Notes on the Notes – August 5, 2018

Welcome!

This week we will be beginning our journey through the story of Ruth.
Service time is 10:30 a.m. at Windsor Park United.

We will be singing:

“Praise With Joy the World’s Creator” (VU #312)

This new text in praise of the Trinity was written for an anniversary conference of the World Student Christian Federation held at Edinburgh in 1985 by the Iona Community.  It brings fresh insights to the understanding of the Godhead.  In verse one we offer praise to the Creator, “God of justice, love and peace…” Verse two celebrates “Christ’s constant presence: friend and stranger, guest and host.” In verse three, the hymn offers praise to the Spirit, “sent among us, liberating truth from pride…” The final verse brings all three together into the Trinity, “calling Christians to embody oneness and diversity.” The music LAUDA ANIMA (PRAISE MY SOUL) was composed by John Goss, organist at St. Paul’s Cathdral in London, in 1868. The tune is most well-known as the tune for the hymn, “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.”

“Praise with joy the world’s Creator,
God of justice, love, and peace,
Source and end of human knowledge,
God whose grace shall never cease.
Celebrate the Maker’s glory,
Power to rescue and release.

Praise to Christ who feeds the hungry,
Frees the captive, finds the lost,
Heals the sick, upsets religion,
Fearless both of fate and cost.
Celebrate Christ’s constant presence:
Friend and stranger, guest and host.

Praise the Spirit sent among us,
Liberating truth from pride,
Forging bonds where race or gender,
Age or nation dare divide.
Celebrate the Spirit’s treasure:
Foolishness none dare deride.

Praise the Maker, Christ, and Spirit,
One God in community,
Calling Christians to embody
Oneness and diversity.
This the world shall see reflected:
God is One and One in Three.”

Watch an organ solo of this hymn tune at:  https://youtu.be/Q5VkuRqUA0Y

“You, God, are my Firmament” (VU #279)

“You, God, are my firmament,
Roof for my head,
Shelter from storm,
Nourishing bread,
Tender and warm.

You, God, are a tower of strength.
I shall not fear,
I shall not fall,
Knowing you’re near,
Guardian of all.

You, God, are my guiding light,
Beacon from birth,
Helping to see,
Lighting the earth,
Enlightening me.

I will give thanks,
I will sing praise
With all of my heart,
All of my days.”

Miriam Therese Winter is a professor of liturgy, worship and spirituality at Hartford Seminary.  Her name may also be familiar as composer and singer with the Medical Mission Sisters, especially for the song, “Joy is Like the Rain.”  She wrote this hymn in 1982 as a prayer of thanksgiving for Anna Dengel, the Austrian physician who founded the Medical Mission Sisters in 1925, and who died in 1980.

“Jesus, Come to our Hearts” (VU #324)

“Jesus, come to our hearts like falling rain;
Come to refresh,
Come to renew,
Wash all our sins away.

Spirit, come to our hearts like rushing wind;
Come with your fire,
Come with your life,
Blow all our doubts away.

Come, God, come to our hearts like shining sun;
Come to reveal,
Lighten your Word,
Drive all our gloom away.

Glory be to the Lamb that once was slain;
Praise for his life,
Praise for his death,
Praise that he lives again.

Praises be to our God, the three in one;
Praise for the sun,
Praise for the wind,
Praise for the falling rain.”

This hymn is from Alleluia Aotearoa (1993).  The text is by New Zealand hymn writer, William Worley.  The tune was arranged by David Dell. The text reminds us of the Trinity, connecting each to the natural world.

“Wherever You May Go” (MV #216)

“Wherever you may go, I will follow,
And your people shall be my people too.
Wherever you may go, I will follow,
For I would be faithful, loyal and true.

Say the word and I will stay,
I will never go away,
We will travel side by side
And God’s love will be our guide.

From beginning to the end
I will always be your friend,
When you need me, I’ll be there,
You can trust my faithful care.

Wherever you may go, I will follow….”

This song was written by David Kai in 1996.  The words are taken from the Book of Ruth, Chapter 1:15-17.

“Grant Us, God, the Grace of Giving” (VU #540)

“Grant Us, God, the grace of giving,
With a spirit large and free,
That ourselves and all our living
We may offer faithfully.”

The text of our offering response comes from the Mennonite hymn book, “Hymnal: a Worship Book.”   The tune is a familiar one which is also used for the Advent hymn “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”  (VU #2).

“The Lord’s Prayer” (VU #959)

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name;
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
Now and forever.”

This setting of the Lord’s Prayer was written by David Haas in 1986.

Hear the song at:  https://www.shazam.com/track/57413632/the-lords-prayer (click on “The Lord’s Prayer – We Give” under Music Videos title banner)

“Breathe on me, Breath of God” (VU #382)

“Breathe on me, breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what thou dost love,
And do what thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until my will is one with thine,
To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Till I am wholly thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with the fire divine.

Breathe on me, breath of God;
So shall I never die,
But live with thee the perfect life
Of thine eternity.”

This hymn by Edwin Hatch was first published in a leaflet called Between Doubt and Prayer in 1878.  The tune is by Robert Jackson, an organist and hymn-tune composer from Lancashire.  It was published in 1894.

This hymn reflects both a profound simplicity and a deep knowledge of Scripture. The author invokes the Holy Spirit to come into his life and transform it. Using the first-person perspective throughout the hymn adds to the hymn’s power as the singer seeks the breath of God (Genesis 2:7) as a source for renewal…Summarizing the message of the hymn,… it may be suggested that the breath of God “brings new life and love, purity and obedience, surrender and inspiration, and finally eternal life, as the hymn moves through various stages of Christian experience and discipline towards a unity with God.”   (Source: Dr. Hawn, Discipleship Ministries: History of Hymns)

“Halle, Halle, Halle” (VU #958)

“Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

This traditional liturgical text is set to music by the Iona Community (1990). We will be using it during the month of August as our benediction response.