The Porter's Gate Worship Collective

This week, I spotted an interesting song by The Porter's Gate - and of course wondered who they are.

Some answer here:    https://artandtheology.org/2020/09/12/songs-of-lament-and-justice-by-the-porters-gate/

An American worship collective, which put Covid-time to good use.  No info about denominational links.  But the song-themes, and the language they use suggest a solid theological background, a social-justice mindset, and facility with the English language.   And they tackle the difficult questions - O Sacred Neck.

Songs I've heard so far seem to be more small group performance pieces than congregational.  No bad thing if used correctly - but it can make e it difficult to become well known:  there are phrases here which stick in the mind, but will entire songs stay in the lips and heart?

https://www.theportersgate.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theportersgate
https://twitter.com/Theportersgate
https://www.instagram.com/theportersgate/

Slightly Improper!

A good explanation here of where the Propers texts came from, and why they're not really so key in selecting music - especially if you're trying to establish a well-know repertoire:

https://www.praytellblog.com/index.php/2022/07/30/can-we-sing-just-anything-at-mass/

Everyone needs frequent confession? Or is it repentance that they need?

I ran across this article while researching a hymn that someone mis-heard the lyrics of:

Proud to Be Humble: Confession Is Not Always the Answer

I'm going to quote a small part:

I fear by insisting for so long on going to Confession as a pious duty and almost a goal in itself, we have created a sick spirituality that fosters the worst form of religious pride – the exact opposite of what repentance and Confession are meant to lead us to.

It is not more frequent confession we should be encouraging, but “a contrite and humbled heart”

IMHO, it's not only an Orthodox thing.   And is a message that OLPs (ordinary lay people) need to focus on:  the sacramental icing on the cake is a nice thing to have, the real work comes on yourself beforehand.