Overheard Hymns: a creative practice
Have you ever stopped to listen to your neighborhood?
Communal songs were used to relate to God in the Bible, not just in the timeless Psalms, but particularly situated in actions, times, and people. For example, Exodus 15 shows two different songs of praise sung by groups in immediate response to God’s deliverance through the Sea; Exodus 35:25 describes particular songs of lament in response to the death of a good king, composed to reflect and preserve the community’s grief; Song of Songs expresses a particular longing for intimacy which resonates beyond its moment as metaphor.
Praise, longing, and lament: to my eyes, these seem like the three ways people relate to God.
Which is the cry of your neighbors?
Overheard Hymns is a creative practice I developed and shared with some writers in different parts of the city and beyond. I have detailed worksheets written up (if you want them, just ask) but the crux of the idea is simple:
Listen. Take a walk around your neighborhood and tune in and write down all the sounds and words you hear - as much as possible!
Ask God what aspects of the walk he wanted to reveal to you as you look over your notes. Look for connections.
Decide: Is there a primary thread of praise, longing, or lament? (For example, most of what I heard was a car failing to start, which turned into a metaphor in a hymn of lament)
Try to organize your observations to match the rhyme and meter of an existing hymn you’re familiar with. Hymns historically borrow tunes in this fashion all the time. Mine ended up being organized according to the tune and rhyme pattern of Amazing Grace!
Prayerfully sing your hymn over your neighborhood and allow it to move your heart with compassion for your neighbors. Identify with them and their heart towards God, and ask God if there’s more he wants to say to you or some action he would have you take.
Psalm 148 makes clear that everything—people, angels, animals, hills—is made to noisily reflect its relationship to God. (So, in a different way, does Romans 8:22 or Lamentations.) Let God speak to you through the people and things he’s placed around you.
Here’s my final product, if you’re curious! A hymn for Astoria.
