Music Notes from Denise, July 11, 2025

This Sunday we will read in Psalm 25:1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you. We will be reminded of the Great Commandment with Jesus’ words of wisdom from Luke 10: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Our music will reflect our love of God and our love for our neighbors, whoever they may be.

Our Processional Hymn will be the awesome hymn, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. The last psalm in the Bible, Psalm 150, ends with this invitation: “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.” German composer Joachim Neander gave us words to do just that when he wrote his most well-known hymn. Hymnologist John Julian declares this to be “a magnificent hymn of praise to God, perhaps the finest production of its author, and of the first rank in its class” (Dictionary of Hymnology). And indeed, this is a hymn that has stood the test of time (over 300 years) to remain one of the most beloved praise hymns in the Church. As we sing these words, we join with the voices, in many languages, of millions who have gone before us, and those across the globe, to sing these great words of thanksgiving and honor to the God who created us, protects us, and befriends us. (Hymnary.org)

Our Sequence hymn will be the gospel hymn, Come, we that love the Lord with the refrain the familiar We’re marching to Zion. The text was written by the famous British hymnwriter, Isaac Watts in 1707 and the jubilant tune came much later in 1867 by the Baptist minister Robert Lowry. Dr. Lowry once stated, “I would rather preach a gospel sermon to an appreciative, receptive congregation than write a hymn," yet in spite of his preferences, his hymns have gone on and on, translated into many languages, preaching and comforting thousands upon thousands of souls, furnishing them expression for their deepest feelings of praise and gratitude to God. (Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers, hymnary.org)

This Sunday, the congregation will become the CHOIR when you sing a song that the children’s Chapel Choir already knows, Love the Lord your God. It was written to help to remember the Great Commandment. “Jean and Jim Strathdee have a special gift for encouraging folks to sing with them. Much of the music they write and perform is designed for congregational singing. Their music spans a diversity of sound and style and includes use of guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica, African drums and Native American flute. They see their music as an agent of personal and social transformation and are involved with fund- and consciousness-raising events where ecumenical and inter-faith communities come together to make a stand for positive change. Jim and Jean have served on the staff of United Methodist churches in southern and northern California and Hawaii and are currently co-directors of music at Rancho Cordova UMC near Sacramento. They have written hundreds of hymns, songs and anthems and recorded nearly 20 albums.” (strathdeemusic.com) I will teach you the simple lyrics as printed in the bulletin, and some basic hand signs that illustrate the words, and you will become the CHOIR!

Our final hymn has new words, Who is the neighbor, written to the familiar tune, Finlandia, that we sang last Sunday. The hymn was written by Delores Dufner, OSG and it comes from our Gospel story in Luke about the good Samaritan. Dufner is a member of St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota. She has written many liturgical, scripturally based hymn and song texts which have a broad ecumenical appeal. Delores was a school music teacher, private piano and organ instructor, and parish organist/choir director for twelve years. She served as liturgy coordinator for her religious community of 775 members for six years and as Director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota for fifteen years. She subsequently worked as a liturgical music consultant for the Diocese of Ballarat, Victoria in southeast Australia. She is also assisting with liturgy planning and music leadership at her monastery. (Hymnary.org).