(It’s Guest Post Friday! Today’s post is from Laura Coulter, recent graduate of Taylor University, writer, struggling entertainment junkie, and a big fan of laughter. Follow Laura at her blog knownrenowned.tumblr.com or on twitter @kentuckygirl729. If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here’s how.)
“Hymn Request Night ” by Laura Coulter
I don’t know how many other churches still have these, but my home church still has hymn request nights about once a quarter (I think there must be a rule somewhere that you have to have at least one hymn request night for every two times you have communion). My church has a “blended” style of worship, so we sing hymns often enough, but not so much that hymn request night isn’t a big hit with the more traditional members of the congregation. Personally, I enjoy it. And even though it sounds like it might be a little stuffy, it’s actually one of the most informal services we have (a random outburst would never fly on a Sunday morning unless it’s an “Amen”—that’s why it’s always hymn request night). And throughout my years of church-going, I’ve noticed a few specific types of people who rear their voices on hymn request nights.
1. The guys who always choose the same hymns.
I say guys, plural, because at my church there is definitely a group of them (maybe it’s a secret society). And it seems like they’re always middle-aged men who sit in the middle to the back of the sanctuary (yep, there’s definitely a conspiracy there). They have booming voices, and they will use them assertively. In fact, a crafty person with a booming voice will often butt in with his request as soon as the final verse of the song beforehand is over. If the music minister actually gets time to ask for another request, he will likely be met with a bombardment of booming voices all at the same time. Then he has to choose one booming voice to call on (if he’s clever, he’ll pretend like, in the confusion, he heard his favorite hymn and sing that).
The loud assertiveness of the booming voices are why we always end up singing “In The Garden,” “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” and “The Nail-Scarred Hand” (to mention a few) on every hymn request night at my church. These are all amazing songs, but so are the other 603 hymns in the hymnal. What the booming voice guy doesn’t realize is that anyone who has been a Sunday night service-goer for more than two years knows exactly which hymn he’s going to choose.
2. The person who can’t decide which hymn to request.
This is always my biggest problem. There are so many hymns that I love that we don’t sing very often, and I can never choose which one to pipe up and request. And by the time I do figure out which one I want to request (usually by taking a poll of the people sitting near me), the request time has been filled up with the favorite hymns of booming voices and the pastor is heading up to the pulpit to preach.
If you are indecisive like me, there is a two-step plan to still get your hymn sung every once in a while. Step 1: Make pre-service arrangements with the music minister that he will call on you. Don’t be afraid to use bribery (in the form of the latest Hillsong album). Step 2: Request such good hymns every time that everyone nods their heads in approval when he asks if you have a request before the booming voices have a chance to boom (“That young lady always chooses such beautiful hymns”).
3. The teenagers who don’t mind hymns, but can’t get over the silliness of hymn request night.
Most of them have grown up in church, so they enjoy (endure) the hymns and cherish (begrudgingly understand) their value. That doesn’t stop the guys from singing the bass parts loudly (obnoxiously) in the girls’ ears and the girls from giggling at the guys and not being able to stop. It also doesn’t stop them from threatening the music minister that they’re going to request Christmas carols or the responsive readings from the back of the hymnal.
Confession: Though I’m no longer a teenager, I may or may not have instigated the Christmas carol threats at our most recent hymn request night.
Question: Have you ever experienced a Hymn Request Night?
(For more great stuff from Laura, check out her blog or follow her on twitter.)
