Saturday, June 18, 2011

Trinity Sunday June 19, 2011

Notes from the Lofty Pews
TRINITY SUNDAY   June 19, 2011
This Sunday we celebrate unity and diversity in God’s Trinitarian presence.  It is a pivotal point in many ways, because God’s self-revelation has reached an apex with the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  There is a new chapter beginning in Jesus’ story.  His separateness from the Father and the Spirit has been blurred.  The One from Galilee now transcends all time and space and is in unity with the Creator and Sanctifier.  Things can never be quite the same.
        One more turning point is reached this Trinity Sunday as we hear the final verses of Matthew’s Gospel.  Jesus assumes full authority and delivers the great commission to go and make disciples to baptize them in the name of this Holy Trinity, and to teach them what it means to be a created, redeemed, and sanctified people of God.  This should sound familiar to the ears of us at Grace Anglican Church, since our purpose statement had all those elements, when we created it!  As Matthew’s proclamation of the good news is coming to an end, ours is just beginning.
        Has Jesus left us with a “commission impossible?”  What lofty ideals for such weak and faulty people.  How can we do all those things that He has commanded of us?  Will He settle for just a few of them?
        In truth, we have a greater chance of doing everything Jesus commanded of us than of doing only a few.  His commands throughout scripture are usually coupled with the means to bring them about.  The great commission concludes with a plan equal to the task.  “Remember” is the command; “I am with you always” is the power; “…to the end of the age” is the promise. 
        Our first and most important duty is to remember.  And we remember, savoring the presence of the Holy Trinity in worship and in fellowship, in song and solitude, and in prayer and praise with the community of believers in all times and places. 
This Trinity Sunday, we join that community in our processional hymn, Come Thou Almighty King, singing this in the last stanza:                 
                                                                       To Thee, great One in Three,
The highest praises be,
Hence evermore;
Thy sovereign majesty
May we in glory see,
And to eternity
Love and adore.
          Psalm 8 will be chanted by the singers in the loft in four part Anglican Chant.  You will have opportunity to join them in singing the Antiphon that will be handed to you in your worship folder. 
          The  Lofty Pew Singers will chant Canticle 2 in plainsong during the Offertory.  You will find the words in your insert under Canticle 2, (Song of the Three, 29-34).  There will not be an added antiphon response.
          What is a Canticle? A canticle (from the Latin canticulum, a diminutive of canticum, song) is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgically
Here is a link to read more about the canticle we will do on Sunday:
          I Sing the AL-mighty Power of God will be our sequence hymn.  I grew up singing these words to a much livelier and different tune , named VARINA, than the one that is in the Hymnal ’82, FOREST GREEN.  The words by Isaac Watts appear in his Divine Songs attempted in Easy Language for the use of Children (1715) under the heading “Praise for Creation and Providence.” ?  The thoughts for the hymn are taken from the Creation account in Genesis  1 and we will hear Genesis 1:1-2: 4 read as our first lesson.   What better hymn to sing in opening our service to sing praises to God our Creator!

          2 Cornithians 13:11-13 will be the second reading on Sunday.  You will recognize it immediately as the verses often read at weddings.  In our hymnal #606 you will find the words set to music in plainsong chant, Mode 6.  The singers in the loft will sing this in Latin from a motet by Maurice Durufle, Op. 10, no.1.  This translation in our hymnal is by Joyce MacDonald Glover (b. 1923)
Where true charity and love dwell,
God himself is there.
Since the love of Christ has joined us in one body,
Let us all rejoice and be glad now and always.
And as we hear and love our Lord, the living God,
So let us in sincerity love all people

As we are all of one body, when we gather
Let no discord or enmity break our oneness.
May all our petty jealousies and hatred cease
That Christ the Lord may be with us through all our days.

Now we pray that with the blessed you grant us grace
To see your exalted glory, O Christ our God,
Our boundless source of joy and truth, of peace and love,
For ever and for evermore, world without end.
Amen.
Here is a link to Ubi Caritas sung by the Cambridge Singers:
                                          http://youtu.be/457nVpxJDkA
Our recessional hymn, Alleluia! Sing to Jesus, was written in 1866 by William Chatterton Dix, in praise of Jesus’ ascension to heaven after the Resurrection.  Unusual for a hymn about Jesus’ victorious ascension, this one, with the third line of the final stanza, “Intercessor, Friend of sinners, earth’s Redeemer, plead for me,” follows the Savior into His ministry in the Heavenly sanctuary.
The tune HYFERDOL means “good cheer” and was written before Rowland Pritchard was 20 years old.  Born in Graienyn, near Bala in the Cambrian Mountains of north Wales, he was privileged to be raised in an atmosphere of song.  Rowland was blessed with a good voice and was much in demand as a soloist and song leader.  A number of his hymn tunes appeared in Welsh periodicals, but this one is considered his best.  It has gone around the world in the hymnals of nearly all churches, with at least a dozen different texts.  The tune encompasses only five notes yet is strong and a joy to sing.
ALLELUIA!  ALLELUIA!
Sources:
Tune My Heart to Sing, Wold
Hymnal 1982 Companion
Companion to the SDA Hymnal
Wikipedia.com
Youtube.com
Deacon Ronald Jutzy
Manual of Rites and Prayers – The Priest’s Pocket Book, Anglo-Catholic Archdiocese of the Southwest

Notes of interest for Grace Anglican Church
We have been pleased to welcome Terresa Doering as the organist in our loft the past 2 weeks while Pat O’Neil has been away caring for her father.  Pat’s father, Rowland Howlett  passed away June 8, 2011 in St Helena, California.
Next Sunday, Dr Glenn Pool will, once again, be at the organ in our loft.  We are very fortunate to have such fine organists willing to add to our worship services at Grace Anglican Church.  All of our organists have been a pleasure to work with. 
June 24, 25 & 26 our own Gretchen Ediger will be the featured piccolo in the Shrine Circus Band at Qwest Arena.  You might like to gather your children, grandchildren or neighbor children, or maybe just yourself to watch the parade on Friday or take in the circuse.  Gretchen tells me they will have elephants in the parade with the band playing as they go!  How fun!  LJ

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Pentecost 2011 at Grace Anglican Church

Music Notes from the Lofty Pews
THE DAY OF PENTECOST, June 12, 2011
                On this festival of Pentecost we will hear the reading of Acts to set the stage. We get caught up in the action of that historic day with the wind, tongues of fire, different languages and bewilderment of the crowd as Peter preaches his powerful message.   The gospel of the day tells of the resurrected Jesus appearing to his frightened disciples.  “Peace be with you”, he says and “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  They see His hands and side then sends them on their way.
                But, wait, He did one more thing—He breathed on them.  Strange?  POWERFUL!  Breath and wind have long been symbols of God and the Holy Spirit.  Wind, air, and breath have great meaning to us.  Think of electric fans and air conditioners, a brisk breeze to move a sail boat, tornados and hurricanes.  We also know that it takes more than breath to stay alive, but we also know what it means when we are told that someone has stopped breathing.
                Jesus chose an ancient yet universal symbol to convey the giving of the Holy Spirit.  Air is all around us, plentiful; yet invisible and we take it for granted.  Every time we breathe we are using that gift from God.  One of the most grateful ways to use breath is in music.  At Grace Anglican Church this PENTECOST SUNDAY, the ---air will be very important in our worship.  The flutist, Gretchen Ediger and the organist, Terresa Doering will use columns of air to produce music.  In the prime instrument of worship—the human voice—tones will unite with words, and carry us together as we unite in worshiping God.  It is no wonder that the Anglican Church has promoted music with integrity and looked with suspicion at anything that is artificial or superficial.  Live music made by live people proclaims the living, BREATHING presence of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit dwells with us and within us—as close as our very breath and as constant as the rhythm of our breathing.  May we be ever grateful receivers and users of God’s life-giving breath.
                Allow me to remind you that the color of Pentecost is RED.  You will see it in the altar cloths, banners and vestments of the clergy.  Wear it yourself, even if you don’t think it is your color.  IT IS THE COLOR OF THE DAY! 


                O Day of Rest and Gladness will be the processional hymn, with references to the Holy Spirit in each verse.

Holy Spirit, God of Love the hymn that surrounds our gospel reading with its 2 verses is often sung at baptisms.  We have none this Sunday; however this hymn reminds us of the Holy Spirit entering our lives at the time of our own baptism.

Holy Spirit, Lord Of Love,
Thou Who Camest From Above,
Gifts Of Blessing To Bestow
On Your Waiting Church Below,
Once Again In Love Draw Near
To Thy Servants Gathered Here.

We recess out into the world this day, singing a great hymn of Pentecost, O Spirit of the Living God. 
                                   O Spirit of the living God, 
                               thou light and fire divine,
                               descend upon thy church once more,
                               and make it truly thine.
                               ……

                               Blow, wind of God! With wisdom blow 
                               until our minds are free
                               from mists of error, clouds of doubt,
                               which blind our eyes to thee.
                               Burn, winged fire! Inspire our lips
                               with flaming love and zeal,
                               to preach to all thy great good news,
                               God's glorious commonwealth.

Psalm 104:25-35, 37 will be sung in plainsong chant by the ladies in the Lofty Pews, accompanied on the organ by our guest organist, Terresa Doering. 
                   

            Panis Angelicus by Cesar Franck, will be sung by Sharon Helppie at the Eucharist.  You will hear her sing the original version in Latin.  I have put a translation here for you and a link to hear it sung by another soprano….just in case you are unable to be at Grace Anglican Church this Sunday.

TRANSLATION
The bread of angels becomes the bread of humankind.
The heavenly bread gives an end to earthly forms.
O marvelous and wondrous sacrament:
the poor one, the servant and the humble all partake of the Lord.

You, O Godhead, One in Three, we implore,
so you may visit us, as we now worship you.
Lead us in your way, that we at last may see
the light wherein you dwell.



Sources:
Companion to the SDA Hymnal
Hymnal 1982 Companion
Tune My Heart to Sing
Deacon Ronald Jutzy


Sunday, June 5, 2011

Sixth Sunday of Easter

May 29, 2011
Some of the great Easter hymns we sing are hundreds of years old, with deep roots in church tradition.  Old doesn’t necessarily mean good (I know that will shock some of you – especially being written here by me), but hymns which still speak after so many years have to have something about them.  Our first hymn this Sunday is from the 20th century!
            Now The Green Blade Riseth will be our processional hymn and is an example of a more modern classic, by JMC Crum (1872-1958).
            First published in 1928 its haunting melody NOEL NOUVELET is combined with powerful and persuasive imagery.  It is not a comfortable or particularly easy hymn to sing well, but it speaks to our hearts – and will probably still be speaking many years from now, like the ancient Easter hymns of our spiritual ancestors. The hymn is written with considerable skill and a deep sense of wonder at the power of God in creation.
            “Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain. / Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain”, we see the contrasting colors, the green of the blade, the black winter earth, and though most of us are city dwellers, or outskirts of our fair city now, we still respond to the sense of spring after winter.  I’m just thinking of all the rain we’ve had and looking forward to being able to spend time in my garden with my chickens and planting flowers.  When, O WHEN will the sun shine again?
            The last verse makes the connection of scripture to the truths of human nature in relationship with God explicit:  When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,/ Thy touch can call us back to life again;/ Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been…”
            This is very powerful writing, which leaves us, whenever we look out over a personal wasteland, or despair over loss, the gift of hope.  In grieving this past week over the death of our dear friend Bill Grace, what comfort we can gain from God’s promise to “call us back to life again!” and “Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.”  THANKS BE TO GOD!
            Our sequence hymn, We Sing of God, the Mighty Source, is a profound and mystic text by one of the great British poet, Christopher Smart (1722-1771).  Smart was the son of the steward of Lord Vane’s estate and a highly educated scholar.  After a brilliant beginning his life went into a swift decline and in the end he was sadly in and out of asylums and debtor’s prison.   
Smart’s text is matched here with a tune by Samuel Sebastian Wesley that appears in our Hymnal for the first time.  Samuel was born August 14, 1810, at St. Pancras, London, a grandson of the great hymn-poet Charles Wesley.  His father was a musician who idolized Johann Sebastian Bach, hence Samuel’s middle name.  Studying music with his father, Samuel became a chorister in the Royal Chapel at age 10, and later, organist of various London churches and cathedrals.  Wesley was considered the greatest organist of his day.   He was famous for his ability to play extemporaneously, and since he improvised most of his playing, few of his pieces survive.  He devoted his composition chiefly to the Church of England, having great determination to improve the standards of cathedral music and the status and salary of musicians.  I LIKE THAT!

            The recessional hymn, Alleluia, Alleluia! Hearts and Voices Heaven-ward Raise, was written by Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885).  Wordsworth was ordained deacon in 1833 and priest in 1835.  He was the youngest son of the Rev. Christopher Wordsworth, rector of Lambeth and later master of Trinity Col, Cambridge, and the nephew of the poet William Wordsworth. He had close contact with his uncle through regular correspondence and visits with him until his death in 1850.  Interestingly, Wordsworth’s  hymn writing began after this date when he was in his forties, and all of his hymns were written before he became bishop of Lincoln in 1869.  The kind of people populating his country parishes influenced his hymn writing. Eric Routley says, “Essentially the teacher and pastor in his hymns,” Wordsworth tailored his work for his parishioners while exercising his poetic ideals and drawing on his high churchmanship.  Sometimes he even tailored the hymns to mundane concerns that he had with his congregations. 
                                                           
            The anthem sung by the singers in the loft will be Antonio Lucio Allegri’s, Agnus Dei, based on the Miserere for the Holy Mass.  Allegri's Miserere is widely recognized as being one of the finest to come from the Golden age. It may receive more performances throughout the world than any other piece of unaccompanied sacred music.  Some of you will enjoy reading the fascinating story I found about this masterpiece here:
http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/allegri/miserere.php
The Singers in the loft at Grace Anglican Church will sing a shortened version of this beautiful piece in Latin. The words translate to:
                        Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world have mercy upon us.
                                Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world have mercy upon us.
                                Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
   So, I encourage you to click on this link:
                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh31j6L95Ok&feature=youtu.be
Sit back and and enjoy listening to a choir singing this beautiful sacred work.  Perhaps we will have a choir like this someday – it is my dream!  Also, I wish to thank Sharon Helppie, Abbe Adams, Darrell Ludders & Pat O’Neil for their time and dedication to making our services so beautiful on Sundays.

See you on Sunday.
LJ        
Sources:
Hymns and Human Life, Erik Routley
Behind the Hymn with Rev’d Mark Woods
Oxford University Press
Companion to the SDA Hymnal
Hymnal 1982 Companion
www.classical.net/music

Fifth Sunday of Easter

May 22, 2011
All three of the hymns we will sing on Sunday are related to our second scripture reading of 1st Peter 2:2-10.
 We will open with the processional hymn Christ is Made the Sure Foundation.  This hymn was first introduced to Americans through the broadcast of the marriage ceremony of Princess Margaret of England and Lord Snowden in 1960.  Perhaps you sang along when watching the recent wedding of Prince William and Katherine Middleton in Westminster Abbey.  It is from an ancient Latin hymn dating to the 6th century and originally had 9 verses.          
The tune WESTMINSTER ABBEY is derived from an anthem by the great English composer Henry Purcell and was given its name by Sir Sidney Nicholson (organist of the Abbey from 1919-1928).  The name reflects Purcell’s various associations with the great London church.  From 1674-1678 Purcell tuned the organ in Westminster Abbey and later was appointed the organist.  On November 25, 1695 his funeral and burial were held there.
Our recessional hymn will be, The Church’s one Foundation.  This hymn, one of the most loved by people of many denominations, has very specific Anglican origins. 
Bishop John William Colenso (1814-1883) of Natal, South Africa, wrote a book entitled The Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua, Critically Examined.  In it, he revealed his support for the “modern” disbelief in the historicity of these Old Testament accounts and also his liberal views of the Scriptures and some of the Doctrines of the Anglican Church.  His superior, Bishop Gray, of Cape Town, declared Colenso deposed from his bishopric because of his divisive opinions.  Colenso appealed and was reinstated as bishop in Natal; he continued to hold his higher critical views until his death.  A furor was created in the church and bitter debate resulted. 
In the town of Windsor, England a young curate, Samuel Stone, was thrilled by Bishop Gray’s defense of the faith.  He knew that the poorer and uneducated members of his congregation, although reciting the creed faithfully each week, did not fully understand its real meaning.  He decided to strengthen the faith of his own parishioners by writing hymns to explain the creed.  He felt that a poetical form of the articles would be more effectual in keeping them in the memory and influencing the heart and life of those who sang. 
            The gradual hymn bookending our Gospel reading of John 14:1-14 will be very different from our usual hymns.  The ethnic diversity of our hymnal has been greatly enriched through the addition of texts and tunes that come from the Jewish tradition.  This hymn, God has spoken to His People has a text deeply rooted in the imagery of Hebrew scripture and is set to a traditional Hasidic folk melody.  The words challenge God’s people to action in response to the Creator’s word.  When the singers in the loft were practicing it this past week, we considered adding a tambourine at key places.  When you hear the music you will likely think so too!  This is a new one for us at Grace Anglican to sing, with very powerful words.
            The Eucharist anthem, O Taste and See, by Ralph Vaughan Williams was composed for the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey on Tuesday, June 2, 1953. 

 

As you may already know, Vaughan Williams was an agnostic, having evolved from atheism early in his life. Nevertheless, he composed a vast amount of religious music, even in his atheistic years, turning out works for church services, hymns, hymn settings and harmonizations, and various other compositions. This short motet uses text from Psalm 34:8, which is not the Psalm the singers will chant for this day.  But, again, the 2 Peter text refers to Psalm 34:8 when we read, “….if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
            Psalm 31:1-5 15-16 will be chanted by the singers in the loft in SATB Anglican chant form.  “In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame…..”

Sources:
Oxford University Press
Companion to the SDA Hymnal
Hymnal 1982 Companion

Fourth Sunday of Easter

This Fourth Sunday of Easter has often been called “Good Shepherd Sunday” because the scripture readings always deal with some aspect of Shepherds and sheep.  Wayne Wold says in his book, Tune My Heart to Sing that “our first impulse might be to observe the Sunday with green-colored glasses and dwell on images of pastoral hillsides and babbling brooks, playful sheep and a smiling shepherd.”  It is great when life is like that.  However, it is not a realistic or honest way to proclaim such a perspective as normal for a Christian’s life.  We need to make sure our preaching and music do not proclaim that narrow view.  For our own lives tell a different story. 
As I sat down to write the notes for tomorrow’s service I am concerned about two dear friends in the hospital that are in the “valley of the shadow …”   We hear the news of earth quakes, hillsides with mudslides, of brooks running dry with drought or rivers overflowing their banks and flooding cities.  We know of sheep that often doubt or wander from the shepherd – sometimes in our own families.  Our shepherd knows a reality that is less than perfect.  He has lived on this very same earth a life that included rejection, torture, death, and the grave.
In the gospel reading for this Sunday Jesus tells us about thieves and bandits who enter the fold by some other way than the gate, and that they come to kill and destroy the sheep.  Jesus wants us to be able to recognize these enemies of the faith for what they are and to resist them.  We need to be aware of important issues in the church and not ignore them, ever heeding the example of Christ who told his followers the truth, no matter how distasteful.  How can we discern who are the thieves and bandits of the faith, and how can we be prepared to tackle them head-on?
The Good Shepherd knows his sheep by name and they know his voice.  Though they can sometimes disagree, (ahhhh, does this sound familiar?) Christians come to know through a life of worship, learning, fellowship, and prayer what is the voice of the Good Shepherd and what is the voice of the impostor.  The thief comes only to maim and destroy.  The Good Shepherd comes that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. 
We hear the Shepherd’s familiar and encouraging words in the words of the 23rd Psalm – the Psalm appointed for Easter 4.  The singers in the loft were delighted to be able to sing this again in this beautiful  version  from “The Anglican Psalter” in 4 part Anglican Chant.  It is from a Psalter used by the Cathedral of St Paul in London. 
The quartet will sing BROTHER JAMES’ AIR another familiar piece during Eucharist.  This paraphrase is a metrical psalm and follows as closely as possible the language of the King James Version of Psalm 23.  These words are based on the 1641 version by Frances Rous (1524-1579), who married the sister of John Calvin.  The divines of the Westminster Assembly made a further revision, and it was altered again before appearing in the Scottish Psalter of 1650. 
Brother James was the nickname taken by James Leith Macbeth Bain, born about 1840 in Scotland, who was a mystical poet, writer, and spiritual healer.  He fluctuated from belief to agnosticism, and back again to a belief in divine love.  He formed a Brotherhood of Healers (who went about treating people for both spiritual and physical illnesses), writing poems and melodies, and singing to the patients as a part of the healing process.  Toward the end of his life, he worked for the slum dwellers of Liverpool, and at a home for children.  He died September 19, 1925.
The following explanatory note by Bain precedes the original printing of the hymn with the original melody name of Marosa, now commonly identified as BROTHER JAMES’ AIR:
“This melody is so named after the seventh daughter of my friend Captain McLaren, whom I christened some years ago.  The words are a version slightly modified by me to suit the melody, of the old, classic Shepherd-Psalm, than which I know of no more beautiful Hymn of Love.  This hymn, sung slowly, will be found to be a potent requiem for the blessing of those dear men who have fallen in this war.  For, the whole of the Christ-blessedness, and all the strength of the great Body of Christ, even the One Holy Catholic Church of Heaven and Earth, can be uttered, and has been uttered throughout the Ages in this Psalm of the Heart of God.”

From that ancient melody to the contemporary hymn, I Come with Joy, our sequence hymn.   It has been paired with Acts 2:42-47.  It was in July 1968, while serving as pastor of the Congregational Church, Hockley, Essex, England, that the contemporary hymnist, Brian Wren wrote this text.  As were many of his hymns, it was written to fill a special need, this one as the conclusion of a series of sermons on the Communion service. 
“Its purpose,” he said, “was twofold:  to start with an individualistic ‘I come with joy’ and end with a sense of being bound together with everybody else.  This was a deliberate progression because I wanted to move away from what I think is an over emphasis on the individual in Communion hymns.  The other purpose was to make suggestions about Eucharistic theology in a very simple way.  It has lines like ‘His presence is always near,’ ‘ is in such friendship better know.’  I understand the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist to be in the gathering of people who are committed to each other” (The Hymn, January 1981).
                As we sing this hymn, then later, as we take communion, may we think of the Good Shepherd always being near, feeling His presence and being able to recognize His voice.
                We close our service by singing the hymn, Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us, with the closing words, “Thou hast loved us, Thine we are.”
Sources:
Hymnary.org
Companion to the SDA Hymnal
Hymnal 1982 Companion
Tune My Heart to Sing
The Anglican Psalter