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.