Year C: Music for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost - October 16, 2022

OPENING VOLUNTARY Out of the Depths I Cry to You (Aus tiefer Not)

setting, Alfred V. Fedak

"You are alwasy ready to hear our cries," is part of our prayer today. We ask God to teach us to rely on God's care. Martin Luther's hymn, in part a paraphrase of Psalm 130, contains echoes of these two points. Hearing our cries, God responds with grace and the gift of faith that assures us we are in God's keeping.

GATHERING HYMN God Is Here! (Abbot's Leigh)

ELW 526

HYMN OF THE DAY If You But Trust in God to Guide You (Wer nur den lieben Gott)

ELW 769

What causes us to cry out to God? Is it loneliness, fear, uncertainty? Like the widow in today's gospel reading, are we crying out for justice for ourselves, or on behalf of someone else? No matter, for when we cry to God, we find that God is already there and never fails us in our time of need.

MUSICAL OFFERING O Christ, Surround Me

Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, arr. David Sims

This modern song ties closely with "I Bind unto Myself Today" (ELW 450), a hymn attributed to St. Patrick. Calling the Trinity to mind is always a reminder of our baptism. "O Christ, surround me," the central prayer of this song, echoes St. Patrick's "Christ be with me, Christ within me. . ."

David Sims cleverly works musical quotes from St. Patrick's Breastplate into the interludes between the stanzas. Between Colligan's melody and Sims' arrangement, this "new" song has the feel of an ancient Celtic hymn.

COMMUNION HYMNS

There is a Longing in Our Hearts
ACS 1078

This hymn illustrates two sides of human longing for God: it yearns for God's reign of healing, wholeness, justice, and freedom as it calls for God's presence with suffering. The musical setting has a steady forward motion, as if to encourage its singers to have confidence in a God who hears and answers prayer.
(From Sundays and Seasons)

We Come to the Hungry Feast
ELW 624

SENDING HYMN Jesus, Still Lead On (Seelenbräutigam)

CLOSING VOLUNTARY What God Ordains is Good Indeed (Was Gott tut)

setting, Alfred V. Fedak
See the text and tune at ELW 776.

sources: The Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship

Celtic Cross image from Wikipedia