There's a hymnal app on iTunes. Yep, an app. For hymnals. GIA (the Gregorian Institute of America) has produced something that has me entirely a'twitter.
According to the description, you can search, schedule, project, skim, etc...And the app gets you access to all the GIA hymnals. All of 'em. It's a money-saver for professional church musicians. I'll certainly avail myself of it.
I posted the link on Facebook and started an interesting conversation about the use of the tablet computer in worship. They are expensive individually. Some suggest that the book is more "spiritual," it's tactile nature being more "grounding" than the sleek technologial lines of a tablet computer. I suggested that many people have invested in their own tablet computers...like many people have their own Bibles and bring them to church. If my congregation's hymnal were available as an app, I'd use it again and again.
There's a lot to consider. Will updated editions be free? Cheap? Perhaps. Should congregations provide tablets? Likely not, but encouraging members of congregations to get the app or exploring the possibility of group subscriptions could be great. What would it mean for music literacy and devotional practices if people carried their hymnals with them?
I'd love your thoughts.
Is it relevant to be hip? Here's an interesting conversation from WBEZ.
Brown argues that adding a coffee shop or rock music to a religious service doesn't make it "hip". It just means that the Church is practicing worship the right way. Brown says that services have always been about community, gathering with people who share tenets of your faith -- and those who question it -- to learn more and worship together. So, calling it "hip" doesn't exactly make it "hip." It makes it right.
