March 24, 2019

Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas.  Some of this information is original; much of it is "borrowed" from other sources such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org.  It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.   

About the Organ Music:

I’m Taking Care of You - Fred Rogers

Fred Rogers was the creator of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as well as the host of all 895 episodes, the composer of its more than 200 songs, and the puppeteer who imagined 14 characters into being. More importantly, he changed the face of children’s television and transformed the way we think about the inner lives of young children.

Fred McFeely Rogers (1928-2003) earned h

is bachelor's degree in music composition at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida in 1951. While a college senior studying music composition at Rollins College, Fred arrived home to see this wonderful new technology in his family’s living room. He instinctively understood the power of the new medium and especially how it could be used to serve children, rather than the slapstick and nonsense that was on the air. From that moment, he knew what he was called to do.

Immediately upon graduation, he was hired by NBC television in New York as an assistant producer for “The Voice of Firestone” and later as floor director for “The Lucky Strike Hit Parade”, “The Kate Smith Hour”, and the “NBC Opera Theatre”. Rogers was married in 1952 to Joanne Byrd, a concert pianist and fellow Rollins graduate.

In November, 1953, at the request of WQED Pittsburgh, the nation's first community-sponsored educational television station, Rogers moved back to Pennsylvania. The station was not yet on the air, and Rogers was asked to develop the first program schedule. One of the first programs he produced was THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. It was a daily, live, hour-long visit with music and puppets and host Josie Carey. Rogers served as puppeteer, composer, and organist. In 1955, THE CHILDREN'S CORNER won the Sylvania Award for the best locally produced children's program in the country. It was on THE CHILDREN'S CORNER that several regulars of today's MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD made their first appearances -- among them, Daniel Striped Tiger. X the Owl, King Friday XIII, Henrietta Pussycat, and Lady Elaine Fairchilde.

During off-duty hours, Rogers attended both the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Child Development. He graduated from the Seminary and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1963 with a charge to continue his work with children and families through the mass media. Later that year, Rogers was invited to create a program for the CBC program in Canada, which the head of children's programming there dubbed MISTEROGERS. It was on this series that Rogers made his on-camera debut as the program's host. When he and his wife and two sons returned to Pittsburgh in 1966, he incorporated segments of the CBC into a new series which was distributed by the Eastern Educational Network. This series was called MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD. With graduate studies in child development as well as his divinity degree, Fred was well-prepared to speak directly to his pre-school audience.  “I’ll never forget the sense of wholeness I felt when I finally realized, after a lot of help from a lot of people, what, in fact, I really wasn’t. I was not just a songwriter or a language buff or a student of human development or a telecommunicator, but someone who could use every talent that had ever been given to me in the service of children and their families.” 

In 1968 it was made available for national distribution through the National Educational Television (NET) which later became Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).  In 1969, he famously testified before a Senate subcommittee that was considering cutting funding for public television. Senator John Pastore was in charge of the proceedings, and after two days of hearings, he remained distinctly unimpressed. Then Fred spoke.

In 1968, Rogers was appointed Chairman of the Forum on Mass Media and Child Development of the White House Conference on Youth. Besides two George Foster Peabody Awards, Emmys, "Lifetime Achievement" Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the TV Critics Association, Fred Rogers received every major award in television for which he is eligible and many others from special-interest groups in education, communications, and early childhood. In 1999, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. His life and work have been the subject of feature articles in national publications, including LIFE, Reader's Digest, Parents, Esquire, Parade, and TV Guide. In 2002, President George W. Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, recognizing his contribution to the well-being of children and a career in public television that demonstrates the importance of kindness, compassion and learning. On January 1, 2003, in his last public appearance, Fred Rogers served as a Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade, and tossed the coin for the Rose Bowl Game.

Fred Rogers was the composer and lyricist of over 200 songs, the author of numerous books for children.  His last book, The Mister Rogers Parenting Book, was praised by Publishers Weekly for the "qualities of warmth and attentiveness that translate very well into this brief yet thorough parenting guide.”  Fred Rogers received more than 40 honorary degrees from colleges and universities, including Yale University, Hobart and William Smith, Carnegie Mellon University, Boston University, Saint Vincent College, University of Pittsburgh, North Carolina State University, University of Connecticut, Dartmouth College, Waynesburg College, and his alma mater, Rollins College.

Fred was chairman of Family Communications, Inc. the nonprofit company that he formed in 1971 to produce MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD and that has since diversified into non-broadcast materials that reflect the same philosophy and purpose: to encourage the healthy emotional growth of children and their families. MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD is the longest- running program on public television. Today Family Communications, Inc. is called The Fred Rogers Company in honor of its founder. 

I’m taking care of you, taking good care of you,

For once I was very little, too.

Now, I take care of you.

Jubilant March - John Reynolds

Dr. Williamson John Reynolds (1861-1922) was an English organist and composer. He was educated at Compton Place Road New College in Eastbourne, Sussex.  He graduated as Mus Bac in 1886 and Mus Doc in 1889.  Through the course of his career, he was organist at Barnet Parish Church, St. Michael, Cornhill, St Martin in the Bull Ring, Birmingham, and Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon.  He wrote a number of organ works, several choral works, and wrote the hymn “Crossing the Bar”.

About the Piano Music:

They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love - Stan Pethel

Peter Scholtes (1938–2009) wrote the hymn "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" while he was a parish priest at St. Brendan's on the South Side of Chicago in the 1960s. At the time, he was leading a youth choir out of the church basement and was looking for an appropriate song for a series of ecumenical, interracial events. When he couldn't find such a song, he wrote the now-famous hymn in a single day. It is inspired by John 13:35. It was released on an LP of the same name featuring the congregation of Scholtes' church singing this hymn and others.  His experiences at St. Brendan's, and in the Chicago Civil Rights movement, influenced him for the rest of his life.

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
and we pray that all unity may one day be restored.

We will walk with each other, will walk hand in hand,
And together we'll spread the news, that God is in our land

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,
And we'll save each man's dignity, and guard each man's pride.

All praise to the Father, from whom all things come,
And all praise to Christ Jesus, His only Son
And all praise to the Spirit, that makes us one.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Dr. Stan Pethel is Chair of the Fine Arts at Berry College near Rome, Georgia. He has been on the music faculty there since 1973. In addition to his duties as Chair of Fine Arts at Berry College Dr. Pethel teaches music theory, composition and arranging, world music, and low brass lessons. He is a widely published composer and arranger with over 1000 works in publication with 26 different publishers. His writing includes works for choir, piano, organ/piano duet, symphonic band, jazz ensemble, orchestra, handbells, solo instrument and piano, and various chamber music ensembles. He is a regular recipient of the ASCAP Standard Award.

About the Choral Music:

My Song in the Night - Paul Christiansen

My Song in the Night is a hauntingly beautiful southern folk hymn.  Asaph's Psalm 77 contains this troubled plea, "Let me remember my song in the night. As he wrote, Asaph's life seemed to be nothing but night, gloom and trouble. God seemed deaf to his cries. His hand was weary, his soul discomforted. Unable to sleep he finally pleaded, "Let me remember my song in the night.”  In that sense, it is so important to be able to remember and sing to yourself the strong and comforting hymns of corporate worship. Their message and the music that carries them are so important in those dark, dark nights in our lives. Asaph's prayer is not unfamiliar to many of us.

This folk song, based upon Asaph's cry in the night is one to remember when those dark nights come. It speaks of affliction, deserts and night. Yet in the midst of those dark nights, I can call to Jesus, my soul's delight and be comforted. Jesus is my Savior, my song in the night.    

O Jesus, my Savior, my song in the night

Come to us with Thy tender love, my souls’ delight,

Unto Thee O Lord in affliction I call,

My comfort by day and my song In the night.

O why should I wander an alien from Thee,

Or cry in the desert Thy face to see,

My comfort and joy, my souls’ delight,

O Jesus my Savior, my song in the night.

My song in the night, my song in the night.

O Jesus my Savior, my song in the night,

Come to us with thy tender love, my soul’’s delight,

My comfort and joy, my soul’s delight,

O Jesus, my Savior, my song in the night.

Paul Joseph Christiansen (1914-1997) was an American choral conductor and composer. As the youngest son of F. Melius Christiansen, he was brought up into the Lutheran Choral Tradition and quickly developed his own style of conducting and composing that furthered the tradition started by his father. He spent the bulk of his career developing The Concordia Choir and conducted the choir from 1937-1986. He is also credited with establishing the Concordia Christmas Concert which is seen yearly by more than 30,000 people.

About the Hymns:

Together We Serve

In July of 2016, The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada bestowed its highest honor on the Rev. Daniel Charles Damon by naming him a Fellow. Dan has served as the pastor at First United Methodist Church of Point Richmond in Richmond, California, since 1995. Originally from Rapid City, South Dakota, Dan earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree at Greenville College, a Free Methodist institution in Greenville, Illinois, and he later earned a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion, Berkley, California. Dan serves as the Associate Editor of Hymnody for Hope Publishing Company, and sometimes you might catch him playing jazz in the San Francisco Bay area or teaching courses at the Center for the Arts, Religion, and Education in Berkley.  As an internationally published author of hymn tunes and texts, Dan has combined his unique gifts as both poet and composer on over 50 published hymns. Furthermore, he has translations in Vietnamese, Portuguese, Japanese, and Shona, and in 2007 he worked with Patrick Matsikenyiri to edit Njalo, A Collection of 16 Hymns in the African Tradition.  

“Together We Serve” was commissioned for the 1997 centennial celebration of First Presbyterian Church in San Anselmo, California. Carl Daw notes that there is no mention of an actual church building in this hymn, for the church “is not the building but the people.” Daw further notes that many of the ideas in this hymn will seem familiar because “they have been true of congregations from the very earliest of days, as Ephesians 4:11-16 shows. They are both a celebration and a reminder of what the church is called to be.”  Dan describes this as his most “churchy” hymn and mentions that it has become his most popular.

All Creatures of Our God and King

The words of the hymn were initially written by St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) in 1225 in the Canticle of the Sun poem, which was based on Psalm 148. The words were translated into English by William Draper, who at the time was rector of a Church of England parish church at Adel near Leeds. Draper paraphrased the words of the Canticle and set them to music. It is not known when Draper first composed the hymn but it was between 1899 and 1919. Draper composed the hymn for his church's children's Whitsun festival celebrations and it was later published in 1919 in the Public School Hymn Book. The hymn is currently used in 179 different hymn books. The words written by St Francis are some of the oldest used in hymns after "Father We Praise Thee", written in 580 AD. The hymn is set to the tune of "Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr", a German Easter hymn written by Friedrich Spee, published in 1623 in his book Auserlesene, Catholische, Geistliche Kirchengesäng. It was first used in English hymn books in 1906. 

St. Francis is famous for many things, including love of animals.  Pictures of him usually have birds flying nearby and small animals at his feet.  A popular story tells of him stopping to preach a sermon to a flock of birds.  He reminded them that God had blessed them with beautiful clothing even though they had never learned to spin or weave–– and that God had blessed them with food even thought they had never learned to sow or reap.  Then he called them to sing their songs as praises to God.  St. Francis wrote this hymn near the end of his life.  Sick and suffering bouts of blindness, he was going home to die when he stopped to visit friends at the St. Damien monastery.  While there, he felt the inspiration to compose this joyful hymn.  It calls all God's creatures ––sun and moon ––wind and water––fruits and flowers––and all who are of tender heart––to sing, "Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!" to honor our God.

LASST UNS ERFREUEN was originally published in the Jesuit hymnal, Ausserlesene Catlwlische Geistliche Kirchengesänge, in 1623 in Cologne, Germany. The tune is believed to have been composed by Friedrich Spee, a Jesuit priest and hymn writer who was most well known as an activist who opposed trials for witchcraft. Spee’s 1631 book, Cautio Criminalis, or a Book on Witch Trials, is one of the first written works to present strong arguments against the use of torture.  Spee’s opening melodic phrase in “LASST” has its origins in a setting of Psalm 68 in the Genevan Psalter, a collection of psalm settings composed between 1539-62 in Geneva, Switzerland. While its original publication featured an Easter text, “Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr” (“let us rejoice most heartily”), its most well-known version appeared in the English Hymnal in 1906, edited by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Vaughan Williams reharmonized the tune and set it in a triple meter.

The Fragrance of Christ

Paul reminded the Corinthians that they were the aroma of Christ: “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15). He may have been referring to Roman victory parades. The Romans made sure everyone knew they had been victorious by burning incense on altars throughout the city. For the victors, the aroma was pleasing; for the prisoners it meant certain slavery or death. So as believers, we are victorious soldiers. And when the gospel of Christ is preached, it is a pleasing fragrance to God.

David Haas wrote both the words of this hymn and the tune INCENSE.  The text is based on Psalm 138.  David Robert Haas (born 1957 in Bridgeport, Michigan), is an American author and composer of contemporary Catholic liturgical music. Haas studied vocal music performance and conducting at Central Michigan University, and has his degree in theology and music from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In addition to serving in parish liturgical ministry in Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota over the years, he also served as composer-in-residence at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minnesota; and was also campus minister and artist-in-residence at Benilde-St. Margaret's in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where he taught in the music and theology departments. In 1999, Haas began the program MUSIC MINISTRY ALIVE!, a five-day liturgical program for youth and adult leaders that takes place on the campus of St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota.  

He has produced over forty-five original collections and recordings of liturgical music. He is also the author of over 20 books on the topics of liturgy, music ministry, spirituality, religious education, and youth ministry.  Haas was a leading voice in the liturgical and musical aspects of the implementation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), active as a team member for the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, and as a composer creating ritual music for the RCIA rites. Haas is also known for his early collaborations with Michael Joncas and Marty Haugen, and for many years the three of them were an important influence on liturgical music in the English-speaking world, and together they traveled throughout the United States, presenting concerts and workshops. He is the director of the Emmaus Center for Music, Prayer and Ministry in Eagen, Minnesota.