Hymn: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart!
Edward Hayes Plumptre wrote this hymn for the Peterborough
Choral Festival of 1865. The full text contained ten stanzas that were
condensed and edited over the years. Written as a processional hymn, it works
well with our Pentecost procession this morning as the children wave their
“festal banners—“ in this case, it’s their streamers of fire!
Hymn: On Pentecost They Gathered
LindaJo McKim writes, “The text by Jane Parker Huber was
written for the celebration of Pentecost. There are some hymns that mention the
person and work of the Holy Spirit but few speak of the Pentecost event as ‘the
birthday of the church.’ This hymn contains several direct references to
Pentecost from the second chapter of Acts. It ends with hope that the singular
event which inspired the disciples to ‘turn the world upside down’ (Acts 17: 6)
will move modern-day Christians to do the same.”
Hymn: Listen, Sisters! Listen, Brothers!
Hymn writer and Presbyterian minister Carolyn Winfrey
Gillette was inspired to write this text after attending a conference where the
Bible study series focused on 1 Corinthians. She writes in her book Songs of Grace, “The central theme of
this hymn can be found in the third line: ‘We have life in Jesus’ name.’
Everything else about faith hinges on what is found in 1 Corinthians 15.”
Introit: Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song
Carl Daw wrote “Like the murmur of the dove’s song” for the The Hymnal 1982, the Episcopal Church’s
songbook. Paul Westermeyer writes, “It is a litany-like prayer to the Holy
Spirit to come. The first stanza identifies the Spirit with images of the
Spirit’s likeness, the second stanza indicates to whom the spirit comes with
images of the church, and the third stanza unpacks some of the gifts that the Spirit
brings.” In writing this hymn, Daw had in mind “Isaiah 38:14 and 59:11, which
use the moaning dove as images of praying in distress.”
Anthem: Gracious Spirit, Dwell With Me
The tune for this anthem, ADORO TE DEVOTE, is a beautiful
melody that comes from seventeenth-century French songbook. It has changed
little over the centuries, and its chant-like quality makes it very singable.
The American composer K. Lee Scott set the tune with a text from Thomas Lynch,
an English minister who published a nineteenth-century songbook (The Rivulet),
which almost caused a split in the Congregational Church. The “Rivulet
Controversy,” as it was called, centered on Lynch’s frequent references to
nature in his hymn texts, but the controversy was probably exacerbated by his
fresh poetic style. “Gracious Spirit, Dwell With Me” doesn’t contain examples
of his controversial imagery, but does demonstrate Lynch’s creative poetic
style.
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