Notes on the Notes – November 2, 2025

Our Saints Sunday

This week’s music: 

“Eternal, Unchanging, We Sing” (VU #223)

“Eternal, Unchanging, we sing to your praise:
Your mercies are endless, and righteous your ways;
Your servants proclaim the renown of your name
Who rules over all and is ever the same.

Again we rejoice in the world you have made,
Your mighty creation in beauty arrayed,
We thank you for life, and we praise you for joy,
For love and for hope that no power can destroy.

We praise you for Jesus, our Master and Lord,
The might of his Spirit, the truth of his word,
His comfort in sorrow, his patience in pain,
The faith sure and steadfast that Jesus shall reign.”

The lyrics of this hymn bring to mind the infinite nature of God, and give thanks for the Creation and the gifts of Jesus and the Spirit.  This is one of R.B.Y. Scott’s early hymns, first published in 1938.   The tune, ST. DENIO, is a traditional Welsh melody adapted into a hymn tune during the Welsh revivals at the turn of the 19th century.  It is also the tune used by Ralph Vaughan Williams with the hymn “Immortal, Invisible.”  

Hear the melody on pipe organ at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqgQ3_VcaKw

“Come and Fill Our Hearts” (MV #16)

“Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
You alone, O Lord, are holy.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace,
Alleluia.”

This short song of centering and healing prayer comes from the Taize Community, with music by Jacques Berthier (1982).

Hear the Harmony Singers:

“Those Hearts That We Have Treasured” (VU #494)

“Those hearts that we have treasured, those lives that we have shared;
Those loves that walked beside us, those friends for whom we’ve cared,
Their blessing rests upon us, their life is memory,
Their suffering is over, their spirits are set free.

They still give hope and comfort, they did not lose the fight;
They showed us truth and goodness, they shine into our night.
Remember days of gladness; remember times of joy;
Remember all the moments that grief cannot destroy.

From hearts that we have treasured, from lives that we have shared,
From loves that walked beside us, from friends for whom we’ve cared,
We’ve learned to treasure kindness, we’ve learned that grace provides,
We’ve learned to be together, we’ve learned that love abides.”

Sylvia Dunstan wrote this text in 1991 for use in a secular memorial service, to fill a need that became apparent to her after attending a number of vigils and memorial services for those dying of AIDS.  The melody, RESIGNATION, is an American fold hymn tune published in Southern Harmony in 1835.    Sylvia Dunstan began writing songs in the early seventies and soon after met Sister Miriam Theresa Winter, who encouraged her to write songs based on Scripture.  In 1980, she was ordained by the Hamilton Conference of the United Church of Canada. During her career she served as a minister, a prison chaplain, and editor of a Canadian worship resource journal, Gathering.

Sylvia Dunstan died on July 25, 1993, almost four months after being diagnosed with liver cancer. She left behind a ministry that combined a compassionate concern for the needy and distraught with a consuming love of liturgy.

Hear the melody at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PoUhE2JSkMw

“May the Peace of Christ be with You”

“May the peace of Christ be with you.
May the love of God dwell deep in your heart.
May the Spirit enlighten your way.
May you walk in the comfort of God’s care. 

Cherish all the blessings before you this day;
Come and reawaken your soul. 
Bless these holy people, these heroes and friends,
Witnesses of God in human form.

May the peace of Christ be with you.
May the love of God dwell deep in your heart.
May the Spirit enlighten your way.
May you walk in the comfort of God’s care. 

Cherish all the memories before you this day.
Shelter one another in love.
Loving arms of comfort enfold you this day;
May you feel the tender touch of Christ.  

May the peace of Christ be with you.
May the love of God dwell deep in your heart.
May the Spirit enlighten your way.
May you walk in the comfort of God’s care.”

This week’s anthem has original words and arrangement by Lori True and incorporates a Japanese blessing and folk melody.  This blessing can also be found in the new United Church hymnal, “Then Let Us Sing” (#104).  Both the chorus and verses offer words of comfort and peace.

“For the Faithful Who Have Answered” (VU #707)

“For the faithful who have answered when they heard your call to serve,
For the many ways you led them testing will and stretching nerve,
For their work and for their witness as they strove against the odds,
For their courage and obedience we give thanks and praise, O God.

Many eyes have glimpsed the promise, many hearts have yearned to see.
Many ears have heard you calling us to greater liberty.
Some have fallen in the struggle, others still are fighting on.
You are not ashamed to own us. We give thanks and praise, O God.

For this cloud of faithful witness, for the common life we share,
For the work of peace and justice, for the gospel that we bear,
For the vision that our homeland is your love – deep, high, and broad –
For the different roads we travel we give thanks and praise, O God.”

This hymn offers a song of thanks and praise for everyone who responds in faith to the call of God.  Sylvia Dunstan was commissioned to write this hymn for the fiftieth anniversary of women’s ordination in 1986 and based the lyrics on Hebrews 11 and 12.

“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, STUTTGART, is a familiar one which is also used for the Advent hymn “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” (VU #2).

“Amazing Grace” (VU #266)

“Amazing grace!  how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed! 

Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come;
‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.” 

“Amazing Grace” was written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725-1807), published in 1779.  Containing a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, “Amazing Grace” is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life’s path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed (forced into service involuntarily) into the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion.  However, he continued his slave trading career until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. “Amazing Grace” was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year’s Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses; it may have simply been chanted by the congregation. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper’s Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, “Amazing Grace” was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named “New Britain” to which it is most frequently sung today. “Amazing Grace” is “without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns,” and it is estimated that it is sung 10 million times a year.

See 7-yr old Rhema Marvanne sing the hymn at:  https://youtu.be/DDDlxmsciqY

See Il Divo in concert at:  https://youtu.be/GYMLMj-SibU

“Danish Amen”  (VU #967)

“Amen, amen, amen.”

Our 3-fold choral amen is also referred to as the Danish Amen, although the composer is unknown.

Bonus Video:  “Under His Wings” sung by The Harmony Singers (2022)