> I wonder if we need to go to other traditions
> to find what we want to say. I wonder if we
> can't find it somewhere in one of our own texts.

It's an important point, but I think that the answer might lie (as it often does) in moderation. Especially (but not exclusively) in a camp/youth setting, which is so experimental, I think it's great to try to find our liturgical themes in other, non-Jewish sources. It offers a new perspective on our prayers, and can help those who have trouble connecting with our own tradition to do so. But, balance is the key - we certainly have rich tradition, and I would argue that that tradition has to be the centerpiece of our prayers. The other material makes a lovely spice.

Rabbi Roseberg, moderation indeed! I completly agree. I think that in the case of NFTY and the camps, you're right that experimentation is commonplace and encouraged and that's fine. What's not fine with me is mixing things up for the sake of mixing things up. When you do something in services that is outside of the communal norm, there should be a reason. If the point of a particular camp service is interfaight dialogue and you want to include Christian and Muslim readings, that's great! But just throwing it into the service doesn't make sense.

M.B., in the comments here and on the original post at my blog and on iWorship, a recurring theme has always been, "Well, we've always done that." Well, we've also always segregated women and men in service, but we in the Reform movment have put an end to that. "We've always done it" only works when we all agree that that it's a good thing to keep doing.

I'm not saying that it's good or bad, I'm just trying to have the conversation.

I bristle at the notion of Contemporary Christian lyrics in a Jewish service (or even singing "Adon Olam" to "Deck the Halls"), but I can appreciate the exploration of whether familiar music that feels right in some way might complement or clash with some aspect of Torah or liturgy.

Listening to the new Perishers album after reading this blog post reminded me of a time we talked about whether "Let There Be Morning" might be appropriate at Yotzer Or. Seems like a valid way to examine the values in secular music. If you decide against it, then you've refined your position a bit. But if it works, then you've integrated parts of your world together, and that seems satisfying, too.

The words may be harmless, but when the tune is from a Christian song a person will associate it with that song, and with that religious practice. Over the years I have come to privately refer to we Reform Jews as "Jew Lite", we seem to compromise too often. There are an abundance of beautiful, meaningful, charming, happy, Jewish tunes and songs, we need to use these. Our children are too quick to learn/think "it doesn't matter", we need to help them know it does matter when it comes to worship.

Ms. Helms says "when the tune is from a Christian song a person will associate it with that song, and with that religious practice."

But what if a person doesn't know that the tune is from a Christian source, and hears it for the first time in a Jewish context? Won't the association then be strictly Jewish? Having sung Maoz Tzur in its traditional melody since childhood, shall I now stop since I've learned that the music source was a Martin Luther hymn?

I'm sorry that Ms. Helms thinks of us Reform Jews as compromisers, rather than as pragmatists and as realists. We take the best from the world around us and adapt it to our purposes. We not only distinguish between the sacred and the secular, but we seek ways to make the secular sacred. What's wrong with that?