Religion and Theology

Liturgy is a Greek word that originally means a public duty, service to a state that is undertaken by a citizen. In other words, it meant a man who performs public duty or is a public servant. The verb was later extended to cover any general service of the public life like inside the temple. It was later given a religious sense to signify the function of priests. Such religious duties include performing rituals in the temple. Liturgy in modern Christianity has not lost any meaning since it means the public official service that is conducted in churches including rites, prayers, sacraments, sermons and also singing hymns and music

In the United Methodist Church, liturgical rites include marriage, Eucharist, baptism, and burial with direct connection to spiritual vitality both individually and communally. (DeSilva 2008)

A hymn, on the other hand, also comes from the Greek word hymnos meaning to sing a praise song to gods or heroes. Hymns can therefore be defined as songs of praise, adoration, glorification and worship to God or a diet, especially in a religious setting. Singing of hymns was and is still an imperative part of worship in churches.

Since the very beginning, music (hymns) and liturgy have been closely associated with one another. It is quite evident that sheer words do not always suffice people when they praise God. Hence, the very nature of Liturgy in every situation whatsoever has always called upon the help of hymns in terms of both singing and the voices created by the sound of musical instruments. In other words, to worship and praise God, means to unite all that creatures speak.

As time has gone on, many additions to liturgical practices have been included to the calendars of different Churches, and with them so have new hymns been composed to accompany these feasts. In looking at the sources of liturgy and hymns, it is important to understand that the apostles and the first disciples were all Jews and were accustomed to attending their prayers in the temples. This is significant since by the time Jesus was coming to earth, they had already developed an extensive liturgy that consisted of temple worship and centered on sacrifices offered by priests. Such Jewish rituals are the ones that came to influence Christian liturgy as it began to take form. (Ratzinger1985)

Hymns as part of liturgy can be traced back to ancient times before the coming of Christ. It was however not found in Judaism until later. During those days, the Jews had a specific order of conducting their services in the temple, the most important of which was prayer. The order that they took their mass was divided into two. The first part involved, psaltery, petition prayers, praise, readings from the scriptures, litanies and doxology which is a form of creed. The second part included a psalm at the altars foot, followed by the Confiteor, then a prayer of petition, the intro, a prayer of praise and the Kyrie, the preparation for the consecration, communion and finally thanksgiving. There were no hymns in this part of the mass. A great majority of liturgical hymns had their origins in reservoir prayers known as the divine office which was a book that the clergy are obliged to read daily. The Divine Office can be simply identified as a collection of psalms, scriptural selections, psalms and hymns that are used in everyday services. The Jews believed that through the breviary offices and prayers, their soul will keep in contact with God in every hour of the day. Through it, they will recall the stalwart souls who died in Christs name through its hymns and psalms to praise him. (Sherwood 2010)

Role of Hymns in Liturgy
Gods people have been known to sing throughout the pre-recorded history. For instance, the Israelites sang after they were delivered from bondage in Egypt David sang in times of rejoicing and also in trouble in his vision, John on the Patmos Island heard glorious songs of Angels. Mary and Simeon also sang songs of thanksgiving to God. From these few examples, hymns are seen to serve both a communal and mnemonic purposes that simply mean that through the singing of hymns, people have a feeling of togetherness since hymns and church music have the ability to form the community which is an important part of the Christian community in many centuries. Just like the word of God, music comes from a sphere of marvelous and miraculous audible things. Music also expresses and communicates faith in way that is beyond just mere words. When hymns are refined to the highest levels of excellence, the perfect goodness and Gods wisdom are demonstrated through that gift. Within the perspective of historical liturgy, hymns function not as entertainment or ornament, but as a fundamental part of the liturgy, illuminating the proclamation of the world and also carrying prayer.

Another role that hymns play in liturgy is that it invites the entire congregation, instrumentalists, choir and the pastor or preacher to participate in the service. This is quite important because each group forms part of the whole assembly.

Another important role of hymns in liturgy is that they enlighten the text that allows the congregation to the Action of God in their lives. In addition to that, a hymn also helps believers to make common things holy by linking their faith to communal life of the assembly and influences them to embrace the sanctity of the Church always and in every place.

Hymn singing also tends to reinforce faith and practice of the singing among the Christian community. In other words, we sing in order for us to internalize and remember far beyond what we read, see or hear. Hymn singing helps Christians to address modern-day issues in both religious and non-religious circles. It does this by supplementing the work of the sermon. (Wallace1984)

Furthermore, hymn singing provides an outlet for both rational and emotional capacities of a persons spiritual nature. This is because the hymns that are sung influenced peoples minds and feelings. Hymn singing also helps to continue and extend the traditional worship methods that link Christians with the cradle of Jesus spiritual life and synagogue worship. As a liturgical activity, hymn singing helps in expressing the universality of the Christian religion, symbolized by the fact that majority musical artifacts in Churches (hymns) from any culture and historical period can be drawn on to add to the dissertation of contemporary worship. (Hickman 2010)

In conducting special feasts such as taking of the sacraments, its inherent power is usually brought out by music. It brings so much difference when a congregation is receiving the Holly communion while they are singing beloved and familiar songs and hymns other than conduct it in silence. The music also makes the difference on how all the things inside the service goes, it inspires the pastors and the others who lead in worship to preach and lead to greater heights, freedom and power. For those who worship, their minds and heats are opened to hear more clearly and receive the good news more fully. (Hickman 2010)

How Hymns Work in Worship
During church services and feasts, the entire congregation as always called upon to actively participate in the liturgical actions. Their primary liturgical role is to sing the hymnodies which are specific hymns sung at different times in the service. They are also expected to recite portions of the liturgy the Apostle Creed among other acclamations and hymns accompanying processions. Hymnody is usually viewed as an integral part of the liturgy since it is the main vehicle for congregational songs. They should be therefore chosen for their relevance and significance to the meaning of the day and also their ability to light up the assigned gospel reading of the day. Its importance should be decided through well thought introductions, availability of varied voicing on different stanzas that will contribute to elucidation which can enhance the meaning of the hymn text.

The congregation is always called upon to sing the ordinary portions of the liturgy which are similar in each service day throughout the season, for instance, in the Lutheran church, they sing hymns such as Kyrie during praise.  The Hymn and musical setting should therefore remain invariable in all seasons, though some changes at the beginning are necessary and appropriate. This is so since it helps in drawing attention to the cadence of the liturgical year by passing on the spirit of the time whether it is the joy of Christmas, Easter or even the Somberness of lent. Canticles or hymns should also be sung by the congregation around the reading of the great thanksgiving and the gospel. In addition to that, they should be sung as the assembly gathers for worship and as they also move to the table for the meal. All of these moments are quite important to the liturgical activities and hence demand the congregation to participate.

The church choir plays a focal point on when and how to incorporate hymns in the churchs service and other festivals. This is because it has the ability to sing the proper portions of the liturgy which usually change each day of service. For instance, the psalm, alleluia, the gospel acclamation (verse), hymns during communion, offertory, among others. For example, in singing the alleluia, the congregation may sing the song while the choir sings the proper verse of the day which can be followed by the repetition of the alleluia by the congregation. This can change as the service proceeds. In the process of planning any liturgy, the sense of balance in terms of musical choice must be maintained at all levels. This balance should be between the roles of the congregation, the choir and the instrumental musicians. (Bratcher 2009)

In conclusion, it is quite evident that hymns have been part of liturgy from as early as the 4th century. The practice of singing hymns while performing church services is therefore important in the day to day lives of Christians. As improvement in technology has taken place, the printing of hymn books has been made easier with churches choosing to print the chosen hymns for the day in a service bulleting. Some churches have even adopted the use of overhead projectors, with a technician, the shuffling of a pile of projected tiles for the whole congregation to access. Although it does not change the spiritual richness that hymns have brought to Christians all over the world in many centuries. (Gibson 1999)