Notes on the Notes – October 5, 2025

This Week’s Music:

“All Who Hunger” (VU #460)

“All who hunger, gather gladly; holy manna is our bread.
Come from wilderness and wandering.  Here, in truth, we will be fed.
You that yearn for days of fullness, all around us is our food.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.

All who hunger, never strangers; seeker, be a welcome guest.
Come from restlessness and roaming. Here, in joy, we keep the feast.
We that once were lost and scattered in communion’s love have stood.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.

All who hunger, sing together; Jesus Christ is living bread.
Come from loneliness and longing. Here, in peace, we have been led.
Blest are those who from this table live their lives in gratitude.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.”

Sylvia Dunstan wrote the hymn “All Who Hunger” in 1990 for the tune, HOLY MANNA, composed in 1825 by William Moore.  The arrangement used in Voices United is by David Kai. (Source: http://www.giamusic.com/bios/)

We learn from this hymn the nature of the sacrament of communion and how important it is for all who share it. Those who partake in this meal “yearn for days of fullness” (stanza one), are “never strangers” (stanza two), and will find that “Jesus Christ is living bread” (stanza three).   This is not a memorial hymn that recalls Christ’s suffering, but a joyful hymn of community to be shared at the table.  As the writer notes in stanza three, “Blest are those who from this table live their days in gratitude.”

Hear the song sung by Andrea Moran & the Bridge Band at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqVPd4JKsP8

“Glory to the Creator” (TLUS #4)

“Glory to the creator,
and the Christ and the Spirit so near,
as it was from the start so it shall be
forever one God, always here.

Glory to the creator,
and the Christ and the Spirit so near,
as it was from the start so it shall be
forever one God, always here.

One God, always here,
one God, always here.”

Our sung response following the Assurance of Pardon was written by Christopher Grundy (2002) and arranged by Stephen Goers.

“Amen, Amen, Amen” (VU #969)
The music for our sung response following The Song of Faith selection was composed by James A. Kriewald (1985).

“For the Gift of Creation”  (VU #538)

“For the gift of creation, the gift of your love,
And the gift of the Spirit by which we live,
We thank you and give you the fruit of our hands.
May your grace be proclaimed by the gifts that we give.”

Our offering dedication is from the United Methodist Book of Worship (1991) and is especially appropriate during the season of Creation.  The composer, Steve Garnaas-Holmes is a United Methodist pastor in Montana.

“When Jesus Sets the Table” (TLUS #29)

“When Jesus sets the table, all people find a place.
That table is a promise of blessing and of grace.
So set the table fully. Invite the whole world in.
If we would share love’s welcome, in feasting we begin.

Whoever we find troubling and seek to keep outside,
that is the very neighbour who must not be denied.
So set the table fully. Invite the whole world in.
If we would share love’s welcome, in feasting we begin.

No race, no creed, no nation, no love of heart and vow,
No gender is rejected. The table’s waiting now.
So set the table fully. Invite the whole world in.
If we would share love’s welcome, in feasting we begin.”

This week’s anthem was written by Amanda Udis-Kessler, with music by Sally Ann Morris.  “When Jesus sets the table” isn’t a single event but a concept in Christianity, referring to the inclusive, welcoming nature of Jesus’ message and his invitation to all people to share in God’s kingdom, as highlighted in the Parable of the Great Banquet in Luke 14, where the poor and marginalized are invited to a feast.

Hear the song at: https://youtu.be/8A1pl_tcI_o?list=PLcKv8KzQKS1i_C2TBQt2Aj8kk0Xwkkdcc

“Great is Thy Faithfulness” (VU #288, SFGP #95) 

“Great is thy faithfulness, God our Creator;
There is no shadow of turning with thee;
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow –
Wondrous the portion thy blessings provide.
 
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!”

Thomas O. Chisholm, a Methodist minister, wrote this poem in 1923 about God’s faithfulness over his lifetime.  The conviction that God is always with us, through good times and bad, has always been a great source of comfort and strength for the faithful.  William Runyan set the poem to music, and it was published that same year and became popular among church groups. The song was exposed to wide audiences after becoming popular with Dr. William Henry Houghton of the Moody Bible Institute and Billy Graham who played the song frequently on his international crusades. The hymn made its first appearance in a United Church hymnal in the supplement Songs for a Gospel People.  The version in Voices United is from the Hymnal of the Evangelical United Brethren (1957).

Hear a quiet instrumental version of the hymn at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoFJzsEF3ZM

Hear the Praise Team sing “He’s Always Been Faithful to Me” (2021), which includes a portion of the hymn at: He’s Always Been Faithful To Me WPUC Praise Team

“As We Gather at Your Table” (VU #457 v2)

“Turn our worship into witness in the sacrament of life;
Send us forth to love and serve you, bringing peace where there is strife.
Give us, Christ, your great compassion to forgive as you forgave;
May we still behold your image in the the world you died to save.”

As we leave the table and head out into the world, we use the second verse of the hymn “As We Gather at Your Table,” by Carl P. Daw (1990) as our benediction response. The familiar melody, BEACH SPRING, is attributed to Benjamin Franklin White (1844), with harmony by Ronald A. Nelson (1978).