Notes on the Notes – May 10, 2015

This week’s Scripture readings:

Acts 10:44-48

John 15:9-17

This week’s music:

“It Only Takes a Spark” (VU #289)

“It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing:
That’s how it is with God’s love,
Once you’ve experienced it:
You spread God’s love to everyone,
You want to pass it on.

What a wondrous time is spring when all the trees are budding,
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming;
That’s how it is with God’s love,
Once you’ve experienced it:
You want to sing, it’s fresh like spring,
You want to pass it on.

I wish for you, my friend, this happiness that I’ve found –
On God you can depend, it matters not where you’re bound;
I’ll shout it from the mountain top;
I want my world to know:
The Lord of love has come to me, I want to pass it on.”

This song was written by Kurt Kaiser, a Chicago-born author, composer and arranger.  It is from a chorus in the musical “Tell It Like It Is” (1969).  The folk-style of the song gives it the traditional 60s feel and has made it a natural for singing around the campfire at camps or retreats.

Hear the original recording at:  https://youtu.be/4H5XE4NhE_0

Watch a video from 1976 by Evie Tornquist:  https://youtu.be/7joR7n91Ao8

“All Things Bright and Beautiful” (VU #291)

The text, from Cecil Frances Alexander’s Hymns for Little Children (1846), is based on the phrase “Maker of heaven and earth” in the Apostles’ Creed. The new words for verse four are particularly apt in the Canadian context. The tune, ROYAL OAK, is an English traditional melody associated with the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660. The arrangement in Voices United is by Martin Shaw (1915). The editors of “Voices United” also changed the words slightly in the interest of inclusivity.

“All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful
in love, God made them all.

Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings, God made their glowing colours, God made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountains, the river running by, the sunset and the morning that brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun, the ripe fruits in the garden: God made them every one.

The rocky mountain splendor, the lone wolf’s haunting call, the great lakes and the prairies, the forest in the fall.

God gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell how great is God our maker, who has made all things well.”

Watch a beautiful video by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:

“Here is the Church”

“If you are searching for a place to belong,
I know a house where you can go.
A special family will welcome you there
In a home where love can grow.

Here’s the church,
Here’s the steeple,
Open the doors,
See all the people.
Share the love,
Feel the Spirit,
Here’s the church,
Here is the church.

Come, kingdom seekers to the end of your quest,
And enter in this house of prayer.
This place of gathering where all will be blessed,
This home where fellowship is shared….”

This week, the Worship Choir, Praise Singers and Joyful Noise will join together to sing this anthem.  It was written by Kerry Pryor and Douglas Nolan (1999).  The choreography includes the actions for the old English children’s rhyme “Here is the church,”  which references the popular style of church architecture in London.

“Friends, Let Us Love Each Other” (VU #488)

“Friends, let us love each other,
Love is a gift God gives.
Friends, by the love within us,
This world will know God lives.
Love is the gift most precious
God gives to woman and man.
We find our life in loving,
That’s our creator’s plan.

Love is what Christ commanded,
Love lived out day by day.
Love bears another’s burden,
Love walks a tender way.
Friends, let us love each other,
Love is a gift God gives.
Friends, by the love within us,
This world will know God lives.”

Walter Farquharson and Ron Klusmeier published this hymn in the collection Worship the Lord in 1977.

“As a Family, We Thank You”

“Lord, humbly we thank You for giving us the gift of children,
So we may see ourselves the way You see us, Lord.

Lord, as a family, we lift our hearts and hands toward heaven,
Open to Your blessing, open to Your love.

Lord, humbly we thank You for giving us the gift of parents,
So we may catch a glimpse of how You love us, Lord.

Lord, humbly we thank You for Your design of home and family;
Help us to understand this picture of the family of God.

As a family we thank You.”

This week’s Worship Choir anthem was written by Ruth Elaine Schram in 2000.

“What Can I Do?” (MV #191)

“What can I do? What can I bring?
What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with joy. I’ll say a prayer.
I’ll bring my love.
I’ll do my share.”

This joyful song of offering and dedication was written by Paul Rumbolt and Michele McCarthy (2005). The arrangement in More Voices is by Alan C. Whitmore.

“Would You Bless Our Homes and Families” (VU #556)

 “Would you bless our homes and families, source of life who calls us here;
in our world of stress and tension teach us love that conquers fear.
Help us learn to love each other with a love that constant stays;
teach us when we face our troubles, love’s expressed in many ways.

When our way is undemanding, let us use the time that’s ours
to delight in simple pleasures, sharing joys in gentle hours.
When our way is anxious walking and a heavy path we plod,
teach us trust in one another and in you, our gracious God.

From the homes in which we’re nurtured, with the love that shapes us there,
teach us, God, to claim as family everyone whose life we share.
And through all that life may offer, may we in your love remain;
may the love we share in families be alive to praise your name.

Let us reach beyond the boundaries of our daily though and care
till the family you have chosen spills its love out everywhere.
Help us learn to love each other with a love that constant stays;
teach us when we face our troubles love’s expressed in many ways.”

This hymn, by Walter Farquharson and Ron Klusmeier, was published in Worship the Lord (1977), a collection of hymns by Walter Farquharson, Fred Kaan, and Ron Klusmeier, and it was also a popular selection in the United Church Hymnary supplement, Songs for a Gospel People (1987).