February 19, 2012-Transfiguration Sunday

Feb 19 2012

Hymn: Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

Charles Wesley, who wrote well over 6,500 hymns, wrote the text for this hymn. It first appeared in three stanzas, under the title “Morning Hymn.” Methodist hymnologist Carlton Young writes, “The first stanza is alive with bright messianic metaphors for Christ, ‘The true light which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world,’ John 1:9; ‘Sun of Righteousness,’ Isaiah 2:6 and Malachi 4:2; and ‘Day-star,’ Isaiah 14:12 and 2 Peter 1:19. Stanza 2 describes the beginning of the day without Christ as dark and cheerless. Stanza 3 invites Christ, ‘Radiancy divine,’ to enter our lives.”

Hymn: Transform Us as You, Transfigured

Sylvia Dunstan wrote this Transfiguration text in 1993. It is full of imagery from Christ’s encounter with “those holy ones” on the mountain, and binds it with our own human experiences. The first two lines of each stanza refer to a part of the Transfiguration story; the next two begin to reveal humanity’s struggle, and the last two lines are requests for God’s direction.

Hymn: God of Grace and God of Glory

This hymn was written by Baptist minister Harry Emerson Fosdick for the opening of Riverside Church, New York City, in 1930. The hymn was sung at the dedication services in February 1931 and was published the following year. Paul Westermeyer writes, “Of this prayer for wisdom and courage in the face of warring madness, pride, selfish gladness, and poverty of soul, Fosdick said, ‘That was more than a hymn to me when we sang it that day—it was a very urgent personal prayer. For with all my hopeful enthusiasm about the new venture there was inevitably much humble and sometimes fearful apprehension.’” Fosdick sought to make the church ecumenical, serving the needs of different social classes and ethnic groups.

Gathering Song: Nimemwona Bwana

Michael Burkhardt juxtaposes a traditional Tanzanian call and response with a beloved hymn based on a seventeenth century German chorale tune. In this piece, we see how two different cultures’ vision of Christ can be brought together in one unified song.

Anthem: Let Everything that Hath Breath

Jeffery Ames writes of his piece: “Let Everything that Hath Breath is an exuberant celebration set within the traditional gospel style. For many decades traditional gospel music has been a vital component of praise and worship for African-Americans. Whether being performed in a neighborhood church or in a concert hall, gospel music fulfills its purpose to uplift the spirit and hearts of all who hear. The text within this piece is taken from several Psalms and seeks to ‘Magnify the Lord and exalt his name’ through the traditional gospel style.” 

February 12, 2012

Feb 12 2012

Hymn: I Danced in the Morning

LindaJo McKim writes, “This hymn was written by Syndey carter and has become his most famous song. It uses an American Shaker melody which is often sung to ‘’Tis a Gift to Be Simple.’ Carter adapted it and harmonized it for this text. SIMPLE GIFTS is a Shaker tune deriving from the Shaker movement, which originated during an English revival in 1747. The name “Shaker” came from the shaking that occurred during the stress of the spiritual exaltation the members experienced in their meetings. Aaron Copland famously set the tune in his “Appalachian Spring” orchestral suite.

Hymn: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

The English Baptist minister Robert Robinson wrote this hymn about 1758 and had it published a year later. Methodist hymnologist Carlton Young notes that hymn was originally four stanzas long, but, hymnal editors in the eighteenth century eliminated the final “apocalyptic climax,” a pattern which has been followed to present day. The fourth stanza reads as follows: “O that Day when freed from sinning, I shall see thy lovely Face;/Clothèd then in blood-washed Linnen [sic] How I’ll sing thy sovereign grace;/Come, my Lord, no longer tarry, Take my ransom’d Soul away; Send thine Angels now to carry/Me to realms of endless day.” In the hymn, it is helpful to know that “Ebenezer” means “Stone of Help,” as found in 1 Samuel 7:12, and a “fetter” is a kind of chain or manacle. The tune NETTLETON is an American folk hymn, named after the famous nineteenth-century evangelist, Ahasel Nettleton. Young writes, “The hymn’s strong evangelical themes and its singable and rousing tune have made this one of our most beloved hymns.”

Hymn: Here I Am, Lord

Daniel L. Schutte wrote the text and tune of this hymn in 1981 for a diaconate ordination. Paul Westermeyer writes, “It plays off the potency of Isaiah 6:8—“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’”—followed by God’s hard words, “Say this to the people: ‘Keep listening but do not comprehend.’” These potent and hard words are blunted in the latter part of the twentieth century by hymns like this that place the words of God in the congregation’s mouth. This is further complicated by the first-person pronoun in the refrain, where it no longer refers to God but to the singer.”

February 5, 2012

Feb 5 2012

Hymn: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

Henry van Dyke wrote this hymn in 1907, and from the outset intended that it be sung to the famous tune from the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Dr. van Dyke wrote of his hymn writing, “These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time, hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore these are hymns of trust and joy and hope.”

Hymn: As Those of Old Their Firstfruits Brought

The text was written in 1960 by Frank von Christierson and published in Ten New Stewardship Hymns by the Hymn Society of America in 1961. Christierson wrote of his concern for stewardship, “because I am deeply concerned about missions and the outreach of the church to ‘all the world,’ also because stewardship is a very important phase of the Christian life.’” This is the first of two hymns we’ll sing to tunes with roots in British folk music. FOREST GREEN was originally the melody for the English folk song “The Plowboy’s Dream” and was arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams for The English Hymnal (1906) as the setting for “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” United Methodist hymnologist Carlton Young notes the tune’s simple form (AABA) and simple, attractive melody help to make it one of the “sturdiest” in hymnody.

Hymn: Lord, Speak to Me

The text for this hymn was written by Frances Ridley Havergal, who also wrote “Take my life and let it be.” It was first published with the title “A worker’s prayer. ‘None of us liveth to himself.’ Romans 14:7.” The hymn tune CANONBURY is an arrangement of Robert Schumann’s piano work “Nachtstücke [Night Pieces] in F, Opus 23, No. 4” (1839). Schumann said, “I used to rack my brains for a long time, but now I often feel as if I could go playing straight on without ever coming to an end.”

Anthem: Prayer of St. Francis

The “Prayer of St. Francis” is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic friar and preacher who founded the Franciscan Order. The prayer has been known in the United States since 1929, when Cardinal Francis Spellman and Senator Albert Hawkes distributed millions of copies of the prayer during and just after World War II. The prayer is well known throughout the world; Archbishop Desmond Tutu declared that it was “an integral part” of his devotions, and it has been set to music many times over.

January 29, 2012

Jan 29 2012

Hymn: Praise, My Soul, the God of Heaven

This text is an altered form of Henry Lyte’s “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.” The Ecumenical Women’s Center of Chicago Theological Seminary made the alteration to more inclusive language in 1974. Henry Francis Lyte’s original text is a paraphrase of Psalm 103.

Hymn: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

LindaJo McKim writes, “William Williams, known as the ‘Sweet Singer of Wales’ and ‘the Isaac Watts of Wales’ wrote this text, full of biblical imagery in 1745.” A minister, Williams’ original title for the hymn was “A Prayer for Strength to go through the Wilderness of the World.” Alan Luff, a Welsh hymnody scholar, comments on the world of Williams: “[it] is a mixture of his own Wales and the land of the Bible. So a preaching journey can become both the toiling of the Israelites through the wilderness and Everyman’s pilgrimage through life to the eternal home. The best known of his hymns in English, ‘Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,’ shows the truth of this; in it we are the Israelites seeking food and water in the wilderness and at the end we are passing through the waters of the Jordan to reach final safety on the other side.” Carlton Young notes that “the hymn draws upon strong biblical metaphors, especially from Exodus 13 and 16: ‘manna,’ ‘crystal fountain,’ ‘fire and cloudy pillar,’ ‘crossing the river Jordan to Canaan’s side.’

Hymn: Called as Partners in Christ’s Service

This hymn was written by Jane Parker Huber in 1981 for the Women’s Breakfast at the General Assemblies of the PCUSA and the Presbyterian Church U.S. LindaJo McKim notes, “The partnership of women and men in the church was on the author’s mind as she penned these words. She was thinking of the fiftieth anniversary of the ordination of women as elders [in 1980] and the twenty-fifth anniversary of women ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament. Today, the concept of partnership has broadened to include people graduating from seminary, those planning ordination and installation services, couples planning their marriage, and clergy couples serving the same congregation.”

10:55 Expressing the Faith: Ashley Hall-“Selah”

The following comes from Ashley Hall, writing on the meaning behind her song and how she came to write it: The word “Selah” is a Hebrew word often used in the Old Testament Psalms. The word itself is translated to mean “to ponder or to think about it.” Selah is also thought to have a musical meaning, to denote a break in a song and as such is similar in purpose to “Amen,” in that it stresses the importance of the preceding passage. I wrote my song as a spoken thought to God or a prayer of sorts. Everyone has things they have gone through or are going through, but that doesn’t mean we go through them alone. God is always there to comfort and guide us, even when we can’t see how. The point of the song is to ‘ponder’ or reflect on the things you’ve been through, but also to ultimately push past those things and just know God is in control. I hope the song blesses you, as it has blessed me many times over and continues to do so every time I sing it. Selah.