Music and Rituals

I’ve had many musical experiences with ‘rituals.’ My faith is a huge part of my life and who I am today. I’ve been going to church since I was a little girl, and something about being in the presence of God is so powerful that it brings me to my knees sometimes. In His presence, I’ve found peace, joy, comfort, and answers to my many questions. Growing up in church, I had to do many plays and participate in different dances for certain events and holiday services. (Here is a silly little dance I did when I was 10 for our Youth Sunday. At the moment, I wasn’t having fun, but looking back on it, I just can’t stop looking at how cute we all looked 15:09-21:06 ;) 

Anytime we have a praise and worship night, whether it’s through FCA or just one we found through NewSpring (our church), there’s always great music and food! It’s always such a good time because everyone is there to worship the Lord, it’s a ‘No-judgement Zone,’ and the amount of new people that I’ve met in the past 3 months alone is incredible. 

This song is 'I Thank God,' and it's so fire. Anytime it comes, we all rush to the front and dance to the chorus. It's so much fun, and you can bet this will be played at almost any FCA Worship Night.

Besides church, I remember some of the music played at my Pre-K and Kindergarten graduation or ‘jubilation.’ If I remember correctly, I think one of the songs that was played was “Pomp and Circumstance,” and singing the national anthem. These are both good examples of rituals because they are widely known, and everyone knows these songs. Even though it was a pre-k graduation, it added to the ceremony part and represented the transition we all made from Pre-K or Kindergarten to ‘big kid school,’ as 5-year-old Angela would call it. 

One last example of music in rituals I can think of was this past summer when one of my classmates unfortunately passed away, and I attended his funeral. This was the first funeral I’d ever been to. I didn’t stay for the whole service, but for the time that I was there, his family played some of his favorite songs and other songs about a friend passing away (some of the songs were specific about being forever young). The room was honestly just so heavy, no words can even explain what it was like.  To know him was to love him, and he left an impact on all of our lives. 

I think 3 things can bring people together; tragedy, sports, and music. No matter who you are or what you do, music can bring two people from completely different backgrounds and bring them together. Music played at these rituals provides people comfort and joy and can just be fun. That’s what’s so beautiful about music; it’s a universal language.