June 30, 2024

With July Fourth coming this week, the organ prelude is in that spirit and is a setting of "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" (hymn 608), by the Lutheran and American contemporary, Jonathan Reuss, of whom I have written before.  Last week we sang the same tune (known as "Melita") as the Gospel hymn, but using hymn 579, which you may note has different texts for verses 2 & 3; we used this because it related to the Gospel reading from Mark.

Relating to this Sunday's Gospel reading are both the most familiar processional hymn, "O for a thousand tongues to sing my Redeemer's praise" (493), as well as the Gospel hymn itself, "O bless the Lord, my soul" (411).

During the offertory we are fortunate to have a vocal duet sung by Diane Crisp and Audy Walker, which is a setting of Psalm 23 (in paraphrase), by the English composer, Henry Smart (1813-1879), who also wrote some very fine hymn tunes.  

The communion hymn is the well known "Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee" (707), a lasting 19th century hymn.

Another nod to the "Fourth", closing is the "National Hymn", 718, "God of our fathers", a hymn I think most everyone is inspired to sing.  

For the postlude we will nod back to the processional hymn with a Robert Hobby arrangement of "O for a thousand tongues to sing".  Dr. Hobby (having an honorary doctorate from Wittenberg University) was born in 1962 and is incredibly active as composer, clinician, recitalist, choral director, mainly in the Lutheran church.