THE VALUE OF SINGING HYMNS IN CHRISTIAN WORSHIP (original) (raw)
Related papers
2016
This study is gratefully dedicated to my Sovereign God who is the Author and Finisher of my soul. HE HAS BEEN MY GREAT SUCCOUR. To my beloved late father, Chief Shylon Oyekunle Odewole (1934-2005), and my mother, Chief Mrs. Felicia Kikelomo Odewole, for enabling me to go to school and the discipline of loving knowledge. To my friend, better half, sister, mother from another woman, sweetheart and darling wife Adesola Olufunke Rachel Odewole who over the years has been my backbone. She encourages and supports me morally, spiritually and, more importantly, financially. If it were not for her understanding and endurance, and not minding what people say, it would not have been possible for me to attain this height. To our beautiful children, Oluwamayomikun Ise-Oluwakolebaje Lois and Oluwasayodemi Ife-Oluwa Lucas, for their understanding, patience, daily prayer and immeasurable love. Not to us, LORD, not to us, But to your name be given glory on account of your gracious love and faithfulness (Ps.115:1-International Standard Version) iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND FOREWORD It is with deep gratitude that I would like to thank the LORD my Awesome GOD, the sending fountain of all knowledge, for the privilege of Salvation through missional church. My journey as a chorister and clergyman has been enriched with the knowledge of, and being included in His mission. I could clearly see God's hand in this research throughout the past three years and His Grace has carried me through very difficult and turbulent times during this period. "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel say, this is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes (Psalm 118:1 & 23-ESV). Along the road, there are individuals who also contribute to the formation of one's character, both in one's academic and personal life. Then there are individuals who lend emotional and moral support by merely showing interest in one's work. Without this support, the road would have been difficult, if not an impossible endeavour. Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor and promoter, Prof. Thinandavha Derrick Mashau, for his unalloyed continuous support of my D.Th study and related research, for his patience, motivation and immense knowledge. His guidance and support helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better Advisor, Promoter and Mentor for my D.Th study. Besides my advisor, I would like to thank my friend, better half, sister, mother from another woman, sweetheart and darling wife, Adesola Olufunke Rachel Odewole, for her unconditional love, support and understanding over the past years since the time I left her to go to Manchester, UK. She has been my backbone and a pillar of support: she is a wife in a million. To my daughter, Mayokun, and my son, Sayodemi, for their understanding, patience, daily prayer and immeasurable love. My parents have played an important role in my religious life. After the death of my father, my mother carried me through difficult times, emotionally and financially. It is with gratitude that I iv thank them for their love and support. I also want to thank all my other family members and friends who have supported me and my family in one way or another. My dear Bishop, father and mentor, The Most Revd. Dr. G. L. Lasebikan Ph.D, The Diocesan Bishop of Ondo and Archbishop of Ondo Province, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion has played an important role in my academic formation during the years of my studies. He vested in us an interest to further our studies and he takes delight in us improving ourselves. This was the beginning of the road to my academic achievement in the Church. I also want to thank my home Diocesan Bishop, The Rt. Revd. Emmanuel Oludaisi Adekunle, M.Div., M.Ed., The Diocesan Bishop of Egba, Nigeria, for his keen interest and constant words of encouragement. My colleagues in the Dioceses of Ondo and Egba have constantly shown a keen interest in, and supported my work. I also need to thank the retired and new Bishops of Pretoria, South Africa, The Rt. Revd Dr Johannes Seoka (rtd) and The Rt Revd Allan Kannemeyer respectively and the entire clergy of the Diocese for their open hands of love. I acknowledge this with much gratitude. E seun gan pupo.
The Role of Music in African Pentecostal Churches in Southwestern Nigeria
2019
Music has always been the cradle of religion; without which religion will not have full expression. From the bible days, it is discovered that Christian response to God's intervention and revelation has often been communicated through song. Today, among members of African Pentecostalism, songs play significant roles during social activities, such as wedding celebrations, naming ceremonies, anniversaries, birthday celebrations and SO on. Music, as a combination of both vocal and instrumentals, accord people the opportunity to express their emotions fully. However, works on the role of music in African Pentecostal churches in SouthWest , Nigeria, as it relates to liturgical activities, have not been given adequate attention. It is evident that music in the contemporary society is not static, but dynamic and always passing through different stages. Therefore, at this time of spiritual reawakening in the history of the church, the objective of this study is to gain insights into the role of music in the African Pentecostal churches. This paper adopted sociological underpinnings with a more descriptive and analytical perspective, particularly participant's observation on the role of music in African Pentecostal Churches in SouthWest , Nigeria.
The Perceptions of Ghanaian Adventist Youth on the Use of Hymns in Worship
This paper sought to find out the perception of Ghanaian Adventist Youth on the use of hymns in the church. The areas of concern were on what they think about the use of hymns at irregular times, their use at the Divine Service and their use during song services. With the views of a proportionate representation of age bracket, gender, ranking in the youth ministry, and district, a number of conclusions may be drawn from the responses to the questionnaire. The majority of the youth think that the singing of hymns between Sabbath School and Divine Service, while waiting for a preacher, while waiting for a technical problem to be resolved, and while waiting for Sabbath afternoon program to begin is very good. In addition, they think that it is good to sing hymns in the midst of an ongoing program. The study also revealed that a majority of the youth believe that the suggestions of organising a Divine Service made of hymns throughout, increasing the number of hymns in the Divine service, and maintaining the number of hymns in the Divine Service are very good. On the other hand, the suggestions of organising a Divine Service without hymns and reducing the number of hymns in the Divine Service were rated as very bad and bad respectively. Concerning the song services, the paper reveals that the majority of Ghanaian Adventist youth will strongly agree that members should be allowed to request for their favourite hymns to be sung. Many also agree that the leader in the song service should lead out with the singing of the hymns thematically. Conversely, the majority of the
CHURCH MUSIC AND MINISTRY: A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
Journal of Christian Musicology, Ajilaoorun Pub. Ltd. Ile Ife, 2020
Church music plays significant roles in social, religious, and social gatherings in Africa. God gave people the gift of music and commanded its usage for the edification of man. The term “Church music” covers three major aspects of ministry within the context of a local church, namely; Congregational music, choral music, and instrumental music. A piece of music with appropriate biblical text can serve as a response of prayer, praise, a testimony of God’s faithfulness, or a response to an initial revelation of God during worship, or any Christian convergence. Although there may be a lot of confusion on what may be termed as church music, this study seeks to identify the term and discuss the ideals of church music in worship and other Christian convergence from physical and non-physical (spiritual) perspectives of Church music and ministry addressing the problem of lack of structure in the organization of church music ministry. Church music ministry allows Christians to be stewards of their gifts and is a valid medium of propagating the gospel. The study adopts literary and theological approaches and notes that music gives room for the edification of Christians, contributing its quota in building a network of musicians as they unite with other church leaders in raising offerings of praise and thanksgiving to God. It notes that church music should carry a message, express heartfelt praise to God, and/or a divinely inspired message of God to parishioners. It argues that Church music, of necessity, should be from disciplined Christian minds, to prepare true worshippers, reconciling them back to God.
European Journal of Musicology, 2021
onique Ingalls’s Singing the Congregation: How Contemporary Worship Music Forms Evangelical Community is a landmark publication, inviting vitally diverse readings. Fusing distinct disciplinary traditions and settings of field research, the book offers much more than a fresh understanding of popular religious music. With ethnomusicology and congregational music studies at the foreground, Ingalls’s undertaking spans popular music and media studies, sociology, theology, among other fields, to propose an analytical model for congregation and worship. The book evokes a novel understanding of the reasons and ways in which contemporary worship music constitutes congregation; an understanding that, even though primarily addressing the North American evangelical context, concerns broadly the shaping of worship within and between certain denominational families across the globe today. The model comprises five distinct ways in which congregations are formed through music-making. These musical ...
Singing and Worship in an Anglican Church Liturgy in Egba and Egba West Dioceses, Abeokuta, Nigeria
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2018
This article looks briefly at the origin or history, nature and emerging trends with regard to the singing and worship in Anglican Church Liturgy in Egba and Egba West Dioceses in the ancient metropolitan city of Abeokuta, Nigeria. The article analyses the data collected from oral interviews using atlas.ti coding method. The data are presented partly by way of frequency tables and charts. The study used qualitative approaches and conducted self-administered interviews on the major leaders, worship leaders or choir members and key lay members of the selected Anglican churches in Abeokuta. The article presents all the narratives from my sample population of the selected churches.
Benin Journal of Music and the Arts (A Publication of the Music Programme, Department of Theatre Arts. Faculty of Arts, University of Benin): Benin, Vol. 1. May 2022. www.benjma.org, 2022
Yoruba Church music among the Nigerian Baptist Convention churches in SouthWestern Nigeria has experienced growth in performance practices, human and material resources, and the quality of musical works from the indigenous musical culture. These have affected the growth of Yoruba Church music practices in worship and Church-related activities in the area. Although there is noticeable musical growth in the area, there is yet the need to review and document the factors responsible for the growth from 1981 to 2021. This study is an attempt to bridge this gap and employed a qualitative research paradigm using the relevant musicological approach to validate the various literary data. This study noted among others, an increase in recruitment and training of music personnel, increased musical activities in liturgical process and pageantry, and an increase in documentation of Yoruba Church music as growth indices. It also identified music training, missionary activities, continuity, and changes in compositional and performance practices as some of the factors responsible for the growth. It recommends the need for a more specific policy by the church authority on the use of music in liturgy to further enhance the growth of culturally and theologically relevant Church music.
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2018
This article looks briefly in the origin/history, nature and emerging trends with regard to the singing and worship in Anglican Church Liturgy in Egba Diocese in the ancient metropolitan city of Abeokuta, Nigeria. The article analyses the data collected from oral interviews using atlas.ti coding method. The data are presented partly by way of frequency tables and charts. The study used qualitative approaches and conducted self-administered interviews on the major leaders, worship leaders/choir members and key lay members of the selected Anglican churches in Abeokuta. The article presents all the narratives from my sample population of the selected Churches.
Journal of Languages, Arts and Social Sciences (JOLASS) Vol. 10. Federal College of Education, Okene. , 2019
This paper examined the lyric content of Yoruba Music for Sunday Schools Children in Anglican Churches in Ogijo-Remo Community, in order to highlight the relevance and functionality of the music in socio-religious up-bringing of children in the society. This research was conducted through oral interviews, field recording of music and bibliographic methods which is limited to few selected Anglican churches in which Yoruba language form the major language of communication in their Sunday school. Research findings revealed thatchildren are better assimilated with the teachings of their teacher through the various songs taught at the church. It was observed that many of the children were not able to ordinarily remember the content of theme of the message taught by the teachers during sermon and Bible study, except through the songs they learnt. Also, Sunday school teachers receive better participation and attention from the children during the singing session than any other activities. The music was observed to play important functions in imparting religious education in the children, moral training, documentation and preservation of Biblical stories as well as recreational and entertainment functions. It was concluded in this research study that apart from Bible study and sermon preaching in the Sunday school, music in form of songs, accompanied or unaccompanied serves as one of the major device of imparting religious and moral knowledge to the children because it has been found to be more relevant and most effective in yielding positive and desirable results in these children.
Music in Religious Worship in Nigeria
The Pedagogue: Festschrift In Honour Of Professor Chukwuemeka Eleazar Mbanugo, 2021
Music is very important in life. People all over the universe spend hours listening to music, performing, composing or dancing to it. There are many reasons why music is vital in the lives of people. It gives background accompaniment for activity and provides an environment of sound in the same way that wallpaper provides a visual environment. In religious ceremonies, it has been observed that music is not just for background accompaniment but promotes a feeling of worship. It is designed to encourage an attitude of devotion and commitment to religious beliefs. This paper examines the place of music in the African Traditional Religion, Islamic and Christian Religious worships respectively.