Handbell Prelude: The Bells are back again, and will play a selection titled "Eye Has Not Seen" as the prelude for each service. This hymn (written by Marty Haugen) is arranged for handbells by Jeffrey Honore and begins with an "ethereal" and "free" opening that weaves together three different musical ideas, followed by a more structured format, where we follow a melody that travels between different registers of the bells.
I encourage reflection on Haugen's original text as the bells ring this beautiful and interesting selection:
Refrain: Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has ready for those who love him; Spirit of love, come, give us the mind of Jesus, teach us the wisdom of God.
Verse 1: When pain and sorrow weigh us down, be near to us, O Lord, forgive the weakness of our faith, and bear us up within your peaceful word.
Verse 2: Our lives are but a single breath, we flower and we fade, yet all our days are in your hands, so we return in love what love has made.
Verse 3: To those who see with eyes of faith, the Lord is ever near, reflected in the faces of all the poor and lowly of the world.
Verse 4: We sing a mystery from the past in halls where saints have trod, yet ever new the music rings to Jesus, Living Song of God.
Today's Scriptural Inspiration: Today's selections reflect the message from our Gospel reading (John 17: 1-26) which outlines Jesus' prayer for us.
8am Service:
Gathering Hymn (vs. 1 & 2) AND Sending Hymn (vs. 3, 4 & 5): ELW 482 I Come With Joy
We will be dividing this hymn in two today, as the opening verses describe our arrival to this sacred space of prayer and reflection (I come with joy...I come with Christians...to find the new community of love in Christ's communion bread), and the closing verses describe what we have gained from our shared time together (the love that made us makes us one and strangers now are friends...we'll go with joy to give the world a love that makes us one).
Hymn of the Day: ELW 359 Where Charity and Love Prevail
The main themes of the Gospel reading include our mission as disciples, the unity of Christians, God's eternal love as demonstrated through the sacrifice made on the cross, and the promise of eternal life. Several excerpts of our hymn of the day celebrate these themes, which are central to our lives as followers of Christ:
Vs 1: God is ever found...brought together by Christ's love, by love we thus are bound.
Vs 3: in our midst dwells Christ...as members of each body joined in him we are made one.
Vs 5: that we may love each other well in Christian gentleness
10:30am Service
Gathering Song: Seek the Lord
From what I have been told, this is a favorite song of the congregation, and I look forward to collectively praising God as a community in Christ as we sing it together!
Song of the Day: Jesus, Messiah
You may remember that the praise team introduced this hymn at last week's service as the prelude. We will begin the Song of the Day by reviewing the refrain with the congregation before singing through the song completely. If you would like to "brush up" on this selection before then, please take a look at my prior post!
Sending Song: Let It Rise
Let the glory of the Lord rise among us! May our voices carry our mission to "Grow in Faith, Serve With Love, and Invite Into Fellowship"!
We sang this selection for Bring a Friend Sunday on February 15th--we will sing the entire song twice, so that everyone gets the opportunity to hear it before we join our voices. You can also check out this lyric video.