RALEIGH -- Christ the King Presbyterian Church might seem an unlikely congregation to undertake an intensive 15-week focus on the Book of Psalms. The contemporary-style church meets in the Underwood Elementary School gym and attracts a young, casually dressed crowd.
Yet this nine-year-old congregation is reaching deep into the ancient treasures of the Bible to find inspiration for its music, sermons and private devotions.
The church, with about 150 members, won a grant that has allowed it to delve into 15 sacred poems known as the Psalms of Ascent. Sung by the people of Israel, including Jesus, these psalms have mostly been jettisoned by contemporary Protestants in favor of modern praise songs with titles such as "Come" and "First Love."
Sunday's service focused on Psalm 130 - "Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord." The worship guide handed out featured a reproduction of an abstract painting devoted to Psalm 130. One of the songs included an original tune composed to the psalm's eight verses. And the sermon, given by the Rev. Elliot Grudem, focused on the psalm's theological underpinnings.
When church members met later in the week for their weekly small group sessions, they revisited Psalm 130. A journal given to every worshipper allows participants to jot their thoughts about it.
"We're exploring how this ancient text can have real meaningful applications to our lives today," said Grudem, senior minister. "They help us deal with the day-to-day of life and the hope God promises his children."
The idea for the series came from Bruce Benedict, the congregation's worship director, who was casting about for lyrics to his originally composed songs. The Book of Psalms, a collection of 150 sacred poems, seemed like a logical starting point. But he wasn't very familiar with the book.
"The Psalms is a big book, very intimidating and foreign," Benedict said.
But the Psalms of Ascent, a compact unit of shorter psalms within the larger book, seemed like a good introduction. The psalms - 120 to 134 - are typically eight verses long and feature some well-known verses such as "I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where does my help come?" (Psalm 121:1).
So Benedict applied for a grant from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship in Grand Rapids, Mich., to study the psalms in greater depth. Last year, the church won a $10,000 grant that allowed it to bring in scholars, commission composers and produce journals for the congregation. The church began its psalms worship emphasis in the fall. It will complete the study on Palm Sunday.
So far, the grant has allowed Benedict to commission nine musicians to write 13 original pieces of music based on the Psalms of Ascent.
Sometimes known as the Pilgrim Psalms, the 15 songs were sung by the people of Israel as they made their three yearly pilgrimages to Jerusalem - at Passover; 50 days later, during the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot; and in the fall for the Feast of Booths, or Sukkot. The psalms express a range of emotions, including lament, repentance, praise and thanksgiving.
They might have been accompanied by lute or harp, though there are no remaining records of the melodies.
A rich well
Members of Christ the King said Jesus likely would have known these psalms and sung them with his family as they journeyed to Jerusalem. Jesus might have sung them on his last trip to Jerusalem for the Passover and a few days later on his way to Golgotha where he was crucified.
"We were excited when we mapped it out and saw how it fit with the church calendar," Grudem said.
While Christians in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions make regular use of the psalms in church readings and recitations, the verses have often been neglected in contemporary Protestant settings.
"The psalms provide a very rich, deep well of forms and topics to be used in Christian worship," said Scott Redd, an assistant professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Fla., who spoke to the church last summer about the psalms. "And yet it seems as if Christians don't take advantage of that wealth."
Church members said they've enjoyed the focus, especially because it encompasses more than just the sermon.
"It's nice to have something you see in more than one context," said Won-Jung Hong of Raleigh, a church member. Hong said her two children were given kids journals so they, too, could follow the adults in their study of the psalms.
Doreen Muema, who has not yet joined the church, said that appreciating the psalms as songs and poetry deepened her experience.
"Scripture is not something you read and walk away from," she said. "It's a way of life."
