Notes on the Notes – May 9, 2021

Mother’s Day

This Week’s Music:

“I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” (VU #644)

“I was there to hear your borning cry,  I’ll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,  to see your life unfold.

I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well,
In a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell.

When you heard the wonder of the word,  I was there to cheer you on;
You were raised to praise the living Lord, to whom you now belong.

If you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one,
I’ll be there to make your verses rhyme from dusk till rising sun.

In the middle ages of your life, not too old, no longer young,
I’ll be there to guide you through the night, complete what I’ve begun.

When the evening gently closes in and you shut your weary eyes,
I’ll be there as I have always been with just one more surprise.

I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.”

This is perhaps the best known song of Iowa composer John Ylvisake.  The words of the song are spoken in the voice of God, and assure us that we are never alone through our life’s journey.

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

Watch a video of the song at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSIjIpkVrk0

“Mother and God” (VU #280)

“Mother and God, to you we sing:
Wide is your womb, warm is your wing.
In you we live, move and are fed
Sweet, flowing milk, life-giving bread.
Mother and God, to you we bring
All broken hearts,
All broken wings.”

Our prayer response this week was written by Miriam Therese Winter in 1987. It was arranged by Nan Thompson in 1995.

Hear Miriam Therese Winter sing the song at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAabITtP7vY

“Love Grows Here”

“Take a look around you, tell me what you see;
People here to worship the Lord, just like you and me.
Some have come in gladness, some have come with fear;
But all have come because they know that love grows here!

Yes, love grows here, and all of us can share the wonder and joy that it can bring.
For God is near, teaching us to care, and showing our hearts how to sing.

Some of us are lonely, some have many friends;
Some lives just beginning, some are near the end.
Yet we come together knowing He is near,
Once again reminding us that love grows here!”

This week’s beautiful Praise Team anthem is by Don Besig.

“God Gives Us Those Who Love Us”

“God gives us those who love us to help us on our way;
God gives us those who love us to love us come what may.
God gives us those who love us that we may love them too;
That we may love them too.

God gives us those who love us, who give us life at birth;
God gives us those who love us, who care for us on earth.
God gives us those who love us to show what love can be;
To show what love can be.

God gives us those who love us, our families and our friends;
God gives us those who love us, whose love both guides and mends.
God gives us those who love us to teach us love’s reward,
To teach us love’s reward.

God gives us those who love us because God loves us too;
God gives us those who love us to show what love can do.
God gave us Christ who loves us, the greatest love of all;
The greatest love of all;
The greatest love of all.”

This week’s anthem was written by Mary Kay Beall & John Carter.  It was published in 1995, with a choral arrangement published in 2007.

“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 thought 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).

“May the Blessing of God Go Before You” (VU #962)

“May the blessing of God go before you.
May her grace and peace abound.
May her Spirit live within you.
May her love wrap you ’round.
May her blessing remain with you always.
May you walk on holy ground.

This week’s benediction response was written by Miriam Therese Winter in 1987.