Pender’s Joy Ringers (handbells), Sanctuary Choir and Congregation perform “When We Gather” by Kath Wissinger on September 26, 2021.
The Soloist was Brian Stevenson.
From the composer:
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Hymn History: Be Thou My Vision
“Said to be a favourite of King Charles’, ‘Be Thou my Vision’ is one of the oldest hymns in the world. Its text has its origins in 6th-century Ireland, in a poem attributed to early Christian Irish poet Dallán Forgaill. In the early 20th century, Forgaill’s Gaelic words were translated into English by Mary Elizabeth Byrne, and soon after adapted into verse by Eleanor Hull.
“Today, the text is usually sung to an Irish folk tune known as ‘Slane’, an ever-rising and deeply satisfying melody which gradually opens up through the verse, before resolving on the tonic on the final three notes.”
from The 15 greatest, most rousing hymns of all time
“Be Thou My Vision” was the middle hymn at Pender’s Music Appreciation Sunday on June 11, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s congregation, accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs and guitar by Brian Stevenson.
“Be Thou My Vision”
Versified by Eleanor Hull
The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 451
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day and by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Sometimes hymn singing invites us to connect with the saints who have gone before. Such is the case with the famous Irish hymn, “Be Thou my vision.” The original poem, found in two Irish manuscripts in the library of the Royal Irish Academy, may be dated as early as the 8th century.
Quite often, older hymns come to us as a collaborative effort before we are able to sing them from our hymnals. The Irish text, beginning “Rob tu mo bhoile, a Comdi cride,” was translated into literal prose by Irish scholar Mary Byrne (1880-1931), a Dublin native, and then published in Eriú, the journal of the School of Irish Learning, in 1905. Byrne was also known for her academic publications, including Old and Mid-Irish Dictionary, Dictionary of the Irish Language, and a treatise, England in the Age of Chaucer.
The original prose translation comes to us in 16 couplets.
The first is: Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. None other is aught but the King of the seven heavens.
And the last is: O heart of my heat, whate’er befall me, O ruler of all, be thou my vision.
It is at this point that Eleanor Hull (1860-1935) enters the story. Born in Manchester, England, she was the founder of the Irish Text Society and president of the Irish Literary Society of London. Hull versified the text and it was published in her Poem Book of the Gael (1912).
Following the original publication in Ireland, the hymn was included in a number of British hymnals. After World War II, the hymn came to the attention of hymnal editors in the U.S. and it has become a standard hymn in most hymnals today.
Irish liturgy and ritual scholar Helen Phelan, a lecturer at the University of Limerick, points out how the language of this hymn is drawn from traditional Irish culture: “One of the essential characteristics of the text is the use of ‘heroic’ imagery to describe God. This was very typical of medieval Irish poetry, which cast God as the ‘chieftain’ or ‘High King’ (Ard Ri) who provided protection to his people or clan. The lorica is one of the most popular forms of this kind of protection prayer and is very prevalent in texts of this period.” The original chieftain language of the “High King of heaven” has given way to the more inclusive “Great God” in the UM Hymnal.
When Hull’s versification was paired with the lovely traditional Irish tune SLANE in The Irish Church Hymnal in 1919, its popularity was sealed. The folk melody was taken from a non-liturgical source, Patrick Weston Joyce’s Old Irish Folk Music and Songs: A Collection of 842 Airs and Songs hitherto unpublished (1909).
“Most ‘traditional’ Irish religious songs are non-liturgical,” says Dr. Phelan. “There is a longstanding practice of ‘editorial weddings’ in Irish liturgical music, where traditional tunes were wedded to more liturgically appropriate texts. This is a very good example of this practice.”
It was on Slane Hill in County Meath around 433 CE that St. Patrick lit candles on Easter Eve, defying a decree by High King Logaire of Tara that no one could light a fire before the king signaled the beginning of the pagan spring festival by lighting a fire on Tara Hill. King Logaire was so impressed by Patrick’s devotion that, despite his defiance, he was permitted to continue his work as Ireland’s first Christian missionary.
Dr. Hawn is director of the sacred music program at Perkins School of Theology.
The Ten Commandments
I bet you can name the ten commandments right? No? How about where they are located in the old testament? No? Well, let Chuck explain about the ten commandments.
Hymn History: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
“All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall,
bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.”
“All Hail the Power of Jesus Name” was the opening hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on July 30, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s congregation, accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs and violin by Sean Wittmer.
The Pender UMC Traditional Service Opening Hymn “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” on Sunday July 3, 2022 was played by Liz Sellers on piano and sung by the Pender Congregation.
The popularity of this late-18th-century hymn may be attested by the fact it appears in hymnals with as many as three different tunes: CORONATION, DIADEM and MILES’ LANE. Each tune reflects a different cultural and denominational context in which this text is sung.
Another unusual aspect of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” is the number of modifications that have been made from the original text.
The original hymn text dates from 1779 and 1780, and was first printed in November 1779 in the Gospel Magazine, a publication by “Rock of Ages” composer Augustus M. Toplady. An eight-stanza version appeared just a year later in the same magazine titled, “On the Resurrection. The Lord is King.”
Massive alterations began as early as 1787 when the text was included in John Rippon’s Selection of Hymns with the title “The Spiritual Coronation, Canticles 3:11”—a reference to the Song of Songs: “Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.”
British hymnologist and literary scholar J.R. Watson notes, “By applying Solomon’s crowning to this hymn, the Old Testament reference is seen as Solomon’s prefiguring of Christ.”
Among the most notable changes made by Rippon was the final stanza. Perronet originally wrote:
“Let every tribe and every tongue
That bound creation’s call,
Now shout in universal song
The crowned Lord of all.”
Rippon’s version, which took hold in the early 19th century and remains in constant use today, is:
“O that with yonder sacred throng
We at his feet may fall,
We’ll join the everlasting song,
And crown him Lord of all.”
Perronet (1726-1792) was born in Sundridge, England, and died in Canterbury. His family came from the Huguenots of Switzerland, and according to The UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young, “was closely associated with and esteemed by the Wesleys.”
Against the desires of John Wesley, Perronet promoted the idea that Methodist preachers should be able to administer the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. In another controversial act, Perronet published a satire on the Church of England, The Mitre, angering the Countess of Huntingdon in whose chapel he served. As a result, he left to become a minister in the independent chapel in Canterbury.
Working together for a time, Wesley encouraged Perronet to preach, but Perronet preferred to defer to Wesley. The Methodism founder persisted, however, and announced that, “Brother Perronet will now speak.” Perronet stood before a large crowd and declared, “I will now deliver the greatest sermon ever preached on earth.” He then read the Sermon on the Mount and promptly sat down.
The tunes commonly associated with this famous text reveal much about this joyful expression of the 18th-century evangelical revival movement. CORONATION is a tune by American Oliver Holden (1792) and was first published in Boston in 1793. A stately tune in duple meter, it has the character of a coronation march.
DIADEM was composed by James Ellor in 1838 at the age of 19 for the anniversary of a Wesleyan Sunday school in his hometown of Droylsden, Manchester. This tune, in triple rhythm, has the feel of a stately minuet and suggests an anthem to be sung by a choir, especially with the independent parts of the refrain. It is indeed thrilling to hear congregations or church musicians sing this version in four parts.
The tune originally paired with this text, MILES’ LANE, does not appear in The United Methodist Hymnal. Written by William Shrubsole (1760-1806), it is less favored, in light of the other more buoyant tune options.
Regardless of the tune, the version we sing today leaves no doubt that the entire earth—from the “chosen seed of Israel’s race” and “sinners” and “martyrs” to “every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball”—will sing the “everlasting song” at Jesus’ feet. Now that will be a song to hear!
Dr. Hawn is professor of sacred music at Perkins School of Theology.
Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-all-hail-the-power-of-jesus-name
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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