singers at singing

Harmonies held its annual hymn sing at Blossom Hill Mennonite Church Sunday, March 24, 2013.  A choir of select singers from Berks and Conestoga Christian high schools added choral sounds.  The hymns sing itself featured a set of newer hymns from "Sing the Story" on the theme of season of spring (Passover, Pentecost, etc.) and a set on season of prayer, 19th and 20th century traditional hymns on prayer.  Here are the singers warming up.

Fosdick hymn

Last Sunday we sang #557, "O God, in restless living." The author is Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969). He was known for some outstanding quotes: http://thinkexist.com/quotes/harry_emerson_fosdick/. He really hit the big time with his "God of grace and God of glory," #366, written with great social awareness in the Great Depression in 1931 (rich in things and poor in soul). Fosdick was the first pastor of Riverside church and pastor of maybe the world’s richest man at that time, John D. Rockefeller, Sr. #557 is not found in many hymnals. It is in our blue hymnal because it had become one of the classics of the Brethren. If the tune sounded familiar, it’s because it was used in the 1969 red hymnal and in many other hymnals with, "The sands of time are sinking." (photo, Riverside, Fosdick's church where 557 and 366 were first sung)

Feb. 13 hymns

We have "Brethren, we have met" in our hymnal because the Church of the Brethren share our blue hymnal. It was published first in 1825. The "trembling mourners" of stanza 2 refers to those people under conviction during revival meetings. They sat in a special section, waiting for the spirit to fall on them. We also sang "Will you let me be your servant." Richard Gillard was born in England and made his home in New Zealand. Describing his style as folk, he wrote this in 1976 as part of what then was known as scripture songs. If you look up Romans 12 and Colossians you can easily see why. One hymnal I consult has altered this first line to "won't you let me...."

Remember scripture songs? (See random image to illustrate the 1970s era above.) Well, they are alive and well, even though contemporary has taken center stage. People from Australia, too, pushed the idea of singing actual words from the Bible. Of course, Protestant hymns used to focus on the Psalms exclusively. The 1970 scripture song influence, which first sounded folk-ish and was supported only with an acoustic guitar, went on to be accepted well in the charismatic circles.

back on the job

Today I tackle the work piled up from nine days away. This past Sunday was just vacation, driving through the mountains, including the Blue Ridge Parkway out of the Great Smokey Mountains. The previous Sunday was an off campus working Sunday at the Hymn Society of America convention in Birmingham, Alabama. Everyday included singing in the Samford University chapel. Here's the chapel and the singing inside. Many attendees were top feeders of the hymn world--hymnal editors, writers, composers, scholars and other trend-setters. I met my classmate from my graudate studies in the early 1970s Ruth Duck who has has her name in nearly every hymnal published since the 1980s. Our blue hymnal has three of hers, including #419, Lead on, O Cloud of Presence.

titles for 2.14.2010

Yesterday was not just "2.14.2010," but it was Valentine's Day. We need more than one day a year to be romantic. But it was also a day that snow lay on the ground in 49 of the 50 states. That was my trigger to use Young's arrangement of "From Greenland's Icy Mountains." It's a famous missionary hymn of the previous century. A good reminder as snow covers the ground that what we think is out there is sometimes closer than we think. That being missional is sometimes as close as home.

Then I took the prelude up to the hour with "I Need Thee Every Hour, Most Gracious Lord, No tender voice like thine can peace afford." Annie Hawkes was so well known her 1872 obituary appeard in the New York Times. She had written poetry since she was 14. She died at age 83.

the offertory yesterday Jan. 31

Jesus the Very Thought of Thee is a classic hymn. Here's a very complex arrangement on youtube. If you want a straightforward piano version online: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/t/jtveryth.htm. Look at all those verses.

AGO plays and sings

One way we organists stay sharp and in touch is through a group called the Lancaster Chapter of the A. G. O. (American Guild of Organists). The A.G.O. (people just say Ay-Gee-Oh) held its monthly meeting at our church last evening. The program was organ pieces based on hymns and then singing the hymn. Six organists played and the chaplain, front right, Tim Craven, introduced the hymns--Now Thank We All Our God, Holy God We Praise Thy Name, Be Thou My Vision, What God Ordains Is Good Indeed, God Whose Giving, and Praise to the Lord the Almighty.

The beaming-faced organists in the pic are, l to r, Joy Ide, Margaret Marsch, Peter Brown, David Gross, Carl Tobias, and Peter Omundsen.

A dozen or two of our Neffsville people came out and helped raise up the glorious sound of congregational singing. Thanks to them all.

The AGO is not new to us. Former organist Janet had been a member for many years.

titles for 9.6.2009

It's Labor Day. I can't resist bringing the hymn "Work For the Night Is Coming" into the service. I'll put it in as the last prelude. Special thing about it--words written by an 18-year-old English girl, Anna Coghill (1836-1907).

The offering piece is "Jesu Joy Of Our Desiring" by J. S. Bach. The postlude is a final excerpt from Bach's most famous Toccata.

page one of MWR

Mennonite Weekly Review is a church paper. Here's a page one story in the July 14 issue. It gets Zion (see highlight) in the news.

It impinges worship next Sunday when the district will license Victor for his ministry.

"Heart and mind, possessions, Lord" is an Indian hymn. I'll see if we can use that in the worship.

Chaldean hymn--can we?

chaldean alphabet - Google Image Search

The Mennonite Central Committee Iraq contact has sent me two Christian songs in Chaldean. Now, to figure it out for Americans. An Iraqi family visits us here at Zion and I shall ask them to help me.

I thought--wouldn't it be great to sing a hymn that Iraqis are singing!

This sample image from Google is just an example of the Chaldean letters. What MCC sent to me was a sound mp3 file (to learn by listening) and the words transcribed into English letters and a translation, so we know what we are singing.

When it was good

Yesterday these pews were pretty much full. I got a lot of feedback that the worship service was good, meaningful, etc. How can I extract an abstract conclussion from that? There are so many components to a service of worship.

What do I think? I noticed that the hymn singing was vigorous, especially the acappella verses. Praise and worship songs were led by two voices and one guitar. Was it that?

No, it had to be all the parts in concert. But to understand, complementary comments have to be explored as well as comments about disappointment. I'll ask the pastor and some music people.

overhead or in the window

If you like your words overhead, you might have liked the church where the seminar was held Jan. 12. Overhead, yes. But not on a screen.

Etched in the stained glass of the window looking in on the organ loft.

The words and the notes.

That said something to me. Something like, the screen is part of our lives which disappears when we pull the plug. I like to associate hymns with a part of our lives which is more permanent. Yes, books fit that category. So, when worship is over, I like the feeling that part of it--a big part, really--lingers on. In a book, the hymnal. And in the Bible, another book.

The screen does a lot of good things for us. But it can't do that.

First shall be last

In the sermon Pastor Hunter mentioned that famous phrase, the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Well, the last hymn comes on Sunday. I'm waiting for the organist to lead it. I look to the accompanist for direction. Then it struck me--I'm in charge of the singing, duh!

I'm "first" but I was last to catch on. The organist shakes her head. Pianist signals, I don't know. What is wrong? Okay. I sit at the piano and bang out the last hymn, "Go Tell It on the Mountain."

And who would have guessed it? They sang with full heart.

Third week on the job and I'm learning faster all the time. Nobody else is getting these ducks in a row. That's what I'm here for.