I grew up in mainline Protestant churches where we sang all the verses of three hymns and the doxology every Sunday. Those melodies and words are indelibly etched in my brain. So is the theology embedded in those hymns. I got to the point about 15 years ago where the theology of the familiar hymns was jarring to me instead of uplifting. I didn't want to sing about "loosening the fateful lightning of this terrible swift sword" (Julia Ward Howe, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," 1861) or "Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne" (Matthew Bridges, 1851). For a while I tried to ignore the words, and then I gave up attending services altogether. It was just too much work.

I can understand why young people reject traditional Christian worship with traditional Christian hymns and the theology they teach. I can also understand why people who grew up with those hymns often have a sentimental attachment to them and refuse to abandon them even though they no longer believe in the theology embedded in those hymns. Some mainline Protestant denominations publish updated hymnals with hymns that teach about service and peace. I have no idea how widely these hymnals are used.

The Garden's use of secular music in their services has been a blessing to me. The theology of the secular music our music director, Doran Nash, selects focuses on the power of love to transform our relationships and our everyday lives. What could be better than these lyrics: "I hope, for more love, more joy and laughter. I hope, we'll have more than we'll ever need"? These words are from from "I Hope" (written by Emily Robinson, Kevin R. Moore, Martha Maguire, and Natalie Maines, and sung by Kimberly Morgan on April 12, 2026 at The Garden). This is a theology I can carry with me and live into.

Right after the April 12th service, I stumbled across my copy of John Philip Newell's Praying with the Earth. There was a companion CD, Chanting for Peace, tucked in beside the book. It seemed like the right thing to make the prayer book and the CD my daily devotional for the week.

Here's a sample of the prayers I have been reading each morning and evening this week:

For the freshness of this new day

thanks be to you, O God.

For morning’s gift of clarity,

its light like the first day’s dawn

thanks be to you.

In this newborn light

let us see afresh.

In this gateway onto what has never been before

let our soul breathe hope

for the earth

for the creatures

for the human family.

Let our soul breathe hope.

(John Philip Newell, Praying with the Earth: A Prayerbook for Peace, Eerdmans, 2011)

As I read the prayers and listened to the chants each morning and evening, I was struck by the power of the lyrics based on Christian, Hebrew, and Muslim texts: "Whichever way you turn, there is the face of God" or "Teach me your way, O God, that I may walk in your truth" or "For every soul, there is a guardian, watching, watching" (J. Philip Newell, Chanting for Peace, 2010). What would my life be like if I had grown up singing these chants with their theology of love and support?