When worship becomes whatever you want it to be, there really are no limits to the silliness that ensues.
City Harvest is a large non-denominational Church in Singapore. Its founder, Kong Hee, has a huge TV presence too. The Church’s website refers to Kong’s “relevant style.”
If this is what counts for relevant, count me out.
(Give it a minute to get to the real silliness)
When you compose praise songs to the tune of a Lady Ga-Ga song, may I humbly suggest that it is time to re-evaluate the whole enterprise. Jesus does not need Lady Ga-Ga to be relevant I am quite sure.
We have our problems for sure, but boy am I glad I am Catholic.
By the way, please nobody send this to the organizers of the Los Angeles Religious Education conference or else this will be next year’s opening act.
Mum’s the word.
Thanks to Carina!
April 14, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Got it from my friend's blog: http://dominic-cooray.blogspot.com/2010/04/worship.html
April 14, 2010 at 4:13 pm
What's the matter? Did these folks say Catholic worship is silly?
April 14, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Well, they have a talent: they managed to insult both Christ AND Lady GaGa in one step.
April 14, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Do not show this to Marty Haugen. It might give him ideas.
April 14, 2010 at 5:45 pm
I wouldn't call it relevant, but I think this is fine. Taking a song about having promiscuous sex and turning into a goofy song about Jesus is probably a good thing. If you like the tune but rather sing a hymn, it'd be a good place to turn to turn to. A silly place, but still.
Of course if I needed a time of quiet contemplation and the choir was singing parody Lady Gaga, well…
April 14, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Well now I know the tune to a Lady Ga-ga "song." I also think it's OK–it's all OK, as long as it doesn't show up at Mass.
Cathy J
April 14, 2010 at 6:40 pm
i think it depends on the purpose–was it for praise music or was it as a skit to grab the audience's attention? if it was praise music/in the context of anything but a skit=big fat no! as a skit=well alright. i think it was poorly done and probably didn't have the results it should've anyway. if we're gonna be creative and be artists engaging the modern culture, let's be creative artists engaging the culture, not shoddy pretenders.
April 14, 2010 at 6:51 pm
Well haven't you heard the latest? Lady Ga-Ga is promoting celibacy. Yay….? Not sure what to think about that.
I also heard that she used to be Catholic. Why is it that all the weird crazy celebrities are former Catholics?! Gah!
April 14, 2010 at 7:31 pm
I just died a little inside…
April 14, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I am all for solemn and reverence in worship and liturgical services. At my blog, I even opposed having secular concerts in Churches. But let me throw this in for discussion or perspective. Consider how St. John Bosco attracted youth and made religious lessons interesting by tricks and antics that were considered improper. Then look at the number (35+) of saints or saints-to-be that were produced by his system (since 1888). So, there may be that baby in the bathwater thing going on in all this. Just saying, there's a place for Gregorian chant just as Silly Songs with Larry from VeggieTales specially in Youth Ministry.
April 14, 2010 at 8:24 pm
i hadn't heard that gaga is promoting celibacy until @maggie said so, then i went and looked it up. as contradictory her image and this new message of hers is, and as weird and off-base as she is, at least someone's promoting it. we should take what we can get…and then take more. i think it's high time we stop looking at hollywood and celebrities like it's unholy ground infiltrated by a bunch of whack-jobs and take back the arts. but we have to do it well! unlike the fellows in that video….something crazy weird celebrities are good at is making real art, getting into the real feelings and emotions and effectively communicating them to the masses. we, as catholics and christians, need to learn to be good at this again! we used to own culture, we used to be the center of culture and art, and we have totally fallen to the wayside. anyone ever heard of act one and barbara nicolosi-harrington?amazing artists doing a lot of good in hollywood. her blog is churchofthemasses.blogspot.com
April 14, 2010 at 9:02 pm
I think they were pretty good, if you are familiar with that song, and funny. The weird thing, this is the beginning of the "meeting". Not used to that. Please, not at Mass. Skits are fine for instruction. I'm not sure how much you really learn, or do you just get your ears tickled?
April 14, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Taking a song about having promiscuous sex and turning into a goofy song about Jesus is probably a good thing.
Sorry, but appropriating stuff from the pop smog factory trivializes the faith and reduces it to just another consumer product competing among many.
April 15, 2010 at 3:44 am
romish:
well done. This is why I hate Christian rock. Blech. Barbara Nicolosi has an excellent piece on such stuff. She's talking about movies, but it can be applied to music and fiction as well. Here's a link to it:
http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Church-of-the-Masses?offset=0&max=1
April 15, 2010 at 4:37 am
I get where ya'll are coming from, but if the options are not having any light-hearted Jesus based music at all or only having songs about how awesome it is to treat women as objects, I'll take Jesus tween pop. Not at Mass, and not to explain the depth of the Faith, but just to snap my fingers to.
In other words, I can't drive to work every morning listening to Gergorian chant, though I respect anyone who can.
April 15, 2010 at 2:11 pm
"Non denominational" (meaning Pentecostal) is simply a religious system dedicated to the glorification of man and the stimulation of the feelings. That's why it's all about entertainment- emotionally manipulative music, emotionally manipulative preaching, drama, tongues, etc.
April 15, 2010 at 3:28 pm
back in the 'folk mass' days, we tried to sing Amazing Grace to the tune of 'House of the Rising Sun.' (try it – it's a perfect fit). Father heard us practicing and put the kibosh on that, saying, "it's a song about a whore house." I had never heard an adult say the word "whore" before then, so I was pretty shocked.
April 16, 2010 at 6:51 am
You must not have been at LA Congress last year Patrick. I think they did the communion meditation.
April 16, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Goofy as it is..sometimes this is the only way to get the attention of some of our youth. Get thier attention and them reel them in with the good stuff, like, Matt Maher!!
April 18, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Wow – seriously, I LOVE the way the words to Amazing Grace fit with the "House of the Rising Sun" tune. Try it – you may like it too! And I'm also amazed that a priest back then even knew what that song is about.