February 12, 2023

For this 6th Sunday after Epiphany the organ prelude is a J. S. Bach setting of the chorale, "We All Believe in One True God", the text being as follows: "We all believe in one true God, maker of the earth and heaven; The Father, Who to us in love hath the claim of children given. He in soul and body feeds us; All we want His hand provides us; Thro' all snares and perils leads us; Watches that no harm betides us; He cares for us, cares for us by day and night; All things are govern'd by His might."

Our processional hymn is a familiar older hymn and text, No. 1, "Father, we praise Thee"; the equally familiar Gospel hymn, 440, "Blessed Jesus, at Thy word", as you may note, dates back to the 17th century for both music and text.

Our anthem is an upbeat spiritual sung by enslaved African Americans, arranged by Rollo Dilworth (contemporary American). It is "Hold Out Your Light".

At communion, Martha Bailey will play settings of 2 hymns, the first being a southern American favorite, "How firm a foundation", and the second written by an English cabinet maker and later pastor, "My hope is built on nothing less", written in 1834.

Closing the service we will sing hymn 347, "Go forth for God, go to the world in peace", music by the well known (to church musicians) Erik Routley (1917-1982).

The postlude is a fugue written in the 20th century but somewhat in the style of Bach, by Courtlandt Palmer (1871-1951). Although American, he studied in Italy with a pupil of Franz Liszt.