Something Sacred: Reflections on Music and Faith

An excerpt from Something Sacred: Reflections on Music and Faith, the newest Lenten devotional from the United Church Publishing House.

A few months ago, I overheard a group of children in my son’s schoolyard singing “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys with joy and laughter. Instantly I’m 14 again, singing and dancing (with perfect choreography) to “Stop in the Name of Love” by the Supremes with my friends. The children in the schoolyard were singing the Backstreet Boys song and dancing the moves, but they were missing all of the angst and longing. (Not as offensive as our anthems being used to sell sugary beverages, but close.)

This is part of the beauty and frustration of art, especially in the ubiquitous form of music: because of its power and subjectivity, passionate opinions and claims of ownership are unavoidable. There will always be folks who, by someone’s standards, “get it wrong.” There will always be people who love your song for erroneous reasons (if this is even possible), people who don’t fully understand the depth and meaning of the song, folks who will use the song horribly out of context, and folks who will judge a masterpiece as mediocre or kitsch before understanding the people who birthed it into being. To the chagrin of many, once music is out there, how it’s received cannot be controlled. Music is that powerful. Because of music’s power, it’s often foundational to our identity and formation—the music around us affects us, whether we like it or not.

As a people, we have always known music to be a powerful formational tool. Throughout the church’s history, theologians (including Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and Barth) have identified music as an important, and potentially dangerous and powerful, spiritual tool. We know this. We know that music can often articulate who we are, what we believe, and what we aspire to become as individuals and communities. This is largely what motivated the United Church to publish our new hymnal, Then Let Us Sing! during the church’s centennial year (2025). By prayerfully discerning “What will we sing when we will sing a new song?” (as the hymnal’s development team phrased it), Then Let Us Sing! is critical in shaping who we are and who we will become as the people of God. Because what we sing together in church and in the schoolyard has the power to change us.

Even though music is so influential, we often don’t have much control over the music that saturates our atmosphere in much of our formative years; it’s dependent on the choices of the people around us. As we grow, we have the unique power and responsibility to shape the music that we will sing into the future. Think of what you have sung together with others and what songs live rent-free in your mind. Which of those songs would you like to pass on to future generations? Which songs do you hope to overhear in the schoolyard 30 years from now? What music do you hope will be sung in churches? What music will help us become the followers of Christ we hope to be?

—Alydia Smith, editor of Something Sacred: Reflections on Music and Faith.

Something Sacred: Reflections on Music and Faith is available in print or as an e-book from the United Church Bookstore. This Lenten devotional explores how the power of music can deepen our connection to God and form us as disciples of Christ.

Looking to explore and dive deeper into each devotion? Registration is now open for the Lenten Study 2025: Something Sacred. Join the Rev. Stephen Fetter for a six-week series every Tuesday starting March 11, to take a journey through music and faith.

Something Sacred is ideal for individuals, groups, or churches wishing to expand and grow their Lenten practice. 

The views contained within these blogs are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of The United Church of Canada.