Musical Notes From St. Paul's Lionville

Jubilant Bells Prelude 🔔  Our selection recognizes the contributions of Joseph Renville (of Indigenous and Dakota heritage) to the music we use in worship today. Many and Great (Wakantanka Taku Nitawa). ..arr. Cathy Mocklebust If the title seems familiar, it is because this selection was played as a postlude at our service on July 5th, and in my notes I provided background on the composer of this hymn, which you can read in full by visiting the earlier link, or in reviewing this summary about Joseph Renville: Renville was the son of a French trader and a Dakota mother, later becoming a fur trader, guide, and British army captain in the War of 1812. He co-founded the Columbia Fur Company and established the Lac Qui Parle post, eventually aiding a Presbyterian mission by helping them build trust with the Dakota people. Through this collaborative work, Dakota dictionaries, Bible translations, and a hymnal were created. It is believed Renville authored at least 6 of 108 hymns appeari...

8am Service  Gathering Hymn : ELW 693 Come, Ye Thankful People, Come Hymn of the Day : ELW 686 We Give Thee But Thine Own Sending Hymn : ELW 689 Praise and Thanksgiving "The Poor Man's Bishop" presents our hymn of the day In addition to providing us with the well-known text of For All the Saints ,  William Walsham How also composed the text of We Give Thee But Thine Own  in addition to other hymn texts. He spent his life in service to those in poverty, turning down distinguished placements within the church, and instead electing to become a bishop in the impoverished East End of London in 1879. He advocated for the welfare of workers, and established a fund to support extending support services into the community. Conditions improved during his tenure, but eventually a new bishop was appointed, and How found himself unable to continue to serve the population in the ways he found effective. His lifelong commitment to helping those in need earned him the nickname "The ...

  STEWARDSHIP SERIES CONTINUES! 8am Service Gathering Hymn :  God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending Hymn of the Day: Take My Life, That I May Be Sending Hymn: We Plow the Fields and Scatter Frances R. Havergal and the Composition of  Take My Life, That I May Be Frances R. Havergal is back in service to us today, as the author of the text for Take My Life, That I May Be . You might remember Havergal from October 4th (keep up the kindness!), when her text for Lord Speak to Us That We May Speak  was used in our song of the day.  The text was written following a five-day social visit to Areley House (a private residence in England's countryside), where she stayed with a household of family, friends, and staff. Aware of the uninspired spiritual state of the house's occupants, she asked for God to work through her to bless each individual within the house.  Through prayer (" Lord, give me all in this house!") and counsel with her co-occupants, her faithful dedicatio...

All Saints Day & Start of Stewardship Campaign 8am Service  Gathering Hymn : For the Fruit of All Creation It's November--a time of harvest, changing colors, and the start of the St. Paul's stewardship campaign. Our gathering hymn reminds us that all we have is thanks to God:  Fruit (though I'm partial to the summer variety), the just reward of labor, our worldwide task of caring, all the good we inherit...most of all, that love has found us. I find myself grateful for the honor of helping to plan the music for the worship services at St. Paul's, and for the privilege to grow as a musician alongside the talented ensembles of our congregation.  Hymn of the Day : As Saints of Old This hymn beautifully ties together the dual themes of our service this day! Sending Hymn : For All the Saints My favorite  part of this selection is the triumphant "Alleluias" in the final line. Ralph Vaughn Williams brings William How's text to life, which is no surprise, con...

Reformation Sunday  On Reformation...we wear red! A Mighty Fortress is Our God 🎺  Will will sing this foundational Lutheran Hymn as our gathering song at the 8am service accompanied by organ, and again at the 10:30am with the praise team.  Thank you to Zack Heath for enlivening our worship with your trumpet playing. 8:00 am & 10:30 am Prelude The Jubilant Bells will set the tone of our services with settings of two grand and familiar hymns:  Come, Thou Almighty King and Holy, Holy, Holy.  10:30 am Kingdom Choir Anthem : My Soul Will Wait A powerful  anthem that professes enduring faith despite overwhelming circumstances. The insistence of the rhythm and the intensity of the refrain really spoke to me when selecting this Reformation Sunday anthem: You're my solid Rock and my salvation, my steadfast hope that won't be shaken. My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You. Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Theses was an incredibly radical move, leading to ...

Choose Kindness It's A Commandment! We begin the series on kindness today.  Our Gospel reading is from Matthew 22: 34-46 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 8am Service  Gathering Hymn : Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee In 1907, when Henry Van Dyke began to draft the text of this well-known hymn, he attributed "any merit it contains...to Beethoven’s soaring and uplifting melody." He was of course referring to Beethoven's ninth symphony: the composer's final complete orchestral masterpiece. In addition to giving a nod to Beethoven, Van Dyke claimed the initial inspiration for Joyful stemmed from a visit as guest preacher to Williams College in Massachusetts, where he was stru...