reasons. The first is that the gospel service is not the only one on offer on first Sundays . There is a choice of a traditional Eucharist without music in the early morning and also a conventional Holy Communion with hymns at our sister church. The second reason is for the choir itself. The members derive a great deal of joy and excitement from their work which represents a strand of song often missing in standard Anglican worship.

The third reason, possibly the most important, is that there are people for whom this is the only service in the month which they attend. While the numbers are not huge, the service does speak to these who might not be reached otherwise. Added to this, the service is an ecumenical Eucharist at which everyone can come together at the Lord's Table. Surely a step on the way to a bright future in Ireland's Church worship — ‘that all may be one’.

cameronl@eircom.net

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