Music for the Third Sunday after Epiphany: January 26, 2020

Dosso Dossi
1489-1542

Opening Voluntary Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies (Ratisbon)

Setting, Benjamin M. Culli (See the text and tune at Evangelical Lutheran Worship 553)

In this Time after Epiphany, we continue to sing hymns filled with biblical images of light – although in this case the organ does the singing! Just in the first stanza of this Charles Wesley text we see:

Christ, whose glory fills the skies, (Matthew 24:30)
Christ, the true and only light, (John 1:9)
Sun of righteousness arise, triumph o’er the shades of night: (Malachi 4:2)

Dayspring from on high, be near; Daystar in my heart appear. (Luke 1:78 – but you’ll need to use the KJV)

Gathering Hymn I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light (Houston)

ELW 815

Kathleen Thomerson’s hymn was written in 1966 and first appeared in the hymnal Songs for Celebration in 1980. Now it appears in more than 30 hymnals used by a variety of denominations.

Hymn of the Day You Call to Us, Lord Jesus (Aurelia)

Joy F. Patterson, author of the text, is an elder of the Presbyterian Church USA. Her concern for inclusiveness in the church and justice are apparent in the third stanza. You can read her bio here: https://www.hopepublishing.com/70/

Today we pair this unfamiliar text with Samuel Sebastian Wesley’s familiar tune – Aurelia.

Musical Offering Jesus Calls Us K. Lee Scott

Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew - Caravaggio ca. 1603

Sung by the Festival Choir
You’ll find the text at ELW 696, but K. Lee Scott has paired it with a tune named “Sion’s Security.” The tune’s earliest origins are unknown since even in the New Harp of Columbia (pub. 1867) it is listed as a folk tune.  New Harp’s tunes were mostly drawn from English, Scottish, and American traditions and the tune sounds like it could have come from either of those sources.

Communion Hymns

You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore (Tú has venido a la orilla)  ELW 817

Will You Come and Follow Me (Kelvingrove) ELW 798

Sending Hymn I Love to Tell the Story (Hankey) ELW 661

ELW 673

We don’t come to worship of our own accord, rather we are gathered by the Holy Spirit. During worship we hear and proclaim the word, and we are nourished at the Lord’s table. Then the Holy Spirit sends us in mission to the world! Part of the mission is telling the story of Jesus Christ, who still bids us to follow him in proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.

Johann Gottfried Walther

Closing Voluntary Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Lobe den Herren)

setting, Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748)
See the text and tune at ELW 858
This is one of 132 chorale preludes written by J. G. Walther, a contemporary of J. S. Bach (1685-1750) and his cousin. Listen for snippets of the melody as it moves back and forth in echoes between the hands and pedalboard.

Do you love to sing, especially in service to the gospel of Jesus Christ and his church? New voices are always welcome in the Festival Choir. Please help us lead the church’s song at St. Mark’s! Contact Tony Cruz or any choir member for more information.

Come join in the singing!

Sources:

Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship published by Augsburg, Fortress. Edited and compiled by Paul Westermeyer.

Wikipedia

Art credit:

By Attributed to Dosso Dossi - http://www.bigli.com/quadro/279/dosso-dossi/ascensione-di-cristo.aspx, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9954138

By Caravaggio - Caravaggio, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1734712

By http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Lib-BIG/Walther-Johann-Gottfried-01.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1276550