Notes on the Notes – November 3, 2024

All Our Saints Sunday

This week’s music: 

“For the Faithful Who Have Answered” (VU #707)

“For the faithful who have answered when they heard your call to serve,
For the many ways you led them testing will and stretching nerve,
For their work and for their witness as they strove against the odds,
For their courage and obedience we give thanks and praise, O God.

Many eyes have glimpsed the promise, many hearts have yearned to see.
Many ears have heard you calling us to greater liberty.
Some have fallen in the struggle, others still are fighting on.
You are not ashamed to own us. We give thanks and praise, O God.

For this cloud of faithful witness, for the common life we share,
For the work of peace and justice, for the gospel that we bear,
For the vision that our homeland is your love – deep, high, and broad –
For the different roads we travel we give thanks and praise, O God.”

Our opening hymn is a song of thanks and praise for everyone who responds in faith to the call of God.  Sylvia Dunstan was commissioned to write this hymn for the fiftieth anniversary of women’s ordination in 1986 and based the lyrics on Hebrews 11 and 12.

“Come and Fill Our Hearts” (MV #16)

“Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
You alone, O Lord, are holy.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace,
Alleluia.”

This short song of centering and healing prayer comes from the Taize Community, with music by Jacques Berthier (1982).

Take a few moments to relax and breathe at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYfW2BBtAos

“Those Hearts That We Have Treasured” (VU #494)

“Those hearts that we have treasured, those lives that we have shared;
Those loves that walked beside us, those friends for whom we’ve cared,
Their blessing rests upon us, their life is memory,
Their suffering is over, their spirits are set free.

They still give hope and comfort, they did not lose the fight;
They showed us truth and goodness, they shine into our night.
Remember days of gladness; remember times of joy;
Remember all the moments that grief cannot destroy.

From hearts that we have treasured, from lives that we have shared,
From loves that walked beside us, from friends for whom we’ve cared,
We’ve learned to treasure kindness, we’ve learned that grace provides,
We’ve learned to be together, we’ve learned that love abides.”

Sylvia Dunstan wrote this text in 1991 for use in a secular memorial service, to fill a need that became apparent to her after attending a number of vigils and memorial services for those dying of AIDS.  The melody, RESIGNATION, is an American fold hymn tune published in Southern Harmony in 1835.    Sylvia Dunstan began writing songs in the early seventies and soon after met Sister Miriam Theresa Winter, who encouraged her to write songs based on Scripture.  In 1980, she was ordained by the Hamilton Conference of the United Church of Canada. During her career she served as a minister, a prison chaplain, and editor of a Canadian worship resource journal, Gathering.

Sylvia Dunstan died on July 25, 1993, almost four months after being diagnosed with liver cancer. She left behind a ministry that combined a compassionate concern for the needy and distraught with a consuming love of liturgy.

Hear the melody at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PoUhE2JSkMw

“Come and Seek the Ways of Wisdom” (MV #10) 

“Come and seek the ways of Wisdom, she who danced when earth was new.
Follow closely what she teaches, for her words are right and true.
Wisdom clears the path to justice, showing us what love must do.

Listen to the voice of Wisdom, crying in the marketplace.
Hear the Word made flesh among us, full of glory, truth, and grace.
When the word takes root and ripens, peace and righteousness embrace.

Sister Wisdom, come, assist us; nurture all who seek rebirth.
Spirit-guide and close companion, bring to light our sacred worth.
Free us to become your people, holy friends of God and earth.”

The words for this hymn were written by Ruth Duck in 1993.  She says, “In my sophomore Bible class at Rhodes College in Memphis, I learned about Lady Wisdom, an intriguing image of God found in Proverbs, Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and literature between the testaments.”   She created this hymn to attempt to express a trinitarian theology with this image. Sophia is the biblical Greek word for Wisdom, which is why Wisdom is often portrayed as female. In this hymn we see Wisdom as Creator, Word-with-us, and Spirit-guide.  The music is by Donna Kasbohm, a composer from the Twin Cities.

“Jesus Teach Me” 

“Jesus, teach me what I need to know.
Guide and lead me where I need to go.
In everything I say and do, teach me how to love like You.

Shine Your heavenly light.
Touch me and open my eyes.
As I go through the day, Lord, let me follow Your way.

Lord, the sound of Your voice fills me with comfort and joy.
Now I know I must start listening with all of my heart….”

This week’s anthem is by Bert Stratton and Vicki Tucker Courtney. It was published in 2010. The simple melody and words are a prayer for Jesus to help us to know and live by his teachings.

“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” (VU #541)

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures high and low;
Give thanks to God in love made known:
Creator, Word and Spirit, One.  Amen.”

The words for this traditional Doxology were written around 1674 by Thomas Ken, and updated for Voices United.   A Doxology is a short hymn of praise to God, which is often used as an offering response.  The music, OLD 100th, is from the Genevan Psalter (1551).

“O God, We Give Thanks for the Saints Gone Before Us” 

“O God, we give thanks for the saints gone before us-
Remembering well how they walked Jesus’ Way.
They valued the truth and would rise to defend it.
They knelt to be kind to the poor day by day.
They welcomed in immigrants, honoured new neighbours,
Put love before greed, and sought peace over strife.
May we in our homes and our churches and nations
recall Jesus’ teachings and welcome this life. 

O God, we give thanks for the saints now among us – 
for teachers and helpers and activists, too,
for those in our families and those who work with us
to make the world better, to make the world new.
We thank you for those who seek justice for others,
for those who seek Jesus and live by his grace.
May we in our homes and our churches and nations
give thanks for their witness of love in this place.

O God, we give thanks for the Way Jesus shows us;
may we seek to follow his reign from above.
The world often calls us to hatred and violence,
but Christ’s Way is welcome and mercy and love.
Like prophets, apostles, and martyrs before us,
like those who bear witness to you every day,
may we in our homes and our churches and nations
be saints who are eager to choose Jesus’ Way.”

Our closing hymn is a new hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (2024).  Celebrating faithful Christians in the past and present, this hymn is also a prayer that we will follow Jesus in the world today.
“In a time when competing voices in society encourage us to abandon the way of Jesus, we need to remember how he taught us to live.” 
Gillette and her husband Bruce serve as pastors for the First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, New York.  The tune we will be using is ASH GROVE.

“Lead Me, Lord” 

“Lead me, Lord, I will follow.
Lead me, Lord, I will go.
You have called me, I will answer.
Lead me, Lord, I will go.”

Our closing song was written by Wayne and Elizabeth Goodine in 1994.  As we come to the end of worship, we renew our commitment to follow Jesus throughout the coming week.