Having Faith In Music

Published April 1, 2006 IN THEORY Having Faith In Music Q: FaithJam '06, part of a nine-day Passover celebration in the Los Angeles Jewish community, is scheduled to bring together various faiths through music and culture. Stage performances will be mixed with religious dialogue with a goal of emphasizing the beauty of diverse faiths. How important is music in your own faiths and congregations, and does it matter who is listening? That is, if you have music, do you cater it -- the way it's performed, the styles -- to various tastes of your parishioners? A: In the Armenian Church, music is at the core of the religious worship experience; our entire liturgy is sung and chanted. The music of the church stems from the minds and hearts of individuals who have been touched by faith. At our parish, it is not so important who is listening as much as who is singing. As an Orthodox Church with apostolic roots, it is important for me that our worship resonates in the ambience of the early church, where there was no choir and everyone would sing. Where participants ask not what am I getting out of the church, but what am I putting into to the collective experience? Many times, we even challenge our youth to create their own liturgy and the result is literally soul-stirring and even healing. Over the course of the last century the liturgy of the Armenian Church has become overly ritualized. As a result, the role of most worshippers has diminished from participant to observer. Without proper context, what once were extreme reaches into the depths of the soul have effortlessly been lost as the fading relics of an ancient museum. Our biggest challenge as an institution is to provide context and meaning, otherwise our songs are empty mantra. Our music must be more than pleasure to the ears. It requires a contribution and participation from the congregant -- giving something back to the Maker. FATHER VAZKEN MOVSESIAN Armenian Church Youth Ministries