Worship and the role of church buildings - a lockdown perspective.

Worshipping during lockdown with churches either closed or partially open with significant restrictions places both a burden and an opportunity on congregations. Separated from our usual routines, places of worship and normal practise it's easy to feel cast adrift, uncertain and isolated. But perhaps it's a time to reconnect with our faith, with what is important and essential? Christians have long gathered together in specific buildings which are holy places. But as with any other earthly object can a building become more than place of worship for uniting and gathering, can it become a prop and substitute for real faith?

St Mary le Tower church in Ipswich

Church buildings are invaluable historical resources, some standing as the best examples of our architectural achievements. The rich and varied contribution that churches make to society, from offering counselling and training for vulnerable social groups, to providing opportunities for volunteer work and employment means ensuring their survival is of real importance. Churches as places of worship offer somewhere calm away from our busy lives, where we can focus and worship. 

If we have learned one thing during the pandemic though, it is that although extremely valuable for many excellent reasons, the church building is not the only place we can worship. Neither is being inside one essential for worship to occur. Jesus' cleansing of the Temple illustrates the importance of following his teachings and the central message of the Ten Commandments, without which visiting a church or place of worship has little relevance in a Christian life. It's a reminder that "going through the motions" without connecting in our hearts has little value.

Worship with music is a fundamental reason for gathering in a church building. I wrote about the central role of music in worship last year, it is at the foundation of faith; the connection between the soul and our Maker. Adding music to worship has been extremely challenging during the lockdown, although many have been extremely creative, exploring new and even very old ways of adding music to worship. Church buildings may well not be essential to worship, but they certainly are an extremely valuable place in which to combine all the essential elements of worship into a worthwhile and far reaching whole. Whether that service is attended in person or remotely is perhaps of less importance, but as prayer is the connection between us and God, for many of faith it is the accompanying music which gives it wings. 

This weekend is the third Sunday in Lent, a week when we focus on the Commandments and on our inner faith beyond all earthly distractions. Following rules is something we have become used to over the past year, living with restrictions and focussing on what is really important. It has been useful in many respects, and hugely challenging. For me, music is an essential part of worship and the past year has served to highlight that in technicolour. It's been a privilege having the opportunity to be involved in producing music for worship both for and in our church, for the Rodolfus Foundation Evensong last year and InHarmony at our cathedral. I've been well and truly out of my comfort zone on many an occasion, worked with some wonderful people and learned a great deal about myself and my faith in the process. So this week represents a distillation of that process for me, and Lent 2021 is a conclusion to one journey, and perhaps the start of an even bigger one.

Music for this weekend here is "Civitas Sancti Tui" by William Byrd, but could equally be Tallis' "If Ye Love Me" or Stanford's "Beati Quorum Via". Last year we recorded and multi-tracked Philip Wilby's "If Ye Love Me", below.

Philip Wilby is a British composer, organist and music director. A graduate of Keble College, Oxford, he joined the staff at the University of Leeds as a Lecturer in the Department of Music in 1972. Many of Wilby's pieces are based on his strong Christian beliefs. He composes for many different instruments and ensembles (piano, organ, voice, chamber ensemble, wind orchestra), but is perhaps best known for his compositions for brass band. (Many of Wilby's works are written especially to be used as test pieces in brass band contests all over the world.)