DRUMMING FOR WORSHIP - DRUMMING IN CHURCH

Written by Greg Whitt Thursday, 02 July 2009 00:00

Ever been to rhythm church? 

Want to?  Come to an attunement circle!  Make the music, follow your bliss, and unleash the spirit within you!

This entry is from a collection of articles originally published as Soundings on the Raleigh Drum Circle Yahoo Group.... February 2005

I'm always interested to hear how drumming is used for worship.

Organized religion played a large part in quashing drumming from the cultures of slaves brought to the Americas from Africa, so it's fascinating to see that churches (Contemporary Christian in particular) are now embracing drumming. Here's a neat article on how a particular church is incorporating African drumming into their worship service. From what I understand this is not so uncommon in Unitarian services, but much less prevalent in any mainstream church. The article quotes Greg Scheer, a choral composer and director of music ministries at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa: "Inherent in much of the music of Africa are the cultural values of community, a cyclic understanding of time, and a connectedness to the earth. When a Western congregation uses African drumming and worship music, I think it helps us take on those values even if only momentarily. The more we do that, the more we're able to love God and others beyond the confines of our own culture. "

"Also, the line between musician/leader and congregation is blurred in African culture. In songs accompanied by hand drums, we all play a significant role in music making and worship, regardless of which side of the drum we're on," Scheer says. Drum Circle facilitation guru Arthur Hull talks about being a "rhythmic evangelist" and attending "Rhythm Church", the idea being that we use the drum for centering ourselves, joining hearts with our fellow drummers, embracing positive energy, and using drumming (both personal and group) as a spiritual exercise. His mentor, Babatunde Olatunji also talked about unity thru drumming and holding "rhythm church". There is now even a drumming organization with this particular focus: Psalm Drummers.

So, what's my point? I guess just that drumming isn't just for Pagans or Hippies or New Agers, nor just for those wanting to connect with the Motherland or some other ethnic heritage. Christians are now drumming, too. No small surprise, I guess, since drumming is ripe with spirituality and is a vehicle for connecting Mind, Body, & Spirit, regardless of whether that spirit is Christian, Wiccan, Voodoun, Yoruban, or something else. It's about the human spirit, I suppose, and how that spirit connects with something bigger than ourselves.