Notes on the Notes – September 12, 2021
Season of Creation 2
Humanity
This Week’s Music:
“O Beautiful Gaia” (MV #41)
“O beautiful Gaia, O Gaia, calling us home.
O beautiful Gaia, calling us on.”
The term Gaia (guy-ah) represents “Mother Earth,” inviting us to live into our care and respect for all creation. It asks us to consider our relationship to the earth in the context of our faith. We will be using the chorus of this song by Carolyn McDade (2006) as our sung response after the lighting of the Christ candle during the season of Creation. The musical arrangement is by Lydia Pedersen (2006).
“All Creatures of Our God and King” (VU #217)
“All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing:
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Bright burning sun with golden beam,
Soft shining moon with silver gleam,
Sing praises, sing praises,
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
O rushing winds and breezes soft,
O clouds that ride the winds aloft,
Sing praises, hallelujah!
O rising morn, in praise rejoice;
O lights of evening, find a voice:
Sing praises, sing praises,
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
And everyone of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part:
Sing praises, hallelujah!
All who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and yield up all your care:
Sing praises…
Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship God in humbleness:
Sing praises, hallelujah!
Praise God eternal, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, three in one:
Sing praises…”
All Creatures of Our God and King was written St. Francis of Assisi in 1225 in the Canticle of the Sun poem, which was based on Psalm 148. William H. Draper translated the lyrics into English for a children’s festival in Leeds, England. The exact date is unknown but is thought to be sometime between 1899 and 1919. The hymn first appeared in the Public School Hymn Book in 1919.
The words are set to an Easter hymn, “Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr“, which was published in 1623 by Friedrich Spee. This tune became widespread in English hymn books starting with a 1906 arrangement by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing this hymn at: https://youtu.be/nAXv8mGM4cQ
For fun: Mr. Bean in Church – https://youtu.be/shIACXmg7Bc
“Into the Unshaped Silence” (VU #305)
“Into the unshaped silence sings the sound of God’s own voice.
The darkness bows to light newborn, the moon and stars rejoice.
Each day unfolds with wonders new, first grass, first tree, first bird!
Plain, peak, and vale all take their place, each shaped by God’s own word.
The Word sings out with power once more, into the new-made earth;
And in their Maker’s image formed, woman and man know birth.
A day of rest, and o’er the earth God’s voice again is heard:
A song of joy that celebrates the goodness of the world.
God calls us all to join and sing the wonder of the earth
And through our careful stewardship to guard creation’s worth.”
The words for this hymn were written by S. Curtis Tufts, a United Church minister in Calgary, Alberta, in 1986, and are based on the creation story from Genesis. Verses 4 and 5 bring the celebration and stewardship of the creation to all people of the earth. The tune is PRIMROSE, an early American hymn tune.
“Kumbaya”
“Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya,
Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya,
Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya,
O Lord, Kumbaya.
Someone’s prayin’ Lord, Kumbaya…
Someone’s cryin’ Lord, Kumbaya…
Someone’s singin’ Lord, Kumbaya…
Sing Alleluia…”
This week’s anthem is a beautiful version of the folk song and spiritual “Kumbaya,” arranged by Paul Sjolund (1987). This song is known by many people around the world; it may be sung in church, but it’s also heard at rallies and around the campfire. It has been recorded and performed by various
folk singers and groups. One possible reason for the popularity of the song – besides its melody and the repetition of lines that allows people to join in the singing – is the flexibility of the lyrics. The first verse of the original gospel song may have been something like “Hear me crying, Lord. Kumbaya.” The folk singer Joan Baez sang, “Someone’s singing, Lord. Kumbaya.” The group Peter, Paul, and
Mary added a verse about laughing. Yet all of these alterations work well with the melody and indicate how this song can be adapted to changing situations. Actually, such modifications are to be expected from a tune with such an interesting and varied history. The spiritual was recorded as early as the 1920s and published versions appeared in the 1930s. However, most scholars believe that the song itself is older. While it was long thought to be an Angolan folk song, many linguists (people who study the history and development of language) and ethnomusicologists (people who study the music of different cultures) now believe that the work originated on the Sea Islands off the coast of South
Carolina. Here, inhabitants speak a creole called Gullah. This language is related to English, and the word “kumbaya” is actually the English phrase “come by here,” pronounced with a Gullah accent. Gullah is actually one of numerous pidgins and creoles used in West Africa and the Americas during the slave trade. It’s believed that American missionaries brought the song to Africa. In Africa, “Kumbaya” became popular at a time when it was losing popularity in the United States. Eventually in the 1950s and 1960s, it was rediscovered in Angola and brought back to the U.S., where it gained popularity as not only a religious tune, but also as a campfire song and a song of the civil rights movement. Today, the song and its title symbolize a desire for social change through peaceful means.
“For Beauty of Prairies” (VU #303)
“For beauty of prairies, for grandeur of trees,
For flowers of woodlands, for creatures of seas,
For all you created and gave us to share,
We praise you, Creator, extolling your care.
As stewards of beauty received at your hand,
As creatures who hear your most urgent command,
We turn from our wasteful destruction of life,
Confessing our failures, confessing our strife.
Teach us once again to be gardeners in peace;
All nature around us is ours but on lease;
Your name we would hallow in all that we do,
Fulfilling our calling, creating with you.”
This hymn reminds us of our sacred role as stewards in caring for God’s creation. The words were written by Walter Farquharson in 1966 (one of his first hymns), and, this week we will be using the tune ST DENIO (1839), familiar as the tune for the hymn “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise.”
“Like a Rock” (MV #92)
“Like a rock, like a rock, God is under our feet.
Like the starry night sky, God is over our head.
Like the sun on the horizon, God is ever before.
Like the river runs to ocean, our home is in God evermore.”
The words for this song are by Keri K. Wehlander (1998), adapted to music by Linnea Good (1998). We will be using this song as our benediction response during the season of Creation to express our confidence in the eternal nature of God.
