“The universality of hymn singing is a remarkable thing.” by Pastor Bruce Benson, host Grand Music Gracious Word Sing For Joy® is a production of St. Olaf College. T his summer I had the memorable experience of attending Sunday morning worship in a 12th-century church in Ulnes, Norway. Ulnes is not a large community; one might describe it as a “wide spot in the road” except that roads in Norway are nerve-wrackingly narrow even in the wide spots. The church is notable for its age, certainly, but also for its carved and painted altarpiece and its setting in the picturesque Valdres valley. It is hard to imagine a church set in a lovelier location: on a little green knoll, surrounded by wildflowers, lilacs and old gravestones, tucked between small Norwegian farms and pastures along the quiet shore of a lake, with mountain slopes ascending to waterfalls and forests near the top. The Sunday I was at this church with my wife and daughter, just being there would have been enough. But there was more. Two local families filed into the rustic old wooden pews dressed in folk costume finery (Bunads) for the baptisms of two children. Nothing could have made the morning better for my wife because the only grandmother she ever knew was baptized in this same church before emigrating to America. To witness a baptism in that sacred space was more than we could have hoped for. But it was a conversation in the surrounding graveyard after the service that I have in mind today. I was outside, taking photos, when a couple approached me to ask where I was from. Well, really, they wanted to know where my wife was from because they had sat in front of us during the service and had heard her sing the hymns. I explained that we were visiting from the United States. “But your wife,” they said, “she is from Norway, yes?” “No,” I replied. “But she sings Norwegian,” they insisted. I grinned. She pretends to sing Norwegian. She learned just enough of the language from her immigrant grandmother and mother to pretend rather well. The couple laughed, then told me to thank my wife for her singing. Hymns had provided a bond across cultures. The message I was asked to deliver to my wife was not “Go take Norwegian lessons so that you don’t make a fool of yourself.” It was, “Thank you.” The universality of hymn singing is a remarkable thing. And perhaps the courage simply to do one’s best is as well. We did not understand most of the words we sang that day, but we trusted the spirit of the local congregation, and willingly sang along with them as much as we could. In the end the experience became worship for us too in spite of the language barrier. The wordless languages of ritual and melody were familiar, and by sharing them we became part of the congregation. You don’t have to know all the words in order to Sing For Joy! Peace be with you, Visit singforjoy.org or find us on Facebook to view photos of the Ulnes church! AUGUST 2013 / YEAR C
Transcript
“The universality of hymn singing is a remarkable thing.”
by Pastor Bruce Benson, host
Grand Music
Gracious Word
Sing For Joy® is a production of St. Olaf College.
T his summer I had the memorable experience of attending Sunday morning worship in a 12th-century church in Ulnes, Norway.
Ulnes is not a large community; one might describe it as a “wide spot in the road” except that roads in Norway are nerve-wrackingly narrow even in the wide spots. The church is notable for its age, certainly, but also for its carved and painted altarpiece and its setting in the picturesque Valdres valley. It is hard to imagine a church set in a lovelier location: on a little green knoll, surrounded by wildfl owers, lilacs and old gravestones, tucked between small Norwegian farms and pastures along the quiet shore of a lake, with mountain slopes ascending to waterfalls and forests near the top. The Sunday I was at this church with my wife and daughter, just being there would have been enough. But there was more. Two local families fi led into the rustic old wooden pews dressed in folk costume fi nery (Bunads) for the baptisms of two children. Nothing could have made the morning better for my wife because the only grandmother she ever knew was baptized in this same church before emigrating to America. To witness a baptism in that sacred space was more than we could have hoped for.
But it was a conversation in the surrounding graveyard after the service that I have in mind today. I was outside, taking photos, when a couple approached me to ask where I was from. Well, really, they wanted to know where my wife was from because they had sat in front of us during the service and had heard her sing the hymns. I
explained that we were visiting from the United States. “But your wife,” they said, “she is from Norway, yes?” “No,” I replied. “But she sings Norwegian,” they insisted. I grinned. She pretends to sing Norwegian. She learned just enough of the language from her immigrant grandmother and mother to pretend rather well. The couple laughed, then told me to thank my wife for her singing.
Hymns had provided a bond across cultures. The message I was asked to deliver to my wife was not “Go take Norwegian lessons so that you don’t make a fool of yourself.” It was, “Thank you.” The universality of hymn singing is a remarkable thing. And perhaps the courage simply to do one’s best is as well. We did not understand most of the words we sang that day, but we trusted the spirit of the local congregation, and willingly sang along with them as much as we could. In the end the experience became worship for us too in spite of the language barrier. The wordless languages of ritual and melody were familiar, and by sharing them we became part of the congregation. You don’t have to know all the words in order to Sing For Joy!
Peace be with you,
Visit singforjoy.org or fi nd us on Facebook to view photos of the Ulnes church!
AUGUST 2013 / YEAR C
August 4, 2013Time after Pentecost — Lectionary 18, Year C
Many and Great, O God, Are Thy Works (LAC QUI PARLE) – Dakota Tune, arr. John Ferguson (1R)The St. Olaf Cantorei / John Ferguson(CD) Saint Cecilia Organ Festival, Volume III / SCHOLA
