Music Notes from Denise, November 29, 2025

This Sunday is the beginning of the new church year and the first Sunday of the Advent Season. We will light the Advent candle wreath each Sunday, beginning with a candle for HOPE. Our candle lighting carol will be One Candle is Lit written by Mary Anne Parrott from the Mission St. Clare, sung to the tune of Away in a Manger.  The music for Advent 1 is centered around the imagery of LIGHT! Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:12

Our Processional Hymn will be The King shall come when morning dawns, written in 1907 by John Brownlie, a Presbyterian pastor in the Free Church of Scotland.  It is infused with morning light and stirs hope in the hearts of all who look ahead to the return of Christ. We observe Advent as both the coming of Jesus as a baby, and the second coming of Christ bringing the Kingdom to each of us. Our Sequence Hymn is another one focused on light, Rejoice, rejoice, believers! And let your lights appear. It was written by Lorentius Laurenti in 1700 and is based on the parable of the wise and foolish maidens in Matthew 25, about the expected coming of the bridegroom and praying for Christ’s return to complete the work of redemption and to set his people free. (Psalter Hymnal Handbook)

The Offertory will be Walk in Light by Karen Marrolli. It is based on our readings in Isaiah 2:4-5 and Romans 13:12 and incorporates the hymn tune Divinum Mysterium (Of the Father’s Love begotten). Marrolli wrote this for the Sanctuary Choir of the United Church of Christ of Santa Fe, New Mexico and you will notice some melody lines that are reminiscent of the music of the Navaho people. Lynda Wilmott will join the choir with her beautiful clarinet descant.

       And we shall study war no more. Come, O people, O come and walk in the light of the Lord.

       And we shall walk the paths of peace. Come, O people, O come and walk in the light of the Lord.

       The night is far spent; the day is at hand.

       So let us cast off the works of night so we may wear a Shield of Day.

       And we shall walk in paths of peace. Come, O people, O come and walk in the light of the Lord.

       Dona nobis pacem. Evermore and Evermore. Evermore and Evermore.

 (Copyright 2016 Birnamwood Publications, MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St Louis MO)

The Communion Hymn will be the spiritual, Keep Your Lamps trimmed and burning. It’s often said to refer to the story of the wise and foolish maidens in Matthew 25, and it also reflects our Gospel reading for this Sunday in Matthew 24: “Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Our final hymn was written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Prophets told us pay attention, sung to the tune Regent’s Square that we associate with Angels, from the realms of glory. In a Meditation on this hymn that Carolyn stated in her book, God’s World is Changing, she wrote “There are also times we grow weary of focusing on what is happening around us in our world—and what God is calling us to do…Loving our neighbors begins with simply paying attention. Waiting for Jesus begins with paying attention to the ones that Jesus loves…As Christians, we pray not only that we may have the strength to escape troubles, as the scripture says, but also that we may help others escape troubles, too.” (Copyright 2022 God’s World is Changing, New Hymns for Advent and Christmas by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette)