October 20, 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:

Make a Joyful Noise - Alan Viner

Alan Viner (b. 1951) was educated at Sir Thomas Rich's School, Gloucester, and began his piano studies at the age of 8 and the organ at 13. He obtained an Honours Degree in Music from the University of Reading in 1973, and was the first student there to specialise in Performance (Organ). After completing a P.G.C.E. at Saint Luke's College, Exeter in 1974, Alan worked in Hertfordshire as an Assistant Music Teacher until returning to his native Gloucester in 1976, where he was appointed Head of Music at Severn Vale School. He resumed his Organ studies with John Sanders, organist of Gloucester Cathedral, and in July of 1976 obtained his ARCM Performance Diploma from the Royal College of Music. During his three years in Gloucester, Alan also held the post of Organist and Choirmaster at St. Mary's Berkeley, and St. Nicholas's, Hardwicke. He moved to Shrewsbury in 1979 to become Director of Music at The Priory Boys' School, and then, in 1981, Head of Music at the Wakeman School.  Since 1989, he has been a free-lance musician, teaching organ, piano and theory of music on a private basis.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness;

come into His presence with singing.  —- Psalm 100

About the Handbell Music:

The Gift of Love – Hal Hopson

Rings & Strings

Among the most prominent New Testament texts is the discourse on love found in I Corinthians 13. Hal H. Hopson has paraphrased part of this beautiful text in what has become one of the most popular late 20th-century hymns, appearing in many major hymnals published in the U.S. since 1980. "The Gift of Love" first appeared as a very popular anthem in 1972. Both the text and the music are effective paraphrases -- the text of I Corinthians 13:1-3 and the melody as an adaptation of the beautiful folk melody "O Waly, Waly." The original tune was collected by American folksong specialist Cecil Sharp and published in his Folk Songs from Somerset (1906).  "The Gift of Love" is very flexible and, according to Hope Publishing Co., is Mr. Hopson's most popular composition -- widely used as an anthem, solo and as a hymn. Speaking of the popularity of his hymn, Hopson said: "The first 'Gift of Love' was a two-part choral arrangement. Years later, at the suggestion of George Shorney at Hope Publishing Company, I cast it in a form to be used as a congregational hymn. Since then it has become a standard hymn to be included in many hymnals. It is noteworthy that The United Methodist Hymnal, 1989, was the first hymnal that included 'The Gift of Love.' I was once surprised to be introduced at a seminar as the Gift-of-Love-Man."

Mr. Hopson (b. 1933) is a native of Mound, Texas, and now resides in Dallas. He has an international reputation as a clinician and composer, and has published more than 1,300 compositions, which comprise almost every musical form in church music. With a special interest in congregational song, he continues to make a significant contribution to the new repertoire of hymn tunes and responsorial psalm settings as evidenced by the proliferation of his settings that are included in newly published hymnals and psalm collections.

            Though I may speak with bravest fire, And have the gift to all inspire, 

            And have not love; my words are vain As sounding brass and hopeless gain.

    Though I may give all I possess, And striving so my love profess, 

But not be given by love within, The profit soon turns strangely thin.

Come, Spirit come, our hearts control. Our spirits long to be made whole.

Let inward love guide every deed. By this we worship and are freed.

Amen.

About the Ukulele Music:

Beautiful Things

Formerly known as The Michael Gungor Band, the socially active, Denver-based foursome is comprised of Michael Gungor, his wife Lisa, as well as friends Brad Waller (guitar) and Josh Harvey (bass). Gungor hits the scene with a different perspective than most bands as the lead singer is perhaps best known for co-writing distinguished songs like “Friend of God” and “Say So,” made famous by Israel Houghton.  The music is not the only impressive thing about Gungor, as likewise the band is also incredibly involved in missions both in their hometown and abroad. Michael and his wife moved to Denver and eventually founded a community of believers called Bloom. The connection between worship and social justice became concrete in Denver with regular involvement with the homeless & needy of that area, and the outcome is evident on "Beautiful Things".

This bigger story of God shows up on Beautiful Things in songs born of an honest journey of faith and a struggle with what should result from worship.  “If leading worship is just about bringing a group of people into a room so we can get goose bumps and sing songs together, there’s not much value in that," explains Michael Gungor. "But if leading worship is a means to an end, that we leave this place as a different kind of people, as part of a new humanity that God wants to create--the people that are caring for the widows and orphans, that aren’t bound by the systems of this world but becoming free, becoming fully engaged in our world--then that matters.”

“My wife Lisa and I wrote this song together based on experiences at our local church. We were seeing our friends going through suffering and pain. This song is an expression of hope that God will make beautiful things out of the dust in our lives, and God will somehow use us, use our obedience and love, our feeble human effort, and build Himself a kingdom. I see that God is using suffering to bring us closer to Him….It is easy to get caught up in our daily circumstances, and we need to know that one day all of the angst and suffering we have now will be ‘made new.’ God is present even in our difficulties. If we lift our eyes up to God, we can have the hope that He has promised in His Word. He is the source of our strength and hope.”

Inspiration for “Beautiful Things” was drawn from two scriptures: 

Isaiah 2:4: He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Revelation 21:4-5: And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

All this pain - I wonder if I’ll even find my way;

I wonder if my life could really change at all.

All this earth - Could all that is lost ever be found?

Could a garden come up from this ground at all?

All around, Hope is springing up from this old ground;

Out of chaos, life is being found in You.

You make beautiful things.

You make beautiful things out of the dust.

You make beautiful things out of us.

You make me new, You are making me new.

You make beautiful things out of the dust.

You make beautiful things out of us.

I’ll Fly Away

In the rural Smyrna Baptist Church, midway between Courtland and Moulton, Alabama, a trio rose to sing a song that was literally sweeping the South. The year was 1948, and the occasion was the funeral of my grandfather, James Terry. The song, which greatly effected the audience, was written 17 years earlier by one of our nation’s leading Christian songwriters, Albert E. Brumley.

It was in 1929 that Brumley actually composed “I’ll Fly Away.” He recalled that he was picking cotton and singing a popular song, “If I Had the Wings of an Angel.” Suddenly, he thought about flying away.  He later said, “Actually, I was dreaming of flying away from that cotton field when I wrote ‘I’ll Fly Away.’” However, the song took on a spiritual meaning.  

Brumley’s rural background made it natural for him to appeal to the common man. Even as a small lad picking cotton in LeFlore County, Oklahoma, he knew he would much rather be involved in music than in any other occupation. At age 17, he began his serious music study, and during the next several years received training and instruction from such notables as Homer Rodeheaver, Virgil Stamps and E. M. Bartlett, the composer of “Victory in Jesus.”  In 1931, while teaching a singing school in Powell, Missouri, Brumley met Goldie Edith Schell. They were married shortly thereafter. Although he had begun his songwriting, he had done nothing with the songs. Goldie encouraged him to send his manuscripts to a publisher, assuring him that the songs had quality and that “any publisher would be glad to publish them.”  Acting on Goldie’s advice and encouragement, his first submission to a publisher was “I’ll Fly Away.” As a result, the song, written during The Depression, was carried to the nation by radio and traveling Southern Gospel quartets. People everywhere were receiving renewed hope as they listened to “I’ll Fly Away” and other Brumley compositions.

Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away;

To a home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.

I’ll fly away, O glory, I’ll fly away;

When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away.

When the shadows of this life have gone, I’ll fly away;

Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I’ll fly away.

About the Hymns:

How Firm a Foundation

The authorship of this great hymn of the faith is one of the great hymnological mysteries. When John Rippon, pastor of Carter Lane Baptist Church in London, published A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors in 1787, the attribution for this hymn appeared only as “K—.” Hymnologist William Reynolds notes that the 1822 edition designated the author as “Kn,” and the 1835 edition of the collection indicated “Keen.” Finally, an 1844 edition ascribed authorship to “Kirkham.” Robert Keene (or Keen), a close friend of Rippon’s, was the song leader at the Carter Lane Church from 1776-1793. Mr. Reynolds believes that Keene assisted Rippon in preparing the compilation. But no hymn in the early editions appears to have been written by Keene. Six tunes bear the attribution “R. Keene” or “Keene,” and logic would dictate that if Keene had written the text, this would have also been clearly indicated. It is safe to say that compilers of collections in the 18th and 19th century did not take the same care to assign authorship as we have come to expect in modern hymnals.

We know that Rippon’s Selection was very popular, with 11 editions published in England and one in the U.S. (1820) before his death in 1836.  “How firm a foundation” was sung frequently in both the North and the South before the Civil War. Mr. Reynolds notes that it was a favorite hymn of Theodore Roosevelt, and that Andrew Jackson requested it be sung at his deathbed, and that Robert E. Lee asked it be sung at his funeral.

The anonymous folk tune FOUNDATION is an American contribution to the hymn that first appears with the text in Joseph Fund’s 1832 Genuine Church Music under the tune name PROTECTION. Hymnology scholar Harry Eskew has concluded that PROTECTION was a new tune and not previously published. The composer remains unknown. The tune appears in other famous American 19th-century collections such as The Sacred Harp (1844) and Southern Harmony (1854) with some melodic variations and with changes in harmony, but R.M. McIntosh’s Tabor: or, the Richmond Collection of Sacred Music (1866) provides us the present form found in most Baptist and Methodist hymnals.

Originally written with seven four-line stanzas, five are included in The United Methodist Hymnal with only one small alteration. Much of the hymn’s text is straight from The Bible, such as Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Hebrews 13:5.

God Will Take Care of You

Walter Stillman Martin (1862-1935) was born in Massachusetts and attended Harvard University, where he studied for the ministry and was later ordained as a Baptist minister. His wife, Civilla Durfee Holden (1866-1948), was born in Canada.  Civilla wrote many hymn texts for which he produced the tunes, including their very popular, "God Will Take Care of You". 

The Martins were visiting a Bible school in New York, where Walter was to preach.  Civilla became ill and was unable to attend.  Due to her illness, Walter wanted to cancel, but their nine year old son said, "Father, don't you think that if God wants you to preach today, He will take care of Mother while you are away?" He kept his appointment and when he returned he found his wife greatly improved. Mrs. Martin had written a new hymn based on her son's faithful remark earlier that day.  Civilla related, “When he returned I gave the words to him. He immediately sat down to his little Bilhorn organ and wrote the music. That evening he and two of the teachers sang the completed song. It was then printed in the songbook he was compiling for the school.” It was first published in 1905 in "Songs of Redemption," compiled by Martin and John A. Davis.

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus

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