October 30, 2011

8:30 Worship Service

I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art

The last Sunday in October is traditionally celebrated as Reformation Sunday; thus, we’re singing a hymn traditionally attributed to John Calvin, one of the most important Reformation theologians. Calvin was a strong proponent of singing the Psalms (and very little else) in worship; this hymn and its tune comes from two separate Psalters. Psalters are songbooks in which the Psalms are set to metrical tunes so the congregation can more easily sing them (decently and in order!). Singing the Psalms is an important part of Presbyterian worship, and is even more emphasized in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. 

To God Be the Glory

Fanny Crosby wrote this hymn for children and titled it, “Praise for Redemption.” It was published in an 1875 hymnal and long forgotten until 1954. In that year, someone suggested the hymn to Cliff Barrows to be used during the Billy Graham Greater London Crusade. It soon became a favorite of the crusade and was used at the 1954 Nashville Crusade. This particular hymn is different from other Crosby works in that it takes a more objective, distant point of view rather than a subjective, personal nature.

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Written in 1529 by Martin Luther, this hymn is based on Psalm 46 and soon became the rallying cry of the Protestant Reformation. Luther had it sung every day at his church in Coburg, Bavaria.  Along with John Calvin, Luther is considered a pillar of the Protestant Reformation, and is lauded by church musicians for his emphasis on music in worship, as well as his excellent hymn writing.

10:55 Worship Service

Gathering Song/Congregational Response: To God Be the Glory

Fanny Crosby wrote this hymn for children and titled it, “Praise for Redemption.” It was published in an 1875 hymnal and long forgotten until 1954. In that year, someone suggested the hymn to Cliff Barrows to be used during the Billy Graham Greater London Crusade. It soon became a favorite of the crusade and was used at the 1954 Nashville Crusade. This particular hymn is different from other Crosby works in that it takes a more objective, distant point of view rather than a subjective, personal nature.

Offertory Anthem: Offertory

This piece was originally written by John Ness Beck as a vocal solo, and was later rearranged as a choral work by adding alto, tenor, and bass parts to it. The sopranos carry the melody throughout while the other voices support the melody with their own part. It sets the text of Micah 6:6-8, outlining what the Lord requires of us in both our daily living and devotion.

I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art

The last Sunday in October is traditionally celebrated as Reformation Sunday; thus, we’re singing a hymn traditionally attributed to John Calvin, one of the most important Reformation theologians. Calvin was a strong proponent of singing the Psalms (and very little else) in worship; this hymn and its tune comes from two separate Psalters. Psalters are songbooks in which the Psalms are set to metrical tunes so the congregation can more easily sing them (decently and in order!). Singing the Psalms is an important part of Presbyterian worship, and is even more emphasized in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. 

Lord of Light, Your Name Outshining

The Congregational (English) minister Howell Elvet Lewis wrote this hymn in 1916. Lindajo McKim notes, “It was written to declare that ‘in doing God’s will, active co-operation is as much needed as humble resignation.’” As we observe extravagant generosity today, let the refrain of this hymn speak to your hearts and minds: Abba, as in highest heaven, so on earth your will be done.

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Written in 1529 by Martin Luther, this hymn is based on Psalm 46 and soon became the rallying cry of the Protestant Reformation. Luther had it sung every day at his church in Coburg, Bavaria.  Along with John Calvin, Luther is considered a pillar of the Protestant Reformation, and is lauded by church musicians for his emphasis on music in worship, as well as his excellent hymn writing.

October 23, 2011

8:30 Opening Hymn: Just as I Am, Without One Plea

The Englishwoman Charlotte Elliott wrote “Just as I Am, Without One Plea” in 1834. She became a permanent invalid in 1821 when she fell seriously ill. Upon writing the hymn, Elliott had it published in the second edition of The Invalid’s Hymn Book (1836). Her inspiration came from a remark made by a Genevan evangelist, Cesar Malan, who said to her, “Come as you are, a sinner, to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.”

Hymn Response: In Christ There Is No East or West

Much like “Jesus Loves Me,” the hymn “In Christ There Is No East or West” finds its origins in theater. It was originally part of The Pageant of Darkness and Light, written by William Dunkerley under the pseudonym of John Oxenham for the London Missionary Society exhibition on the Orient in 1908. The text thusly reflects the theme of the play: “one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth.”

Closing Hymn: Arise, Your Light Is Come!

“Arise, Your Light Is Come!” by Ruth Duck was originally intended to be an updated, inclusive-language adaptation of “Rise Up, O Men of God.” However, says Duck, “this new hymn text came to me, as if the new wine of the faith I wanted to express would not fit into the old wineskin of the earlier text.” Much like our other hymns today, this one exhorts Christians to go out into the world, making Christ’s name known both in our words and our actions.

10:55 Gathering Song: I'm Gonna Live So God Can Use Me

“I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me” is an African-American spiritual which affirms our reaction to the gospel call. The song uses word-substitution for each stanza (“I’m gonna live, work, pray, sing, etc…”) to further encompass our actions as inspired by the Spirit when we accept our call to work for the gospel. Wendell Whalum, the arranger of this spiritual, was a noted author and conductor and served as head of Morehouse College’s music department, where he also conducted the glee club. He was the first African-American to serve as a choral clinician at the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Worship and Music Conference in Montreat, North Carolina.

10:55 Opening Hymn: Praise With Joy the World's Creator

John Bell and Graham Maule of the Iona Community in Scotland wrote “Praise With Joy the World’s Creator.” Iona is a small island on the western coast of the country and has been, at different times, a home for an Irish monastery, a tourist destination, and a host for religious retreats. As with many of their texts, this hymn engages the visual and contemplative parts of the mind with its imagery and direct tone. Paul Richardson writes that such texts “hold in dynamic tension the signs of compassion that are palpable alongside those that point to the unseen.”

10:55 Anthem: God Has Called Us

The text for “God Has Called Us” uses a somewhat similar word-substitution device to “I’m Gonna Live,” in that each stanza begins with a different action, which God has done: called, changed, and charged. Again, like this morning’s spiritual, this anthem shows the different ways in which we are to respond to God’s call to work in the world. Susan Palo Cherwien, a Lutheran hymn writer who has published several volumes of poems and other reflections on scripture, penned this text. The Lutheran hymnologist Paul Westermeyer wrote of Cherwien’s writing: “Depth of reflection are present in her hymns, which…are substantively crafted and congregational—they are transparent at first singing but bear repetition well.” Robert Hobby is an active church musician and composer, currently serving at Trinity English Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

October 16, 2011

"Come, Christians, Join to Sing" was written by Christian Henry Bateman and was published in several children's songbooks. In fact, the first line of the hymn originally read, "Come, children, join to sing." The line was changed in The Hymnal (1933), an early Presbyterian (USA) hymnal, to make the hymn available to all age groups. The tune MADRID is also called SPANISH HYMN or CHANT, as its origins are found in a popular Spanish folk melody. The tune is easily sung, with the first, second, and fourth lines all being identical, and the third line having two repeated phrases. The language is clear and simple, making it easy for children and adults alike to sing it with understanding. It is easy to see why this hymn and tune were matched together to be included in children's hymnals.

"This Is My Father's World" has Presbyterian fingerprints all over it. Maltbie Babcock attended New York's Auburn Theological Seminary and was ordained to the Presbyterian ministry. His original poem, from which this hymn comes, was sixteen stanzas long, praising God for the wonder of creation. TERRA BEATA, translated "blessed earth," reflects the hymn's intent to laud the greatness of the Lord's work.

"Jesus Loves Me!" is another hymn written specifically with the faith of children in mind. In The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion, author Lindajo McKim writes this:

"The text was written by Anna Bartlett Warner for her novel Say and Seal (c. 1859). The main characters of the novel were a dying child Johnny Fax, his Sunday school teacher John Linden, and Linden's fiancee, Faith Derrick. Toward the end of the book, Linden carries the child and sings to him what has now become the familiar children's hymn." The musical setting for the text was provided by William Bradbury, a pupil of Lowell Mason, and an organist who held annual children's music festivals.

Presbyterian Hymnal Project

As many of you are probably aware, The Presbyterian Hymnal (1990) is entering its third decade of use in churches around the world. In an effort to bring congregational song into the present, the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song (PCOCS, or, "peacocks") was formed to begin exploring a new hymnal for the Presbyterian Church (USA). A new hymnal has been produced about every twenty years since 1933 (1955, 1972, 1990), so we're on target for a new worship book. You might be asking "Why do we need a new hymnal?" The FAQ page for the PCOCS can answer that:

The call to "sing to the Lord a new song" resounds through the Bible. In every generation, the people of God are called to claim their song, to bear witness to the new thing that God is doing in the world here and now. It might be helpful to think of the hymnal not as a product but as a process of discerning what the Spirit is saying to the church today. Our next hymnal will make available a great wealth of new hymns and spiritual songs that have been created since the 1990 hymnal was published. It will also give an opportunity to acquaint worshipers with wonderful resources from Christian communities around the world, and it will give us a chance to review again the great heritage of congregational songs and make sure our roots run deep. A new hymnal will help to articulate and preserve the distinctive elements of Reformed theology and liturgy, while shaping and nurturing the faith and worship of a new generation of Presbyterians.


The full FAQ page can be found here: http://presbyterianhymnal.org/faq.html


I hope you will take the time to read the information available to you as we move closer to a new denominational worship book. 

October 9, 2011

          “Praise Ye the Lord” is an adaptation of Psalm 150 (one of today’s scriptures) and was written by J. Jefferson Cleveland in 1981. Cleveland was an editor of several United Methodist collections and was also an expert in African-American music. This song is an example of that expertise.

            “When In Our Music” is actually titled, “Let the people sing!” and was written by the English hymn writer Fred Pratt Green. Green has been called “the twentieth-century hymn writing version of Charles Wesley” by the esteemed hymnologist Paul Westermeyer, and has been credited with starting the twentieth century’s hymn explosion. The original text of the first line of the hymn read, “When in man’s music God is glorified,” with the author intending only to employ alliteration, and not promote sexism. The text exemplifies the potential for extravagant worship through music, particularly in the final stanza, which is a paraphrase of Psalm 150. The fourth stanza in our anthem setting has been omitted from The Presbyterian Hymnal, but follows below:

And did not Jesus sing a Psalm that night

when utmost evil strove against the light?

Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight:

Alleluia!

            "Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty" is based on Psalm 103:1-6 and Psalm 150. It was translated from the original German  by Catherine Winkworth, a foremost translator of German hymns during the nineteenth century in England. Joachim Neander, who penned the German text, wrote around sixty hymns, making him one of the more prolific Calvinist hymn writers. Lutheran composer and conductor F. Melius Christiansen, the first conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, arranged the hymn in an anthem setting that is still widely used today. A performance of the piece by the Luther College Nordic Choir can be found here:

         

Nearly every hymn or song we will hear today incorporates the text of Psalm 150 in some way, and "Praise the Lord, God's Glories Show" is no different. Much like "When In Our Music," this hymn uses "Alleluias" in each stanza to proclaim God's praise when other words fall short.


Our final hymn today is Shirley Erena Murray’s “For the Music of Creation.” It was originally written for a 1988 arts festival in New Zealand. The text praises God for the gift of music, and for the ability to use music to communicate with the creator and “composer” of the world.