Incorporating the Odes into Your Service of Worship
The Odes are simple but profound. They can easily be picked up and sung by a congregation, and they are nearly effortless to memorize. For the most part, the Odes have been designed with three groups in mind:
The Narrator: The worship leader or vocalist who sings the verses or the “call” part of the call and response.
The Responders: This would be the worship team/vocal team who sings with the congregation with the option of harmonizing.
The Cantor: Many of the Odes have breakdown sections for a chant-like praise-phrases like “Blessing and honor” and “Glory to You.” This is an opportunity for one person from the team to step forward and lead the part of the song where the chant occurs.
Most of the Odes are full of joy and wonder, so they fit well in the beginning of a service, placed alongside other familiar songs of celebration. What sets the Odes apart is the incorporation of the whole church in the singing. It’s not just singing along with the leader, it is back and forth from the stage to the congregation-believers singing to each other and to the Lord. The narrator will sing a line, and then the congregation plus the worship team will sing back to the leader in a call-and-response fashion. This generally takes place during the verses, while everyone sings together on the choruses. Guiding people in this way is uncomplicated and quickly accessible for most congregations.
The true joy is found when people are actively engaged in singing these profoundly simple and beautiful expressions with all of their hearts. The gifted singer will find freedom to embellish the melodies on the verses, without leaving the congregation out of the loop. This narration and response format was the style of singing most often found in the temple and the early church assemblies. It sends the message that we are united in Christ, all of our voices have a place, and we sing together.
The slower songs can be used in whole or in part as a simple chorus before the sermon. There are songs of prayerful reflection, celebration or exhortation, but all focus on the goodness of God, His immense gifts to His church and the joy that is found in Him. Beauty and truth will leave their mark on the hearts of worshipers who sing these wonderful songs from the first Christian hymnal.
————————————————————————-
Introducing the Odes to Your Congregation
We wouldn’t dream of telling you how to intuit your own congregations and how to teach them new songs-you do that every week. However, you will be singing the same songs that the earliest Christians in Antioch sang, literally the first Christian hymnal, and by helping you understand the style of the songs our first Christian brothers and sisters sung, we hope to make the introduction of this music more seamless for you as a worship leader. This hymnbook, discovered only one hundred years ago, contained no musical notation, but we followed some of the same styles of worship employed by the early church when bringing new music to these treasures. In just a few statements you can explain that the singing of the early church was in a different format than we normally sing today, but it is a format that will help us all to sing more vibrantly together. The form of singing in the early church was “antiphonal” or what is commonly known as call-and-response.
Because this style of singing (antiphonal) is uncommon nowadays, it may take a little time for everyone to feel comfortable in understanding where to come in. But part of the beauty of the Odes is that even though the words are profound in their depth, they are simple to learn. Also, to know that we join in praising God with the hymns of the first Christians gives us a connection to the past and strengthens our identity as people of God.
There are many unique features of the Odes to comment on, but one of the most outstanding characteristics is the immense joy and gratitude expressed to God for sending His Son into the world. Despite the extreme persecution surrounding the early Christians, their music was focused on joyful praise and adoration of God. We can learn today from the example of the early church and, likewise, sing back and forth to each other in wonder, love and praise.
————————————————————————-
Sample Set Lists
The following are sample set lists for incorporating the Odes into the service of worship, according to four different service types.
ContemporaryHere I am To Worship |
TraditionalHoly, Holy, Holy |
|
ModernEverlasting God |
ContemplativeAs The Deer |