Notes on the Notes – January 14, 2024

Second Sunday after Epiphany

This week’s music will be led by the musicians at Windsor Park United Church: 

“Behold, Behold, I Make All Things New”  (MV #115)

“Behold, behold,
I make all things new, beginning with you
and starting from today.
Behold, behold, 
I make all things new, my promise is true,
For I am Christ the way.” 

Our gathering song for the month of January was written by John L. Bell in 1995.

Hear the song at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xgmsynls3k

“Jesus Calls Us Here to Meet Him”

“Jesus calls us here to meet him as, through word and song and prayer,
We affirm God’s promised presence where his people live and care.
Praise the God who keeps his promise; praise the Son who calls us friends;
Praise the Spirit who, among us, to our hopes and fears attends.

Jesus calls us to confess him, Word of Life and Lord of all,
Sharer of our flesh and frailness, saving all who fail or fall.
Tell his holy human story; tell his tales that all may hear;
Tell the world that Christ in glory, came to earth to meet us here.

Jesus calls us to each other, vastly diff’rent though we are;
Race and colour, class and gender neither limit nor debar.
Join the hand of friend and stranger; join the hands of age and youth;
Join the faithful and the doubter in their common search for truth.”

Our opening hymn has words by John L. Bell and Graham Maule of the Iona Community in Scotland.  The words call us into worship, whoever we are, to praise God and learn of Jesus in community.  The tune we will be using is HOLY MANNA, which was composed in 1825 by William Moore.

See a piano/flute duet of the tune at:  https://youtu.be/nedd99Sqjbo

“Follow the Way of the Lord”

“On each journey that you take, follow the way of the Lord.
In every single choice you make, follow the way of the Lord.
Climbing up the mountainside, or swimming hard against the strongest tide,
Christ is there to be your guide, follow the way of the Lord.

Through the vale where shadows fall, follow the way of the Lord.
Jesus answers when you call, follow the way of the Lord.
As the Saviour’s path unfolds come and walk the straight and narrow road.
Christ will lighten up your load, follow the way of the Lord.

Follow and pray; follow today; follow the way of the Lord.
Follow His grace, follow in faith; follow the way of the Lord.

In everything you say or do, follow the way of the Lord.
The Savior watches over you, follow the way of the Lord.
On that morning when you rise Christ will lead you home up to the skies,
All the way to paradise, follow the way of the Lord.

Will you decide no to follow Jesus?
No turning back, no turning back.…”

Written in 2009, today’s anthem by Bert Stratton and Lloyd Larson brings us an inspiring call to discipleship.  The words remind us that being a follower of Jesus requires us to make that choice over and over throughout our life.  The anthem also quotes the song “I have decided to follow Jesus,”  a Christian hymn originating from India.

“Come to My Heart” (VU #661)

“Come to my heart, Lord Jesus; teach me to walk in your way.
Come to my heart, Lord Jesus; come to my heart today.
Give me the peace and joy that only you can bring.
Come to my heart, Lord Jesus; give me a song to sing.

Fill me with love, Lord Jesus; teach me to walk in your way.
Fill me with love, Lord Jesus; fill me with love today.
Give me the peace and joy that only you can bring.
Fill me with love, Lord Jesus; give me a song to sing.

Answer my prayer, Lord Jesus; teach me to walk in your way.
Answer my prayer, Lord Jesus; answer my prayer today.
Give me the peace and joy that only you can bring.
Answer my prayer, Lord Jesus; give me a song to sing.”

This song was written by Joe Pinson in 1979.  Its simple lyrics are an invitation for Jesus to be with us both now, during this time of worship, and as we go through life’s journey.

Hear the Harmony Singers (2021): 

“Would I Have Answered When You Called”

“Would I have answered when you called, “Come, follow, follow me!”?
Would I at once have left behind both work and family?
Or would the old, familiar round have held me by its claim
And kept the spark within my heart from bursting into flame?

Would I have followed where you led through ancient Galilee,
On roads unknown, by ways untried, beyond security?
Or would I soon have hurried back where home and comfort drew,
Where truth you taught would not disturb the ordered world I knew?

Would I have matched my step with yours when crowds cried, “Crucify!”
When on a rocky hill I saw a cross against the sky?
Or would I too have slipped away and left you there alone,
A dying king with crown of thorns upon a terrible throne?

O Christ, I cannot search my heart through all its tangled ways,
Nor can I with a certain mind my steadfastness appraise.
I only pray that when you call, “Come, follow, follow me!”
You’ll give me strength beyond my own to follow faithfully.”

The words for this hymn were written by Rev. Dr. Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., an American hymn writer (1923-2007).  He was known for his leadership in community and civic projects. Always taking an active stance on social issues, he participated in the creation of day care centers, served on the Gettysburg interchurch social action committee, helped create and support prison ministries and a homeless shelter, and tutored young people in the after school program of Christ Lutheran Church, where he was a long time member. (Source:  Hymnary.org).

The words of the hymn ask us to put ourselves in the place of the first disciples.  Would we have given up our lives and families to follow Jesus?  Would we stand by him at the crucifixion, or slip away?  The closing verse asks Jesus to “give me strength beyond my own to follow faithfully.

We will be using the familiar tune, KINGSFOLD, with these words.  Thought by some scholars to date back to the Middle Ages, KINGSFOLD is a folk tune set to a variety of texts in England and Ireland. The tune was published in English Country Songs [sic: English County Songs] (1893), an anthology compiled by Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller Maitland. After having heard the tune in Kingsfold, Sussex, England (thus its name), Ralph Vaughan Williams introduced it as a hymn tune in The English Hymnal (1906) as a setting for Horatius Bonar’s “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.”

See a violin arrangement of the tune at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGRvw2BzS3o

“I Praise You, O God” (MV #61) 

“I praise you, O God, with all of my heart.
With all the earth I will sing your praises.”

Our offering response for the month of January has words and music by David Robertson (2005) and was inspired by Psalm 138:1.

Hear this response at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLIH4X43Dxc

“And When You Call for Me” (MV #96)

“And when you call for me, I have already answered.
And when you call for me, I am already there.”

This sung introduction to prayer was written by Lynn Bauman in 2000, with music by Linnea Good (2004).

“Long Ago and Far Away” (MV #195)

“Long ago and far away Jesus lived and worked and prayed;
Healed the sick and the fearful and lonely
Lived his life to show us God’s way.

Jesus called all his friends to be with him
Share the bread and the cup once again
Life to you I will offer it gladly
Love will be with you right to the end.

Stretched his arms out as he said
Fill the cup and share the bread
Remember me in love and joy and blessing.” 

This communion hymn was written by Pat Mayberry in 2000 and arranged by Margaret Stubbington in 2008.

Hear the hymn sung by the choirs of Kanata United Church  at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc_lyT6KFFM

“Kingsford Communion Set” (MV 203-205)

Sanctus and Benedictus
          “O holy, holy, holy God,
           O God of time and space.
          All earth and sea and sky above bear witness to your grace.
          Hosanna in the highest heav’n, creation sings your praise.
          And blessed is the One who comes and bears your name always!

Memorial Acclamation
Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen, Christ will come again!
         Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen, Christ will come again!

Great Amen
Amen, amen, O Holy One!
       Hosanna and Amen!
       Amen, amen, O Holy One!
       Hosanna and Amen!”

This communion set by William S. Kervin and Paul Stott (2005) is comprised of the Sanctus and Benedictus, the Memorial Acclamation and the Great Amen of our communion liturgy. The music is the tradition English/Irish melody, KINGSFOLD.

“Forth in Your Name, O Christ” (VU #416)

“Forth in your name, O Christ, we go, our daily labour to pursue,
You, only you, resolved to know in all we think, or speak, or do.

The task your wisdom has assigned here let us cheerfully fulfil;
In all our works your presence find, and prove your good and perfect will.

You may we set at our right hand, whose eyes our inmost secrets view,
And labour on at your command and offer all our works to you.

Help us to bear your easy yoke, in every moment watch and pray,
And still to things eternal look, and hasten to that glorious day.

Then with delight may we employ all that your bounteous grace has given,
And run our earthly course with joy, and closely walk with you to heaven.”

This text, from Charles Wesley’s Hymns and Sacred Poems (1749), is one of the few hymns directly about work.  Recognizing the significance of daily work for the Christian, Charles Wesley wrote and sang hymns not only for Sunday but also for daily use.
The text of this hymn reflects Wesley’s views about work: we are to do our work in the name of the Lord (verse 1); God calls us to our work in obedience to his will (verse 2); we may offer all our work to God (verse 3); as we journey from this life to glory, we may always view our work as part of the coming of God’s kingdom (verse 4); we may gratefully use all God’s gifts for his glory (verse 5), (Source: hymnary.org).
The tune, CANONBURY, is one of a number of 19th-century hymn tunes adapted from instrumental works by well-known composers.  The melody is from Robert Schumann’s Nachtstucke, Opus 23, No. 4 (1839) for solo piano.

Hear the hymn tune at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apj1Dgj_6ug

Hear the original piano piece by Schumann at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoWYyOTZU6M

“Go Now in Peace, Guided by the Light” (MV #211)

This commissioning and prayer for guidance was originally written in Spanish (“Vayan en paz”) by Pedro Rubalcava in 2002.  It was arranged by Peter Kolar, also in 2002.

“Go now in peace, guided by the light of Christ,
So you may be nourished by the Word of Life.”

Bonus video: