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; most of it is copied from other websites 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:
Sing Out - Mary Beth Bennett
(c.2004, Augsburg Press)
Marty Haugen (b. 1950) is a liturgical composer, workshop presenter, performing and recording artist, and author from Eagan, Minnesota. For the past 30 years, Marty has presented hundreds of workshops and concerts across North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. He has over 30 recordings and more than 400 separate printed editions available through GIA Publications, Inc. and other publishers. He has a number of published mass settings for Roman Catholic communities, including Mass of Creation, and several worship settings for Lutheran congregations, including Holden Evening Prayer and Now the Feast and Celebration, as well as a communion setting for the new Evangelical Worship Book (ELW-Augsburg Fortress).
Come, O God of all the earth; come to us, O Righteous One.
Come and bring our love to birth; in the glory of your Son.
Come, O God of wind and flame; fill the earth with righteousness.
Teach us all to sing your name; may our lives your love confess.
Come, O God of flashing light; twinkling star and burning sun.
God of day and God of night; in your light we all are one.
Come, O God of snow and rain; shower down upon the earth.
Come, O God of joy and pain; God of sorrow, God of mirth.
Come, O Justice, come, O Peace; come and shape our hearts anew.
Come and make oppression cease; bring us all to life in you.
Sing out, earth and skies! Sing of the God who loves you.
Raise your joyful cries, Dance to the life around you.
Dr. Mary Beth Bennett is a nationally recognized performer, composer and improviser living in historic Richmond, Virginia where she serves on the adjunct music faculty of the University of Richmond and is Organist of Second Baptist Church. Having previously held various positions in Washington, D.C., including at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and as Ceremonial Organist for the United States Department of Defense, she holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Stetson University, the Staatliche Hochschüle für Musik (Cologne, Germany), and the University of Southern California. She pursued postdoctoral study in plainchant at the Catholic University of America. The winner of numerous awards in performance and composition, she has received commissions in multiple genres from the American Guild of Organists, National Association of Pastoral Musicians, Association of Anglican Musicians, The Paul VI Institute for the Arts, Millennia Consort and various churches, chamber ensembles and private parties. In 2018, she won the AGO/ECS Publishing Award in Choral Composition, and in 2020 she won the Performance Award of the Franco Competition of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America.
About the Piano Music:
We Are Called to Be God's People - Stan Pethel
(c.2018, Lorenz Publishing)
Dr. Thomas Jackson (b. 1931) was pastor of Wake Forest Baptist Church and taught at Campbell University in North Carolina. He studied at the University of Richmond and Johns Hopkins University. He has published in religious journals and has written several hymn texts, including “We are Called to be God’s People.” He was also an excavator on the Capernaum Archeological Expedition in 1982.
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) wrote the hymn tune AUSTRIAN HYMN. It was taken from one of his string quartets, which was first performed for the Emperor Francis II's fifth birthday. It is widely recognized as the melody as well for the German national anthem. But it has been used to set many hymns, most well-known being “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken”, published in 1920. Haydn is remembered as the first great symphonist and the composer who essentially invented the string quartet. The principal engineer of the classical style, Haydn exerted influence on the likes of Mozart, his student Ludwig van Beethoven and scores of others.
We are called to be God's people, Showing by our lives His grace.
One in heart and one in spirit, Sign of hope for all the race .
Let us show how He has changed us And remade us as His own;
Let us share our life together As we shall around His throne.
We are called to be God's servants Working in His world today.
Taking His own task upon us, All His sacred words obey.
Let us rise then to His summons; Dedicate to Him our all
That we may be faithful servants Quick to answer now His call.
We are called to be God's prophets Speaking for the truth and right;
Standing firm for godly justice; Bringing evil into light.
Let us seek the courage needed Our high calling to fulfill,
That we all may know the blessing Of the doing of God's will
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 Vocal Solo Music:
A Medley of Faith - Patti Drennan
(c.2013, Alfred Music)
Eliza E. Hewitt (1851-1920) was a public school teacher. One of her students struck her with a heavy slate and she suffered a severe spinal injury which forced her to retire from teaching and made her an invalid the rest of her life in Philadelphia. But, she was able to continue to be involved with children in Sunday School and as superintendent at the Northern Home for Friendless Children. She was wrote hundreds of hymns. Some hymnals show the author the author of “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place” as Lidie H. Edmunds, Hewitt’s pseudonym. William J. Kirkpatrick (1838-1921) wrote the music for this hymn.
Ray Palmer (1808-1887) wrote “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” upon receiving a vision of Christ shortly after his graduation from Yale University, while working as a tutor at a New York school. The author says concerning its composition, "I gave form to what I felt, by writing, with little effort, the stanzas. I recollect I wrote them with very tender emotion, and ended the last line with tears." However, he kept them to himself until meeting Lowell Mason on a street in Boston, Massachusetts. When Mason asked him to write something for a new hymnal, Palmer dug out his old notes and produced these lyrics, written two years earlier. After taking the lyrics home and reading them, Mason composed this tune. Several days later he saw Palmer again and said: “You may live many years and do many good things, but I think you will be best known to posterity as the author of My Faith Looks Up to Thee”. In 1831, it was published in Spiritual Songs for Social Worship: adapted to the use of Families, &c. Words and Music arranged by Thomas Hastings, of New York, and Lowell Mason of Boston.
The tune OLIVET was written by Dr. Lowell Mason (1792-1872), justly called the father of American church music; for by his labors were founded the germinating principles of national musical intelligence and knowledge, which afforded a soil upon which all higher musical culture has been founded. To him we owe some of our best ideas in religious church music, elementary musical education, music in the schools, the popularization of classical chorus singing, and the art of teaching music upon the Inductive or Pestalozzian plan. More than that, we owe him no small share of the respect which the profession of music enjoys at the present time as contrasted with the contempt in which it was held a century or more ago. In fact, the entire art of music, as now understood and practiced in America, has derived advantage from the work of this great man.
As a child, Mason he had an intense love for music and devoted all his spare time and effort to improving himself. He acquired a proficiency in composition, and his first work of this kind was a collection of church music, which contained many of his own compositions. The manuscript was published by the Boston Handel and Haydn Society in 1822, but Mason's name was omitted from the publication at his own request, because "I was then a bank officer in Savannah, and did not wish to be known as a musical man, as I had not the least thought of ever making music a profession." The book soon sprang into universal popularity, being at once adopted by the singing schools of New England and church choirs. It ran through some seventeen editions. Mason accepted an invitation to move to Boston and was also appointed director of music at the Hanover, Green, and Park Street churches, to alternate six months with each congregation. In 1827, Lowell Mason became president and conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society. It was the beginning of a career that earned him the title of "The Father of American Church Music." Charles C. Perkins stated, "First and foremost, he was not so very much superior to the members as to be unreasonably impatient at their shortcomings. Second, he was a born teacher, who, by hard work, had fitted himself to give instruction in singing. Third, he was one of themselves, a plain, self-made man, who could understand them and be understood of them." Prof. Horace Mann, one of the great educators of that day, said he would walk fifty miles to see and hear Mr. Mason teach if he could not otherwise have that advantage. Mason founded the Boston Academy of Music. The aim of this institution was to reach the masses and introduce music into the public schools. Before 1810, he had developed his idea of "Teachers' Conventions," and, as in these he had representatives from different states, he made musical missionaries for almost the entire country. He left behind him no less than fifty volumes of musical collections, instruction books, and manuals. He is also rightly called the “Father of Music in the Public Schools.” As a composer church music. Dr. Mason was one of the most successful in this country. He was a deeply pious man. His sons, Lowell and Henry were the founders of the great organ and piano manufacturer of Mason & Hamlin.
Patti Drennan taught Choral Music for twenty-eight years in Norman, OK public pchools and was awarded the coveted “Director of Distinction Award” given yearly by the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association.An active composer and arranger, Drennan has published over 425 anthems. She has served as a clinician for school and church workshops, guest director at numerous churches, and adjudicator for choral contests in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. Drennan retired from teaching in 2004 in order to compose and stay active as a clinician and workshop presenter. For almost ten years she served as Music and Worship Arts Director at First Baptist Church, Norman.
My faith has found a resting place, Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Ever-living One, His wounds for me shall plead.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.
Enough for me that Jesus saves, This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him, He’ll never cast me out.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.
My faith looks up to thee, thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away;
O let me from this day be wholly thine.
As Thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee,
Pure, warm, and changeless be, A living fire!
To You, Lord, my faith looks up to thee.
About the Hymns:
Lord of the Dance
(c.1989, Galliard, Inc)
"Lord of the Dance" is a hymn written by English songwriter Sydney Carter in 1963. The melody is based on the American Shaker song "Simple Gifts". The song follows the idea of the traditional English carol "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day", which tells the gospel story in the first-person voice of Jesus of Nazareth with the device of portraying Jesus' life and mission as a dance.
About the hymn, Carter wrote: “I see Christ as the incarnation of the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart of our reality. I sing of the dancing pattern in the life and words of Jesus. Whether Jesus ever leaped in Galilee to the rhythm of a pipe or drum I do not know. We are told that David danced (and as an act of worship too), so it is not impossible. The fact that many Christians have regarded dancing as a bit ungodly (in a church, at any rate) does not mean that Jesus did. The Shakers didn't. This sect flourished in the United States in the nineteenth century, but the first Shakers came from Manchester in England, where they were sometimes called the "Shaking Quakers". They hived off to America in 1774, under the leadership of Mother Anne. They established celibate communities - men at one end, women at the other; though they met for work and worship. Dancing, for them, was a spiritual activity. Their hymns were odd, but sometimes of great beauty: from one of these ("Simple Gifts") I adapted this melody.”
I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they would not follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came to me and the dance went on.
I danced on the Sabbath when I cured the lame,
The holy people said it was a shame;
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high;
And they left me there on a cross to die.
I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on.
They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
El Shaddai
(c.1981, Whole Armor Publishing)
Naming God is one of the primary tasks of Christian hymns throughout history. Hymn writers continues to search for names and metaphors to express the inexpressible. “El Shaddai,” composed in 1982, returns to Hebrew names for God in an attempt to understand God’s nature and the relationship between the divine and humanity. A significant recording artist of contemporary Christian music for almost 30 years, Michael Card (b. 1957) has over 19 No.1 hit songs. He has received several awards including the Moody Monthly Award for songwriter and artist of the year (1983) and Dove Awards for “Praise and Worship Album of the Year” (1987, 1993), “Songwriter of the Year” (1983) and “Children’s Music Album of the Year” (1994). More recently Mr. Card received an honorary doctorate in religious education from Philadelphia Biblical University (2009).
“El-Shaddai” means God Almighty. El points to the power of God Himself. Shaddai seems to be derived from another word meaning breast, which implies that Shaddai signifies one who nourishes, supplies, and satisfies. It is God as El who helps, but it is God as Shaddai who abundantly blesses with all manner of blessings. God desires to bless man and provide in abundance all of man’s needs. This name is indicative of a God who is powerful enough to do just that. Only an all-powerful God can bless all mankind with all manner of blessings.
“Elyon” is one of the Names or Titles of God in the Bible, and the first not-Creator Name. Sometimes it occurs by itself (Numbers 24:16) but often together with El. The name El Elyon occurs initially in Genesis 14:18, during the Melchizedek scene. El Elyon is usually rendered in English as "God Most High". The critical scholar and Reform rabbi Abraham Geiger asserted that Elyōn was a word of late origin, dating it to the time of the Maccabees. However, its use in the Ugarit tablets has proven it to be pre-Mosaic. El Elyon, the Most High God, is in complete control of everything that happens. This name identifies God as the sovereign ruler of the universe.
“Adonai” by itself is not really a proper name but rather a title or appellative. As we will see below, it quite literally means 'mister' or my lord, master or owner. Adonai is also the source of the fabricated name Jehovah. When the Masoretes wanted to preserve the pronunciation of the words used in the Bible they ran into a problem when YHWH, the proper name of the Lord that was forbidden to be pronounced, occurred. To circumvent the problem, the Masoretes inserted the vowel symbols that go with adonai, indicating that whenever the reader saw YHWH, he had to say adonai. When later readers saw the name YHWH combined with the symbols for adonai, they erroneously concluded that YHWH was to be pronounced as Jehovah. If God is Adonai to you, He is the one to whom you submit or bow down; He is the Boss of your life. Adonai is the ultimate authority figure in your life and the One to whom you owe your complete allegiance.
“Erkamka na Adonai” has several problems which prevent accurate translation. There is a question of the English spelling, as well as the use of the word. Some state that, “This is a mixture of Hebrew and gibberish. It means nothing at all.” It is apparently drawn from the beginning words of Psalm 18:1. In Hebrew, this verse reads: אֶרְחָמְךָ֖ יְהוָ֣ה חִזְקִֽי The transliteration of these Hebrew words reads: ‘erḥāmeḵā yhwh ḥizqî The English Bibles translate the expression as “I love you, O Lord, my strength” The word Erkamka as it appears in the song has two problems. The first problem is that the Hebrew letter ח should be translated with a “h” and not a “k.” The second problem is that the second sheva in the Hebrew word is a vocal sheva and not silent, thus there should be a half-vowel (a small “e” after the מ), the “m” of Erkamka. When asked for the meaning of “Erkamka na Adonai,” Michael Card wrote that the expression means “We will love You, Oh, Lord.”
El Shaddai, El Shaddai, El-Elyon na Adonia,
Age to age You're still the same, By the power of the name.
El Shaddai, El Shaddai, Erkamka na Adonai,
We will praise and lift You high, El Shaddai.
Through your love and through the ram, You saved the son of Abraham;
Through the power of your hand, Turned the sea into dry land.
To the outcast on her knees, You were the God who really sees,
And by Your might, You set Your children free.
Through the years You've made it clear That the time of Christ was near,
Though the people couldn't see What Messiah ought to be.
Though Your Word contained the plan,They just could not understand
Your most awesome work was done Through the frailty of Your Son.
As We Go - Jeremy Johnson
(c.2007, Van Ness Press, admin by LifeWay Worship)
Jeremy Johnson is a full-time songwriter and producer for LifeWay Worship Music Group. Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, Jeremy moved to Nashville in 1994 to attend Belmont University. He signed an exclusive publishing deal with LifeWay in 2004 when his songs gained the attention of producer/songwriter Greg Nelson. Jeremy is the pianist/band leader at The Church at Station Hill in Spring Hill, TN.
This hymn is a simple, sincere call to carry the message and Spirit with us wherever we go. The words and music were written by Jeremy Johnson in 2011. The text is based on Psalm 48:14 and Matthew 28:16-20.
As we go, may your Spirit go before us.
As we go, may we follow where you lead.
May we live what we have learned,
share the message we have heard,
and be a light unto the world as we go.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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