Notes on the Notes – September 11, 2022

Second Sunday in the Season of Creation

“To Lament & Grieve” 

This Week’s Music:

“Come, Just as You Are”

“Come just as you are,
Hear the Spirit call.
Come just as you are –
Come and see, come receive, come and live forever.

Life everlasting,
And strength for today,
Taste the Living Water and never thirst again.”

Our opening song invites us to come as we are, with all of our faults and failures, and cast the burdens we have on the Lord to find the healing only God can provide.

Those who are feeling weighed down in life are allowed to cry out in hope or just soak in the words and music, while those who are experiencing a time when life seems perfect can sing this song to encourage others and remember how God has brought healing in their life. The words and music for this song were written by Joseph Sabolick in 1994.

Hear the song sung by The Harmony Singers:

“How Great Thou Art” (VU #238)

“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the works Thy hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul…

But when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul…

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, “My God, how great thou art!”

Then sings my soul,…”

A congregational favourite, the words of this hymn are an echo of the awe felt by the writer of Psalm 8.  The hymn How Great Thou Art travelled a long road before it ended up a favourite addition to English hymnals. The original version was a poem written by a Swedish pastor, Reverend Carl Boberg in 1886.   In 1933, English missionaries to the Ukraine, Reverend and Mrs. Stuart K. Hine heard the song for the first time, fell in love with it and sang it often throughout their missionary journeys. As they travelled the Carpathian Mountains, the couple was inspired by the incredible beauty to translate the first three verses of the song into English. When WWII broke out in 1939, the Hines returned to England carrying How Great Thou Art to its new home.  In the 1950s, the song was copyrighted and widely published in America, becoming more and more popular. When George Beverly Shea and the Billy Graham gospel choir, directed by Cliff Barrows, began to sing the song at virtually every crusade event, How Great Thou Art soon became one of the most recognized songs around the world. (source:  Share Faith website)

See the group, Anthem Lights, sing this hymn at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48i4l1715uc

See Lauren Daigle sing the hymn at: https://youtu.be/8BL06fxHPVo

“Remember”

“Remember when our earth was green and gently fell the rain,
When rivers sang their sweetest songs, renewing earth again?

Remember when the forests walked on mountain and on plain,
And shared with us their living breath, our planet to sustain?

Remember when we closed our minds and watched earth slowly die,
When science talked of climate change and we the truth denied?

Today we have a chance to change our act of heart and mind,
A chance to live in harmony, with earth and humankind.

Today we offer open hands and cradle earth with care;
We choose to live sustainably, abundant life to share.

To share a plentitude of grace with those who live on less,
To walk in wisdom in this world, and tread with gentleness.”

This week’s anthem was written by Helen Wiltshire.  It reminds us that, in this time of climate change, we will be called upon to make choices affecting the fate of God’s creation, both today and for future generations. It will be sung to the tune, AMAZING GRACE.

“For the Gift of Creation” (VU #538)

“For the gift of creation, the gift of your love,
And the gift of the Spirit by which we live,
We thank you and give you the fruit of our hands.
May your grace be proclaimed by the gifts that we give.”

Our offering dedication is from the United Methodist Book of Worship (1991) and is especially appropriate as we enter the church season of Creation.  The composer, Steve Garnaas-Holmes is a United Methodist pastor in Montana.

“O Beautiful Gaia” (MV #41)

“O beautiful Gaia,
O Gaia, calling us home.
O beautiful Gaia,
Calling us on.

Soil yielding its harvest,
O Gaia, calling us home.
Soil yielding its harvest,
Calling us on. 

Waves crashing on granite,…
Pine bending in windstorm,…
Loon nesting in marshland,…
Calling us on.”

The term Gaia (guy-ah) represents “Mother Earth,” inviting us to live into our care and respect for all creation. It asks us to consider our relationship to the earth in the context of our faith.
The words (printed here in abbreviated form) and music are by Caroly McDade, with verses created by singers gathered in Altantic Canada in 2006. The musical arrangement is by Lydia Pedersen (2006).

Hear the song sung by the Harmony Singers: