Year C: Music for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost - October 2, 2022

OPENING VOLUNTARY Fidelis Servus

Dom Paul Benoit (1893-1979)

Paul Benoit was an organist, composer, and a Benedictine monk who lived in France. "Dom" is the traditional title used by Benedictines. This piece is based on a Gregorian chant that borrows its text from Luke 12:42. "And the Lord said, 'Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?'" This morning's gospel reading reminds us that we are servants who need to be faithful to our tasks.

GATHERING HYMN Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Faithfulness)

ELW 753
This hymn comes to us from the revival genre. Singing "Great is thy faithfulness" is a stirring way to mark the gathering of God's people for worship.

HYMN OF THE DAY Come Down, O Love Divine (Down Ampney)

ELW 804

During the Middle Ages, devotional poetry was often read at home and in church. One author of these laudi spirituali was the Italian-born Bianco da Siena. He only wrote about 122 poems - but there were some 20,000 verses in total! 

By Dnalor 01 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 at,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32470774

Bianco was also a member of the Jesuates, a religious order that included laymen in its membership. They were known for encouraging a life of repentance and poverty, and for calling loudly on the name of Jesus before preaching sermons. Their leanings toward mysticism made some church leaders suspicious and their order was eventually abolished by Pope Clement IX.

Bianco's poem, Discendi amor santo, is the basis for Come Down, O Love Divine.

Bianco's striving for repentance and poverty can be heard in the third stanza:
Let holy charity mine outward vesture be,

and lowliness become mine inner clothing -

true lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part,

and oe'r its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

MUSICAL OFFERING Breathe On Me 
Aaron David Miller

This choir piece asks, on behalf of the assembly, the Holy Spirit to help us live our lives according to God's will, doing the things God would have us do. It's also a condensed version of the Hymn of the Day.

COMMUNION HYMNS

Our communion hymns are three modern meditative songs that can be learned quickly. Be Still and Know comes from the Iona Community in Scotland. Christ, Our Peace was written by Marty Haugen - a popular church music composer whose Holden Evening Prayer is widely sung and loved. Finally, we gather around the table proclaiming that we belong to God through singing Rolf Vegdahl's prayer refrain (and scripture quote) If We Live.

By Tracy from North Brookfield, Massachusetts, USA - Flickr, CC BY 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1694210

SENDING HYMN God of the Fertile Fields (Italian Hymn)

ACS 1063

Caring for God's creation has, indeed, reached critical importance not just for human beings but for all living things. Having lived from 1891 to 1974, the author of this text, Georgia Harkness, was well ahead of her time. She was the first woman to teach theology in any American Seminary. This hymn by Harkness was the winner of a hymn competition in 1955 sponsored by The Hymn Society. They were seeking a hymn that "expressed the needs and aspirations of people in the churches and communities of rural America." Revised for use many decades later, its rooting in the Lord's Prayer makes it a hymn suitable for many contexts. (From Sundays and Seasons)

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Prelude and Chorale on "If You But Trust in God to Guide You"

Larry J. Long / Georg Neumark

See the text and tune at ELW 769

The music for today began with the theme of good service, and so it also ends. The fourth stanza of this hymn encourages us to "Sing, pray, and keep God's way unswerving, offer your service faithfully."

As the Spirit sends us forth, may our deepest desire be to be faithful servants!

Year C - Music for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost - September 25, 2022

OPENING VOLUNTARY Around You, O Lord Jesus

Stephen Gabrielsen

No, you're not experiencing déjà vu!
Choosing preludes and postludes can be a challenge, and yet it must be done every week! I take care choosing the music that begins and ends our worship time. Every now and then, despite faithfully practicing, a piece just doesn't come together for Sunday morning. Such is the case with last week's prelude. Since we are still using this hymn at the offering, it's still suitable.

In case you're wondering, last week's preluded ended up being a setting of "Alone to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ" by Johann Pachelbel.

GATHERING HYMN Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness (Nettleton)

ELW 843

HYMN OF THE DAY When Our World Is Rent By Violence (Fortunatus New)

ACS 1052

The music of lament is not always slow and mournful. Sometimes it can be agitated and despairing. Hymnwriter David Bjorlin, a pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church, gives us a text in the great tradition of sung lament that goes back to the Psalms. The painful naming of afflictions that beset our world is joined to prayers for justice and relief. The musical urgency of Carl Schalk's sturdy hymn tune gives strong voice to this plea for justice, mercy, and peace. 

(Description from Sundays and Seasons.)

MUSICAL OFFERING I Lift My Eyes Up to the Hills 
Thomas Keesecker

This text based on Psalm 121 has themes of God's refuge and protection that echo those in the psalm that follows the first reading.

By Jonathunder - Own work, GFDL 1.2, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9929602

COMMUNION HYMNS

Today's communion hymns contain choruses and refrains that, due to their repetitive nature, can be easily learned - even if just the refrain. Feel free to carry your bulletin with you as you go to the altar. Singing in this manner strengthens our understanding of the sacrament and reinforces the celebratory nature of gathering around Christ's table.

Come to the Table ACS 961
In the Singing ELW 466
We Come to the Hungry Feast ELW 479

SENDING HYMN Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life (Walton)
ELW 719

CLOSING VOLUNTARY O God, Our Help in Ages Past (St. Anne)
setting, Benjamin Culli

Door graphic by St. Mark's member Rachel Mumford

Year C: Music for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost - September 18, 2022

Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Holy Communion, Setting Four

Setting Four, composed by Ronald A. Nelson, features standard texts of the communion service (sometimes called the "mass") with sturdy music in a traditional style. It was Setting Two in Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) and enjoys broad usage by congregations throughout the various expressions of Lutheranism. This setting also appears in the Lutheran Service Book, the hymnal used by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

"This Is the Feast" is a peculiarly Lutheran substitute for the "Gloria in excelsis." The text, by John W. Arthur (1922-1980), draws its images from the book of Revelation. It was written for liturgies in LBW, the "green" hymnal from 1976.

Ronald A. Nelson (1927-2014) received his Bachelor of Music degree from St. Olaf in 1949, and a

Ronald A. Nelson

master's degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1959. For 37 years he directed the choirs of Westwood Lutheran Church (ELCA) in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. After retirement from choir directing, he continued to compose choral and organ music for the whole church. Until his death, he was Cantor Emeritus at Westwood and sang in the choir.

Throughout the rest of Ordinary Time, we'll be singing Ronald A. Nelson's tunes with a fresh organ accompaniment by Michael Burkhard (b. 1957). Dr. Burkhardt's  catalog of published church music is vast. He is also known as a popular church music clinician, and for his thrilling hymn festivals.

OPENING VOLUNTARY Around You, O Lord Jesus (O Jesu, än de dina)

setting, Stephen Gabrielsen (ca. 1940-2013)
This setting is in the style of a chorale prelude. The tune is also our offering hymn for the remainder of this Time after Pentecost. See "Offering Hymn" for more information about this text and tune.

GATHERING HYMN O God of Every Nation (LLangloffan)

ELW 713

HYMN OF THE DAY God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending (Rustington)

ELW 678

With its primary theme of stewardship, this hymn closely complements today's gospel reading. In fact, it was written to be part of a 1960 collection of stewardship hymns commissioned by the Department of Stewardship and Benevolence of the National Council of Churches in the USA. This commission was a joint project with the Hymn Society of America,

As we sing, we are reminded that our talents, time, and treasure are all gifts from God. We ask God to help us to use our gifts in God's service, rather than for our own benefit.

Rustington is the name of the town where the famed composer of English church music, C. Hubert H. Parry (1848-1918) was living at the time of his death.

MUSICAL OFFERING Our Father, We Have Wandered

Ralph M. Johnson (b. 1955)

"Keep our feet from evil paths," we ask in the Prayer of the Day. Kevin Nichols' (1929-2006) text recalls the story of the prodigal son, perhaps the best-known wanderer of all, and reminds us that we too have wandered away from God. In the parable, the prodigal son is restored and we are reminded that God always welcomes us back with blessing, forgiveness, and peace.

The Return of the Prodigal Son
Pompeo Batoni, 1773

OFFERING HYMN Around You, O Lord Jesus (O Jesu, än de dina)

ELW 468

photo credit: Verance Photography

Each week as we prepare to receive communion, Pastor Daniel reminds us, "This is Christ's table, and Christ, as our host, welcomes all." Our Lord's welcome is heard plainly through the text of this hymn by Franz Mikael Franzen (1722-1847), a Swedish-Finnish priest in the Lutheran diocese of Strängnäs in Sweden. The hymn has seen several revisions, being printed with up to 6 stanzas. ELW has included 3.

Hans Tomissøn (1523-1572) made the first known printing of O Jesu, än de dina in 1569. It probably has Danish origins, but the original composer is unknown.

COMMUNION HYMNS

Now We Offer WOV 761

God Is Here Today ACS 993

Our communion hymns have their beginnings in Nicaragua and Spain, respectively.

Now We Offer joyfully sings of the gifts of bread and wine we bring to the table. We sing of our unity and our yearning for the fulfillment of God's kingdom.

photo credit: Verance Photography

God Is Here had humble beginnings as a song written for a music festival in Spain in 1979. If someone had not recorded it on a cassette, it may not be known to us today. It traveled around the Spanish-speaking countries and became very popular - and for some time nobody knew who wrote it! Sleuthing has uncovered the composer as Javier Gacías Mateo (b. 1956.) Note that All Creation Sings has a typo, listing the composer's middle name as "Gracías," rather than "Gacías."

SENDING HYMN All Depends on Our Possessing (Alles ist an Gottes Segen)

ELW 589

CLOSING VOLUNTARY God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending (Rustington)

J. William Greene

sources:
Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Paul Westermeyer

Wikipedia
www.flcpa.org (website of First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto California
Prodigal Son: By Pompeo Batoni - Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Bilddatenbank., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4628046

Year C: Music for the 14th Sunday After Pentecost - September 11, 2022

OPENING VOLUNTARY Amazing Grace (New Britain)
arr. Don Hustad
Don Hustad became Director of the Sacred Music Department for the Moody Bible Institute in 1950. In 1961 he became the full-time organist for the Billy Graham Crusade.

GATHERING HYMN All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name (Coronation)

ELW 634

Coronation was written by Oliver Holden (1765-1844) to be sung with this text. It is the oldest American hymn tune that is still in wide use. At the beginning of the second line, the harmonies imitate horns - required instruments at any coronation.

HYMN OF THE DAY Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound (New Britain)

"I once was lost, but now am found" is a fine echo from today's gospel reading. An interesting fact about this hymn is that it's final stanza ("When we've been there ten thousand years. . .) was not written by John Newton! It first appeared at the end of Jerusalem, My Happy Home in 1790. By the end of the 19th century, it was commonly published at the end of Amazing Grace.

MUSICAL OFFERING My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

arr. John Carter (b. 1930)
This gentle piano arrangement should call to mind ELW 782 which has the same title. According to Hope Publishing Company's website, Carter has published hundreds of choral pieces in addition to his piano arrangements. During my last summer term at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, I was fortunate to study composition with John Carter. Here's a picture to prove it!

COMMUNION HYMN Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling (Thompson)
ELW 608

COMMUNION HYMN That Priceless Grace (That Priceless Grace)

The original language of this hymn is called Fante, spoken by the Akan people who live in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The tune is also Ghanaian and meant to be sung in a meditative style.

SENDING HYMN God's Work, Our Hands (Earth and All Stars)

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America held a contest inviting hymnwriters to submit a new hymn for "God's work. Our Hands." Sunday, September 13, 2016. Wayne Wold wrote the winning hymn, developing the denomination's tagline with other parts of the person God uses, listing concrete ways of manifesting God's presence in the world, confessing God's activity beyond the church's work, and inviting blessing on the church's work on behalf of the gospel. (From Sundays and Seasons)
The text is paired with David N. Johnson's popular tune Earth and All Stars.

"God's work. Our Hands." Sunday at St. Mark's in 2016

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Hymn to Joy)
In this Time after Pentecost, we've been singing our Canticle of Praise to this tune. Next week, with the return of the Festival Choir, we'll switch to ELW Holy Communion Setting Four. You can think of this postlude as the tune's final hurrah before it takes a well-deserved rest.

Sources:
Wikipedia
www.hopepublishing.com
Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship; Paul Westermeyer