Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1874-03-05
Church Singing.

tcfday morning WAS dI the
Methodist Church here-a very
pleasant room it is, and | am
told that a very worthy Society
occupy it. But I hayea most
weighty charge to bring against
the good people Of musical a.
postasy, [ had expected atreat
Of good, hearty singing. There
were Charles Wesley's hymns,
and there were the good old
Methodist tunes that ancient
piety loved and modern coneeit
laughs at /! Imagine my chag-
rim when,. after reading the
hymn, up rose a choir from
shelf at the other end of the
church, and began to sing a
monotonOus tune Of the mod
ern music-book style. The
patient congregation stood up.
meekly to be sung to, as men
stand under rain where there is
no shelter. Scarcely lip
moved. No one seemed to hear
the hymn, or care for the music.
How | longed for the good old
Methodist thunder ! One good
burst of old fashioned music
would have blown this modern
singing out of the windows. like
wadding from a gun . Men
may call this an Improvements,
and genteel Gentility has
nearly killed our Churches, and
it will kill Methodist Churches
if they give way to its false and
pernicious ambition. We know
very well what good old-fash-
ioned Methodist music was. It
had faults enough, doubtless,
against taste; but it had an Ia
acard purpose and q religious
earneStl1esS which enabled it to
carry all its faults, and triumph
in spite of them 1t aUaS wor-
ship. Yesterdays music was
tolerable singing, but very poor
worship. We are sorry that
Just as our Churches are begin
ming to initiate the former ex-
ample of Methodist Churches,
and to introduce melodies that
the people love, our Methodist
brethren should pick up our cast
off Journalism in Church-music.
1t will be worse with them than
with us. 1t viii make a great
er length of decline. We could
hardly believe our eyes and ears
yesterday. We could hardly
persuade ourselves that we stood
before a Methodist Church,
We should have supposed it 10
be Il good old Presbyterian or
Congregational Church, i'm which
the choir and pulpit did every
thing. and the people did moth
ing. Our brethren inthis Church
must not take these remarks
They are presentetH
in all kindness and Affection
The choir sang better than
many choirs in city churches,
but no one sang with them.-
The people were mute. They
used their ears, ard not their
But, alas we missed
the old fervor-the good old
fashioned Methodist fire.
We have seen the time whe,,
one of Charles WesIey's hymns,
taking the congregation by tho.
hand, would have led them up
to the gate of heaven. But ves-
terday it only led them ND to
the choir, about ten feet above
the pews. This will never do.
Methedists win make naenifi-
cent worshipping Christians II
they are not ashamed of their
own ways, but very poor. ones
if they are. Brethren YOU ava.
IN the wrong way. 1t will nev-
er do for yeU to silence the peo-
pie. Your fire will go out if
you take it up under the ashes
Of false refinement. Let am
outsider, but a well-wisher, say
these plain words without Of
fense. The Methodist Church
has laid the Christian world un-
der a great debt by It's service in
the cause CT Christ, and we have
a right t6it, and All interest in
it, as common Christians. too
great to suffer us to see signs Of
degeneracy IL it without sorrow
and alarm. We hope God
means to do great things by it
yet for our land. But it win
not be by giving up heart and
soul, zeal and popular enthusi-
asm in worship, for the sake of
sham propriety and tasteful
Journalism, that the Methodist
Church will become yet farther
efficient. We hope to see such
a revival of religion amonS them
as will come like a fi'eshet upon