March 25, 2012: The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Mar 25 2012

Hymn: In the Cross of Christ I Glory

This hymn is loosely based on Galatians 6:14 (May I never boast except in the cross of Christ) and is the best known of John Bowring’s hymns. The first line of the hymn is inscribed on his tombstone. The tune RATHBUN has an interesting story: One Sunday in 1849 at Central Baptist Church in Norwich, Connecticut, the pastor was preaching a series on “Words on the Cross” and used the hymn to what might be termed a forgettable tune. There was bad weather that day, and only one choir member showed up for the service. In his disappointment, Ithamar Conkey, the choir director, went home and composed a new tune, dedicating it to the soprano who faithfully showed up, Mrs. Beriah S. Rathbun.

Hymn: The Church’s One Foundation

The text of this hymn was penned in response to the Colenso affair (1866), in which a South African bishop made critical statements about the Bible and questioned aspects of the Christian faith. Samuel John Stone responded by writing this hymn; the third stanza is a direct reference to this affair.

Hymn: In Christ There Is No East or West

William Arthur Dunkerley wrote this hymn under the pseudonym John Oxenham for a “Pageant of Light and Darkness.”  The event was part of the London Missionary Society Exhibition called “The Orient in London” in 1908. Paul Westermeyer writes that the hymn poses Christ as the light in whom the directional distinctions disappear. Oxenham’s poetry particularly emphasizes the color gold, and it is reflected in the hymn’s reference to Christ’s “service” as the “golden cord” binding humanity.

8:30 Anthem: I Want Jesus to Walk With Me

LindaJo McKim writes, “The words of this African-American spiritual indicate that slaves viewed life as a pilgrimage from bondage into the Promised Land. They identified strongly with Jesus, who, born on the fringe of society, became the burden bearer of the downtrodden and oppressed. The spiritual demonstrates that Jesus is the only one able to walk with the pilgrim through all the trials and troubles of life.”

10:55 Anthem: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say

The author of this text, Horatius Bonar, published his hymn under the title “The Voice from Galilee.” The hymn spins off from John 1:16, “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” Paul Westermeyer writes, “Each stanza is Jesus’ call in the first two lines and our response in the last two, expressing the shalom that Jesus brings.” Thomas Tallis, sometimes called the “father of English church music,” wrote the tune for this piece; the tune was used for a metrical Psalter published in 1567 and originally employed as the setting for Psalm 2. The English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’ famous piece Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis employs this tune.

March 18, 2012: The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Mar 18 2012

Gathering Song/Response: Precious Lord, Take My Hand

            “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” is a song borne out of tragedy. Thomas Dorsey was living in Chicago in 1932 with his wife Nettie, as they expected their first child. Dorsey traveled to St. Louis to sing at a revival meeting for several nights; the day after he arrived, a Western Union messenger boy delivered a telegram bearing the news that Nettie had just died. When he returned to Chicago, Dorsey was told that his wife had given birth to a boy, but that the child had also died. Stricken by grief, Dorsey was carried away by a friend to a quiet place. Dorsey’s account follows:

            “I sat down at the piano, and my hands began to browse over the keys. Something happened to me. I felt at peace. I felt as though I could reach out and touch God. I found myself playing a melody, one I’d never heard or played before, and the words that came into my head—they just seemed to fall into place.”

            The words were “Precious Lord, take my hand.”

Hymn: Our God, Our Help in Ages Past

Isaac Watts wrote this hymn as a metrical version of Psalm 90:1-5, and had it published under the title “Man Frail, and God Eternal.” John Julian, a famous musicologist, once wrote that the hymn is “undoubtedly one of [Watts’] finest compositions and his best paraphrase.” It serves to remind us of the strength and assurance God has provided to us in the past, and that which God will provide in the future.

Hymn: Lord, When I Came Into This Life

Dr. Fred Kaan wrote this hymn in 1976 for the confirmation of his son, Peter. The hymn was written to represent Dr. Kaan at the confirmation service since he was unable to attend the service. The present form of the hymn uses the alternative stanza 1. The original first stanza read, “You called me, Father, by my name/when I had still no say;/today you call me to confirm/the vows my parents made.”

Anthem: Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy

 Originally in seven, six-line stanzas, this hymn from Joseph Hart’s 1759 collection was entitled "Come, and Welcome, to Jesus Christ," beginning with the words, "Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched." The hymn has autobiographical overtones. Raised in a Christian home, Joseph Hart left the faith and for a time lived a life he described as "carnal and spiritual wickedness, irreligious and profane." He was converted in 1757 at a Moravian chapel in London. From 1759 until his death he served as pastor of the independent chapel on Jewin Street, London, where he preached staunchly Calvinistic sermons to large crowds. Hart's approximately two hundred hymns were published as Hymns composed on Various Subjects; for a time his hymns were as popular as those of Isaac Watts.

Perspective

Last weekend, six of our Youth Choir girls, three chaperones, and I traveled to Myrtle Beach for the Youth Festival by the Sea. Some of you may have heard us refer to "Adult Festival;" that event was borne out of this one, which began some 13 years ago. This year, members of 20 different youth choirs from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida came together to join their voices in a group which topped out around 400 students, from grades 6 through 12. The weekend was a good experience for all involved, but there was a particular moment which I won't soon forget.

Late into rehearsal on Saturday night, somewhere around 10 or 10:30 pm, I was exhausted. We'd had a long drive down on Friday, and immediately gone into rehearsal. Saturday was plenty busy as well, so as we neared the end of a long day, I could feel myself shutting down and lamenting this late-evening rehearsal. Frustration began to set in, and in my mind I questioned the wisdom of having this session go so long- if I was tired, then surely the singers were tired, too. However, just as I had begun to lament about my situation, I saw something that changed my mood, and my entire weekend: a young girl, probably middle-school age, with Down syndrome singing Robert Ray's wonderful Gospel piece, "He Never Failed Me Yet." The text of the refrain reads, "I will sing of God's mercy, every day, every hour, he gives me power. I will sing, and give thanks to Thee, for all the dangers, toils, and snares that he has brought me out. He is my God, and I'll serve him, no matter what the test. Trust and never doubt, Jesus will surely bring you out. He never failed me yet!" In that moment, I was overcome with emotion. My eyes filled with tears and my heart was glad; how could I complain about being tired when such wonderful music was being made?

For me, it was a holy moment, full of perspective. We all come to church on Sunday mornings with things that weigh us down: taking kids to and from sporting events; ailing family members; trouble with finances. And yet, what a wonderful gift we have to sing "Precious Lord, take my hand," or "Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be Thou our guard while life shall last, and our eternal home." This Sunday, bring your joys, your cares, and your sorrows, for they all have a place in worship at First Presbyterian.

March 11, 2012: The Third Sunday in Lent

Mar 11 2012

Hymn: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art

Today 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.

Hymn: In the Cross of Christ I Glory

The attribution of this hymn is not without controversy; some have ascribed it to Pope Gregory “the Great,” while others believe it to be of English origin. The original translation of the work, done for the 1906 English Hymnal, included a fifth stanza to serve as a doxology: “Father and Son and Spirit blest, to thee be every prayer addrest. Who art in threefold Name adored from age to age, the only Lord.”

Hymn: How Firm a Foundation

MaryJo McKim writes, “The text first appears in John Rippon’s A Selection of Hymns (1787). Rippon, an English Baptist, became famous and wealthy by publishing a hymnbook containing a collection of texts by [Isaac] Watts and ‘A Selection of the Best Authors.’ The hymn is actually a poetic sermon. The first stanza speaks of the foundation of Christian life as being rooted in God’s Word. The subsequent stanzas are paraphrases from both the Old and New Testaments. FOUNDATION is an American folk melody originally entitled PROTECTION. It is a pentatonic tune [one that uses only five notes in the scale, like ‘Amazing Grace’] written for this text.”

Anthem: Who At My Door is Standing?

A minister’s wife and teacher, Mary Slade was assistant editor of The New England Journal of Education. Slade has had around one hundred hymn texts and poems published in various collections and hymnbooks. This text, written circa 1875, has been included in at least seventy-nine collections, ranging from camp meeting songbooks to denominational hymnals. The text is tied to Revelation 3:20, which reads, “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”

March 4, 2012: The Second Sunday in Lent

Mar 4 2012

Hymn: Morning Has Broken

Eleanor Farjeon wrote this hymn as per a request from Percy Dearmer, who was putting together a new songbook (Enlarged Songs of Praise, 1931) and wanted a hymn on the theme of thanksgiving to the tune BUNESSAN. Carlton Young writes, “The text effectively links and expresses the creation stories in Genesis 1 and John 1, and reminds us that each new day is a gift from God. In stanza 3, God’s graceful acts of ‘re-creation’ are not divine recreational activity.”

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.”

Hymn: When Jesus Walked Beside the Shore

Herman Stuempfle wrote this hymn to paraphrase the story of Jesus’ calling the disciples to ministry. The first three stanzas deal with the calling of the fishermen, the great catch, and Peter’s questioning of Jesus. The fourth stanza is our response to the story, as we seek to emulate the disciples’ reaction.

Anthem: Kyrie

The music for this anthem comes from Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, "New World." Dvorak was very fond of American folk music; this piece's melody seems to come from the song "Goin' Home" by Stephen Foster. The Kyrie is a petition for mercy that is spoken or sung at the beginning of Mass. "Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison" are Greek phrases, while the rest of the Mass is set in Latin.

February 26, 2012: The First Sunday in Lent

Feb 26 2012

Gathering Song/Response: I Want Jesus to Walk With Me

LindaJo McKim writes, “The words of this African-American spiritual indicate that slaves viewed life as a pilgrimage from bondage into the Promised Land. They identified strongly with Jesus, who, born on the fringe of society, became the burden bearer of the downtrodden and oppressed. The spiritual demonstrates that Jesus is the only one able to walk with the pilgrim through all the trials and troubles of life.”

Hymn: O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing

Charles Wesley titled this hymn “For the Anniversary Day of One’s Conversion,” written on the first anniversary of his own conversion. Methodist hymnologist Carlton Young believes it to be “the most characteristic, widely known, and sung hymn of the Wesleyan movement.” The original poem had eighteen stanzas; Wesley was inspired to write the text after a conversation with a Moravian, Peter Böhler during which he asked about praising Christ. Böhler replied, “Had I a thousand tongues, I would praise him with them all.”

Hymn: What Wondrous Love Is This?

“This is an anonymous nineteenth-century American hymn that basks in God’s grace and sings on and on about it,” writes Paul Westermeyer. The song seems to have been borne out of the camp meetings of the 1800s, and was soon linked to the WONDROUS LOVE tune after being published in The Southern Harmony song book of 1834.

Hymn: Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days

This text by Claudia Frances Ibotson Hernaman was part of Child’s Book of Praise (1873), where it is designated a Lenten hymn. The hymn draws from the Gospels of Matthew (4:1-11), Mark (1:12-13) and Luke (4:1-13), where Jesus is tempted.

Anthem: Be Thou My Vision

The text for this hymn comes from an ancient Irish poem, “Rob tu mo bhoile, a Comdie cride.” It was translated by Mary E. Byrne in 1905 and later versified by Eleanor Hull in 1912.

Anthem: When You Pass Through the Waters

Paul Weber set this text from Isaiah 43 for the 2009 Montreat Worship and Music Conferences, and in memory of his “compassionate teacher, Herbert Nuechterlein.” Weber is Professor of Church Music and Director of Choral Activities at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina.