what would you think if....
What would you think if a fellow youth worker/minister suggested that we should sing the National Anthem during worship times? Or that we should use the Union Jack as some kind of 'visual aid' during worship or prayer?
I know that there are a number of ways what it might be possible to do this sensitively and creatively, but what is people's instinctive feeling? How do you think it might be interpreted.
I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this, so please comment.
Thanks
6 Comments:
resy assured that alarm bells were ringing in my head througout the whole conversation. i guess i wanted to ask the question cos i wanted to check this wasn't be over-reacting.
my problem is how to communicate this to someone who, and i'm trying to be polite here, seemed to struggle with the concept that not all people see the flag/national anthem/royal family etc etc as something to get behind.
i guess in my head i'm aware of somekind of a "is this verging towards religious nationalism?" kind of question. which is all a little bit scary.
anybody else any experiences of this discussion? outcomes? helpful advice? or is it just another case of having to learn to live and work alongside somebody who has 'different' views to yours?
Not sure about singing the anthem during worship. And I feel that initial "oh no!!". But actually if done senatively using a flag for prayer or even reading through the anthem could be interesting. But it would have to be done in the right way, that's for sure. Be interesting to get some US or non-white perspectives on this though.
It makes me uncomfortable. It confuses all kind of issues, but the thing for me is that an act of worship is about God - and why bother distracting from that?
Tricky one. Just because a sense of national pride tends to be something only xenophobic groups like the BNP express doesn't make it wrong.
Try exploring content of the service in terms of vision and meaning.
Why are we having each bit?
If your group can come up with some reason that is important and significant for why you should use it then I think you may have to reconsider your own bias in it. However it is also a good way of getting someone to a point of realising that maybe it's not appropriate.
Interestingly it makes me feel uneasy and if I had read this recently I would have said 'no way'.
Recent pictures of Muslims waving Union Jacks in Trafalgar Square have made me wonder.
I still think I probably would not use a Union Jack in worship - but that image has challenged me to think again and ask 'do lots see it as offensive, or are we just being over-sensitive?'
That's pretty funky stuff - as national anthems go, anyway!
Nice to hear from again too Ipriest, my friend :o)
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