Music for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost

September 20, 2026

Today we have a guest preacher, the Rev. Emily Harkins. She serves as the Lead Pastor and Founding Developer of a new community of faith, The Dwelling.
She has selected special readings for today. The hymns and other music have been selected to complement them.

OPENING VOLUNTARY Two Settings of "Thaxted" Jeffrey Blersch

These two settings, from a larger partita are a preview of the Hymn of the Day.

GATHERING HYMN Together We Serve
The author of this text, Daniel Charles Damon, is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. He wrote this text for the centennial celebration of First Presbyterian Church in San Anselmo, California. Its main point is that our service to the people around us is an extension of God's love.

HYMN OF THE DAY Let Streams of Living Justice ELW 710

William Whitla wrote this hymn as a response to things that were going on in the world:
1. The protests and subsequent massacre at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China.
2. The situation in Argentina and the plights of the Disappeared.
3. Racial disputes in Ireland and between Palestine and Israel.

Whitla's original version of the hymn included images from these events in his second stanza - a stanza that is not used in ELW and in several other hymnals. For Whitla, this action skips the bad news that leads to the good news in the following verses. I searched for a full version of the hymn, but could not find one.

The tune comes from Gustav Holst's "The Planets." The theme comes from a piece that depicts the planet Jupiter.

MUSICAL OFFERING There's a Wideness in God's Mercy  Brenda Portman

The composer wrote this piece in memory of the husband of one of her choir members. Before serving in Vietnam, he was working to become a concert pianist. Shoulder injuries during the war took that dream away. The piano interludes honor his gift at the piano. The soldiers he worked with were known as the Delta Company - so the piece is in the key of D Major throughout. 

SENDING HYMN Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart ELW 873

I chose this hymn because it has a couple echoes from the gospel reading. It names the "pure in heart" and encourages them to rejoice.

It was written as a processional hymn.  Did you know that in many liturgical churches there is no such thing as a recessional hymn? The reason is because even though we are leaving the worship space, we are still following the cross! In some church bulletins you will see "recessional hymn" but I prefer what many liturgical churches call it - the "retiring procession."

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Vineyard Haven Benjamin M. Culli, Richard W. Dirksen

Vineyard Haven appears in ELW as an option to be sung with the text of Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart. It has a modal character, appearing to be in C minor, but with lots of "accidentals" along the way. It's a grander, more sweeping tune. First, we  hear a short prelude version by Benjamin M. Culli, then Dirksen's version from the hymnal.

Sources
Hymnal Companion - Evangelical Lutheran Worship

Wikipedia
Lead Graphic from SundaysandSeasons.com