When we do communion at Anchor, we usually have music playing underneath--sometimes the whole worship team, sometimes just a guitar or me at the piano. You know, setting a mood. Typically, we have people file to the front of the church to get the elements, so playing music works well.
Today, we did it differently, the way most [United Brethren] churches do it. The band played John Mark McMillan's "How He Loves" while the ushers distributed the elements to people in their seats. Then the band stopped playing, and everyone took communion together. No music underneath.
As I stood on the platform, the bread and tiny plastic juice cup in my hand, I thought about the silence. It was...interesting.
I thought about that Last Supper. Did Jesus have someone in the corner strumming a guitar while he blessed the wine and bread? Was there nothing to set the proper mood? Nothing, that is, except the presence of Jesus?
Today, we did it differently, the way most [United Brethren] churches do it. The band played John Mark McMillan's "How He Loves" while the ushers distributed the elements to people in their seats. Then the band stopped playing, and everyone took communion together. No music underneath.
As I stood on the platform, the bread and tiny plastic juice cup in my hand, I thought about the silence. It was...interesting.
I thought about that Last Supper. Did Jesus have someone in the corner strumming a guitar while he blessed the wine and bread? Was there nothing to set the proper mood? Nothing, that is, except the presence of Jesus?
Career-wise, I've been hanging around and writing about and cheering on churches and pastors for the past 25 years as my denomination's Communications Director.
Hate to upset the idyllic moment you are trying to create but my guess is that it would be very similar to what you experience in many developing countries.... village life going on. Without insulated walls, windows and ceilings the sounds from the community come bustling in making silence pretty hard to come by. If it is late enough, the human noise will fade away but then you have the crickets, dogs, and a multitude of other night critters making their contributions.
We try silence every now and then at our church. We usually end up with the hum of the furnace or AC units only to be interrupted by the occasional shriek from the nursery, toddler, or junior church down below.
Oh if only this world were nice and tidy.