Notes on the Notes – October 31, 2021

“Our Saints’ Day” 

This Week’s Music: 

“The Church is Wherever” (VU #579)

“The church is wherever God’s people are praising,
Singing God’s goodness for joy on this day.
The church is wherever disciples of Jesus
remember his story and walk in his way.

The church is wherever God’s people are helping,
Caring for neighbours in sickness and need.
The church is wherever God’s people are sharing
the words of the Bible in gift and in deed.”

The simple lyrics of this hymn remind us that “church” is not about the church building, but that we can be the church wherever we are by our words and actions as God’s people.   The words were written by Carol Rose Ikeler in 1959. The tune is based on a traditional English  carol,  “Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day.”  The arrangement used in Voices United was made for The Hymn Book (1971) by F.R.C. Clarke, composer and organist at Sydenham Street United Church in Kingston, Ontario.

Enjoy listening to a string arrangement of the tune at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t6HhlbNlL4

“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

“Fly Away Medley” 

“Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away;
To a home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.
I’ll fly away, O glory, I’ll fly away;
When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away;  I’ll fly away.

When the shadows of this life have gone, I’ll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I’ll fly away.
I’ll fly away, O glory, I’ll fly away;
When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away.

Trials dark on ev’ry hand, and we cannot understand
All the ways that God would lead us to that blessed Promised Land;
But He’ll guide us with His eye, and we’ll follow till we die;
We will understand it better by and by.

By and by, when the morning comes,
When the saints of God are gathered home;
We will tell the story, how we’ve overcome;
We will understand it better by and by.

When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand and cast a wishful eye 
To Canaan’s fair and happy land, where my possessions lie.
I am bound for the Promised Land; I am bound for the Promised Land.
O who will come and go with me? I am bound for the Promised Land.

O, when the saints go marching in,
O, when the saints go marching in,
O, Lord, I want to be in that number 
When the saints go marching in!

I’ll fly away, O glory, I’ll fly away.
When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away…”

This medley of traditional gospel songs was arranged by Mark Hayes in 2002. It is made up of the songs “I’ll Fly Away” by Albert Brumley (1932), “We’ll Understand it Better By and By” by Charles A. Tindley, “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” by James M. Black, “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks” by Samuel Stennett, and “When the Saints Go Marching In,” a traditional spiritual.

For your viewing pleasure:

“I’ll Fly Away” by Ransomed Bluegrass at:  https://youtu.be/tQ29PPC059c
“I’ll Fly Away” by Hank Williams Sr. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmtK6KwvkWI

“We’ll Understand it Better By and By” by Guy Penrod – https://youtu.be/1HS3zPS6_Rk

“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” by Alan Jackson – https://youtu.be/2Ze1R4oSvus

“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks” – piano version – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvsQgMYMJiU

“When the Saints Go Marching In” – by Louis Armstrong – https://youtu.be/wyLjbMBpGDA

“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 closing 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.  She based her hymn on Hebrews 11 and 12.