Music for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Year B; January 28, 2024

OPENING VOLUNTARY What Is this Place (Komt nu met zang)

setting, Wayne L. Wold
See the text and tune at ELW 524.

This gathering hymn is a perfect reminder that the church is a building, but when God's people gather within, it becomes something else, a body. The second stanza reminds us of all who gathered in this same space for worship in days past, but on another level, it reminds us of all the saints who have gone before, laying a foundation for our modern witness tot he gospel in worship.

GATHERING HYMN Songs of Thankfulness and Praise (Salzburg) ELW 310

HYMN OF THE DAY Hail to the Lord's Anointed (Freut euch, ihr lieben) ELW 311

In the Prayer of the Day, we acknowledge that in this time after Epiphany God continues to reveal Jesus. Jesus is here to break oppression, free captives, take away our sin, and to rule in a kingdom that never ends.

MUSICAL OFFERING There Is a Balm in Gilead arr. Howard Helvey

COMMUNION HYMN Healer of Our Every Ill ELW 612

The author/composer, Marty Haugen, says this hymn was written for a specific event and was never intended to be sung outside that single service. It was written for an Evening Prayer service at Holden Village (Washington State), and was sung after the community learned that the space shuttle Challenger, along with its occupants, perished in an explosion on January 28, 1986.

A photo of the Holden Village dining hall. This retreat center is so remote that, from the nearest town, it is only accessible by a 2-4 hour ferry ride or a rigorous hike through the Cascade Mountains.

SENDING HYMN Oh, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing (Azmon) ELW 886

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Jesus Shall Reign (Duke Street)

setting, Charles Callahan

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL EVENT!

Sources: Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

Photo of Holden Village: By User:Millerj870 - Own work by the original uploader, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66567467