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Hymn History: God of Grace and God of Glory

“God of Grace and God of Glory”
Harry Emerson Fosdick
The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 577

God of grace and God of glory,
on thy people pour thy power;
crown thine ancient church’s story;
bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour.

“God of Grace and God of Glory” was the opening hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on Pentecost, May 28, 2023.

It was sung by Pender’s congregation, accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs and guitar by Brian Stevenson.

Pender Opening Hymn “God of Grace and God of Glory” May 22, 2022 accompanied by flute and cello.

“God of grace and God of glory” was written in 1930 by Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969) for the dedication of the famous Riverside Church in New York City.

Fosdick was granted degrees from Colgate University and Union Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1903 to ministry in the Baptist Church and became pastor of First Baptist Church, Montclair, N.J.

Fosdick served as a chaplain during World War I and then was pastor of First Presbyterian Church in New York City. From this congregation he was called to pastor Park Avenue Baptist Church, which was renamed Riverside Church.

As we sing this hymn, perhaps it is helpful to remind ourselves of the events that shaped the “hour” and the “days” that provide the context for this great hymn.

“God of grace and God of glory” was written while the United States was in the throes of the Great Depression between the two World Wars. Fosdick was a champion of the social gospel, a movement that recognized the plight of the poor, especially in the urban Northeast during the Industrial Revolution.

UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young has noted: “Fosdick’s stirring radio sermons, books, and public pronouncements established Riverside as a forum for the critique of the same wealth and privilege whose gifts had made possible the building of the church.

“Under his leadership Riverside Church was interdenominational, interracial, without a creed, and, astonishingly for Baptists, required no specific mode of baptism. At the center of Fosdick’s ministry was urban social ministry.”

Fosdick was perhaps the most vocal proponent of the social gospel of his time—a position that brought both wide acclaim and broad disdain.

The congregation moved to a $5 million edifice made possible by a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr. The new building overlooked the Hudson River in what Fosdick called “a less swank district” than Park Avenue, where the congregation had been located near Harlem.

The hymn was written in the summer of 1930. It took shape as he reflected on the construction of the new building, and was first sung as the processional hymn at the opening service on Oct. 5, 1930, and again at the dedication on Feb. 8, 1931.

The language of the hymn is ultimately that of petition. “Grant us wisdom, grant us courage” concludes each stanza with the effect of a refrain. A petition begins stanza three with “Cure thy children’s warring madness,/ bend our pride to thy control.” The final stanza, equally prophetic, begins with “Save us from weak resignation/ to the evils we deplore.”

Fosdick wrote the text to be sung to the stately REGENT SQUARE (usually sung to “Angels from the realms of glory”). Methodist hymnologist and hymnal editor Robert G. McCuthan, however, first paired it with the Welsh tune CWM RHONDDA for the 1935 Methodist Hymnal. It was an immediate success and the new coupling has been almost universally adopted.

Hymnologist William Reynolds says Fosdick disapproved strongly of the new pairing. When Dr. Young asked the poet why he continued to oppose the use of CWM RHONDDA with his text, Fosdick replied, “My views are well known—you Methodists have always been a bunch of wise guys.”

That discussion notwithstanding, I object to the tempo played by many organists who take the hymn much too fast at the beginning, forcing the congregation to race through the prophetic petitions that conclude each stanza. The Welsh tune demands an appropriately stately tempo (think “processional,” not “horse race”) that gives the congregation time to absorb the challenges offered by the poet.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-god-of-grace-and-god-of-glory

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Posted by MaryO on August 21, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Ministries, Music, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Videos

Tags: Brian Stevenson, Cwm Rhondda, God Of Grace And God Of Glory, Great Depression, guitar, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Heidi Jacobs, history, hymn, pender sanctuary choir, Pentecost, piano, Processional, Regent Square, Social Gospel, video

Hymn History: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

31 Jul

For Pentecost May 28, 2023, Pender’s choir sang Come Thou Fount directed by Brian Stevenson and accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs.

The Pender UMC Traditional Service Opening Hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” on Music Appreciation Sunday June 12, 2022 was accompanied by Liz Sellers on piano, Brian Stevenson on Irish whistle, AJ Rios on drums and sung by the Pender Sanctuary Choir and Congregation.

Perhaps all hymns are to some extent autobiographical in that they reveal something of the author’s spiritual experience. In some hymns, the autobiographical thread is stronger and more obvious. Such is the case with British Baptist hymn writer Robert Robinson (1735-1790), who as a barber’s apprentice, fell under the powerful influence of George Whitefield’s preaching.

A favorite line in the last stanza, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love,” is thought to be particularly autobiographical, referring to Robinson’s early life, when his mother sent him to London to be an apprentice. It was during this time, according to hymnologist Kenneth Osbeck, that “he associated with a notorious gang of hoodlums and lived a debauched life” until he came under the spell of Whitefield.

After his conversion in 1755, Robinson first preached at a Calvinistic Methodist chapel at Mildenhall, Suffolk, and then founded his own independent congregation at Norwich. He was re-baptized in 1759 after taking up Baptist theological perspectives.

This led to his nearly 30-year relationship (1761-1790) as pastor of Stone Yard Baptist Church at Cambridge. Baptist hymnologist William Reynolds notes that Robinson “was an unusual man, and, while lacking formal education, he rose to great prominence as a preacher, scholar.” Robinson published A History of Baptism in 1790.

“Come, thou Fount of every blessing,” written in 1758, was the first hymn in A Collection of Hymns for the use of the Church of Christ, Meeting in Angel-Alley, Whitechappel . . . (1759). Martin Madan included the first three stanzas in his Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1760), which established the practice of eliminating the original fourth stanza.

UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young laments the omission, saying it “eliminates the apocalyptic climax of the author’s invitatory prayer to the Holy Spirit.”

The missing stanza follows:

O that Day when freed from sinning,
I shall see thy lovely Face;
Clothed then in blood-washed Linnen [sic]
How I’ll sing thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransom’d Soul away;
Send thine Angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless Day.

One of the most obvious biblical allusions appears in stanza two: “Here I raise mine Ebenezer/ hither by thy help I’m come.” The Hymnal Revision Committee for the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal received requests to alter this stanza by omitting the term “Ebenezer,” which means “Stone of Help,” a reference to 1 Samuel 7:12: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” But not finding a suitable substitute, the Committee chose to maintain the original language.

On this side of the Atlantic, the tune NETTLETON has been the most common but not exclusive musical setting for this famous and well-loved text. NETTLETON first appeared in John Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second (1813).

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing

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Posted by MaryO on July 31, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Videos

Tags: Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing, congregation, drums, George Whitefield, guitar, Heidi Jacobs, history, hymn, pender sanctuary choir, Pentecost, Robert Robinson, The Um Hymnal, video

All about Liturgical Colors

28 Jun

Purple, representing both royalty and penitence, is traditionally used during Advent and Lent.
Blue symbolizes hope and may also be used during Advent.
White and gold are used at Christmas and Easter to symbolize joy and festivities.
Red symbolizes the color of fire to represent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and times when the work of the Holy Spirit is emphasized. During Holy Week it represents the blood of Christ. Red is also used for ordinations, church anniversaries and civil observances such as Memorial Day and Thanksgiving.
Green represents growth and is used during Ordinary Time (the season after Epiphany and the season after Pentecost.)

Let’s start with a word about liturgical colors. You can see listed here that the official color of the long season of Ordinary Time is green. This makes sense for lots of reasons: Ordinary Time is about growing in our faith, about accepting the gifts that we’ve been given, and producing the fruit not just as individual Christians but as the body of Christ. Green is the color of growth and of fruitfulness. There are other reasons why the season claims the color green. Perhaps you and your team can come up with some more and use them to inform the congregation who may never have given thought to why the green paraments are used throughout this season.

We started here, however, because there are those who get bored with a single color in this long season that runs from Pentecost through Reign of Christ/Christ the King Sunday at the end of November. There are so many colors, so much beauty in worship art and God’s creation, why use only one color for this long season? Isn’t this the season after Pentecost? Why can’t we use red for at least a part of the season?

The season of Ordinary Time (or the Sundays after Pentecost—there is no “Pentecost Season”) calls for creativity and artistry. Even if you are using green as a foundational color, there is no reason why you can’t bring in a host of other colors over the season. Green represents life, and life is colorful. So, use more colors; use both/and; use a whole palette of colors to bring to life the worship in Ordinary Time. Think ahead for changing series or themes and find ways to enhance the liturgy with visual expressions of color, not just in paraments, but in banners, worship centers, projected or posted images, and colors. There are ways to move beyond the plain green altar or pulpit fall. Call on artists of all sorts to enhance the space.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/living-the-spirit-life/second-sunday-after-pentecost-year-c-lectionary-planning-notes

Chuck Knows Church — Episode 1 – LITURGICAL COLORS. Ever walk into your Sunday morning worship service and realize the colors have changed around the sanctuary? That’s why Chuck is talking about Liturgical Colors on his FIRST SHOW!

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Posted by MaryO on June 28, 2023 in Advent, Christmas, Chuck Knows Church, Easter, Holidays, Memorial Day, Pender UMC, Pentecost, Posts of Interest, Thanksgiving, Videos

Tags: Advent, blood, Blue, Christ, Chuck Knows Church, Epiphany, faith, gifts, Gold, Green, Growth, hope, joy, Lent, Liturgical Colors, Ordinary Time, Penitence, Pentecost, purple, Red, Royalty, sanctuary, White

Verse of the Day – May 28

28 May

They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:3-4 – NIV

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Posted by MaryO on May 28, 2023 in Books of The Bible, Holidays, Pentecost, Posts of Interest, The Holy Bible, Today's Bible Verse

Tags: Acts 2:3-4, fire, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Spirit

Pentecost is Sunday, May 28, 2023

27 May

Pentecost is a Christian holy day that celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit 40 days after Easter. Some Christian denominations consider it the birthday of the Christian church and celebrate it as such.

Originally, Pentecost was a Jewish holiday held 50 days after Passover. One of three major feasts during the Jewish year, it celebrated Thanksgiving for harvested crops. However, Pentecost for Christians means something far different.

Before Jesus was crucified, he told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come after him:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16–18

And 40 days after Jesus was resurrected (10 days after he ascended into heaven), that promise was fulfilled when Peter and the early Church were in Jerusalem for Pentecost.

Holy Spirit – Power for the Journey – Acts 2: 1-13

We belive in the Holy Spirit, the 3rd person of the Trinity who came on Pentecost and began the church. What does the Holy Spirit do today? How does the Holy Spirit get and find Power?

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^[b] ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”