Notes on the Notes – April 12, 2015

This week’s theme: Easter changed everything…and everyone!

This week’s scripture readings:

Acts 4:32-35,  1 John 1:5-2:2

This week’s music:

“I Danced in the Morning” (VU #352) 

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came from heaven and I danced on the earth;
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced for the scribe and the pharisee,
But they would not dance and they would not follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came with me and the dance went on.

Dance, then…

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame;
The holy people said it was a shame,
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high,
And left me there on a cross to die.

Dance, then…

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on.

Dance, then…

They cut me down and I leap up high;
I am the life that will never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me;
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.

Dance, then…”

Folk singer Sydney Carter first published this song in 1963.  The tune is an 18th-century Shaker melody.  The Shakers were a pacifist religious group who celebrated their faith through song and communal dancing.  They originated in England and a group later settled near Albany, New York.   This hymn gained popularity in the United Church after being published in The Hymn Book (1971).

Hear the song at:  https://youtu.be/XLGqavkDszU

Hear John McDermott sing the song at:  https://youtu.be/xdlsqfyxjvc

A Gaither version of the song can be seen at:  https://youtu.be/ZsRE37jpUOw

“Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Give Thanks” (VU #179)

“Hallelujah, hallelujah. Give thanks to the risen Christ.
Hallelujah, hallelujah. Give praise to God’s name.

Jesus is Lord of all the earth,
Firstborn of all creation.
Hallelujah….

Spread the good news o’er all the earth:
Jesus has died and is risen.
Hallelujah…

We have been crucified with Christ,
Now we shall live forever.
Hallelujah…

Come let us praise the living God,
Joyfully sing to our Saviour.
Hallelujah…”

The text of this hymn is a series of paraphrases from the letters of Paul.  The words and music are by Donald Fishel (1971).   Darryl Nixon created this arrangement for publication in the United Church hymn supplement Songs for a Gospel People (1987), with the descant being composed by Betty Pulkingham.

See the hymn sung in a worship service at:  https://youtu.be/0GWSdq8GVG8

“In the Bulb There is a Flower” (VU #703)

“In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be;
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery.
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity,
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory.
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.”

Natalie Sleeth composed “Hymn of Promise” as a choral anthem and later adapted it to congregational singing (1986).  The anthem is dedicated to her husband, Donald Sleeth, a Methodist pastor and professor of homilectics, who was diagnosed with cancer not long after it was written.  It was first sung at his funeral service.   The message of hope and trust in God continues to resonate.

“Speak, O Lord”

“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You, to receiver the food of Your holy Word.
Take Your Truth, plant it deep in us; shape and fashion us in Your likeness;
That the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes in the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see Your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail; let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds, help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time, that will echo down through eternity;
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises; and by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, ’til Your church is built, and the earth is filled with Your glory.”

This week’s anthem is by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty.  It has been arranged by Fred and Ruth Coleman and comes from the collection “In Christ Alone.”

“We Shall Go Out With Hope of Resurrection” (VU #586)

“We shall go out with hope of resurrection;
we shall go out, from strength to strength go on;
we shall go out and tell our stories boldly;
tales of a love that will not let us go.
We’ll sing our songs of wrongs that can be righted;
we’ll dream our dreams of hurts that can be healed;
we’ll weave a cloth of all the world united within the vision of new life in Christ.

We’ll give a voice to those who have not spoken;
we’ll find the words for those whose lips are sealed;
we’ll make the tunes for those who sing no longer,
expressive love alive in every heart.
We’ll share our joy with those who still are weeping,
raise hymns of strength for hearts that break in grief,
we’ll leap and dance the resurrection story, including all in circles of our love.”

This hymn was published in Reflecting Praise (1993), a British hymnal.    The words are by June Boyce-Tillman.  It is set to the traditional Irish melody, LONDONDERRY AIR, and arranged by John Barnard (1982).

Hear James Galway play the melody on flute at:  https://youtu.be/xv1rI1kFvwA