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:
Child of God - Mark A. Miller
(c.2014, Choristers Guild)
Mark Miller believes that everyone is a Child of God and that music is instrumental in healing the world. He also adheres to Cornel West’s belief that “Justice is what love looks like in public.”
Since 2006 he has been a Lecturer in Sacred Music at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music and Divinity School. Mark is Professor of Church Music, Director of Chapel, and Composer In Residence at Drew University in Madison NJ, and is the Minister of Music of Christ Church (UCC & Am Baptist) in Summit, New Jersey. Mark believes that music, social justice, and the beloved community are inextricably tied.
His hymns and anthems are sung by communities of faith throughout the world. His songbook Roll Down Justice! Sacred Songs & Social Justice, was published in 2014 by Choristers Guild. His album, “Imagine the People of God”, is available on itunes. In 2017 he was appointed to serve on the Hymnal Revision Committee of the United Methodist Church. Miller spends a portion of the year traveling the country, often with his band S2C (Subject to Change), leading worship and workshops, preaching and presenting concerts focused on creating community and advocating for social justice. Overseas he has led choirs and performed in Sweden, South Africa, Austria, Russia, and the Baltic states.
Miller is a graduate of Julliard (M.Mus. in Organ Performance) and Yale University (B.A. Music) and was Assistant Organist and Music Associate at The Riverside Church from 1999-2001 and Director of Contemporary Worship at Marble Collegiate Church from 2002-2007, both in the city of New York.
About this song he says: These lyrics are a reflection of my reading of Romans 8:38-39: “What can separate us from God’s love?” Paul makes the supreme list final, culminating in: “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers nor things present, nor things to come…will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” We may try to create groups of people that are “in” and groups that are “out,” groups that don’t measure up to our standard. We humans are good at deciding who’s included, who is worthy of our particular badge of membership. But no matter what people say, no matter what the world says, no matter what the Church says, “you are a child of God!”
No matter what people say, say or think about me,
I am a child, I am a child of God.
No matter what people say, say or think about you,
you are a child, you are a child of God.
No matter what the world says, says or thinks about me,
I am a child, I am a child of God.
No matter what the church says, decisions, pronouncements on you,
you are a child, your are a child of God.
And there is no thing, or no one who can separate, they can’t separate you
from the truth that you’re someone, you are family,
you are meant to be, a child, a child of God!
You are a child, a child of God!
About the Piano Music:
All Are Welcome - Paul Tate
(c.2006, GIA Publications)
Our world is a place of brokenness and alienation. Jesus calls us to wholeness and reconciliation. As disciples of Jesus, we seek justice and healing among people. We affirm that each person is God’s unique creation and by God’s grace, each is called a child of God. “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28.
Marty Haugen was raised in the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in Minnesota, and is now a member the United Church of Christ. He writes contemporary hymns and liturgical music for the Lutheran church, and despite being a non-Catholic, his music has found favor in the both Catholic and Protestant congregations. Haugen holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Luther College and an M.A. degree in pastoral studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. For the past 25 years, Haugen has pursued a career as a liturgical composer and workshop presenter.
Haugen said he wrote “All are Welcome” for a priest who was raising money for a new parish. "Jesus ate with prostitutes, Pharisees, tax collectors and sinners," said Haugen. "I don't remember him refusing anyone, and that was the spirit in which I wrote it."
Let us build a house Where love can dwell And all can safely live,
A place where Saints and children tell How hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, Rock of faith and vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions;
Let us build a house where prophets speak, And words are strong and true,
Where all God's children dare to seek To dream God's reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness And a symbol of God's grace;
Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
Let us build a house where love is found In water, wine and wheat:
A banquet hall on holy ground, Where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus, Is revealed in time and space;
As we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
All are welcome, all are welcome, All are welcome in this place.
Paul A. Tate, a graduate of the University of Georgia, is a professional musician living in Sugar Hill, Georgia. As an active workshop presenter and concert performer, Paul has released a dozen recordings and published over 100 original songs and arrangements. His liturgical compositions appear in a number of hymnal resources, and his voice has been heard around the world on Sirius Satellite Radio.
About the Choral Music:
Orphans of God - Joel Lindsey & Twila LaBar
(c.2006 Bridge Building Music, admin by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing)
Joel Lindsey is one of the most celebrated and award-winning writers in the genres of Contemporary Christian music and Southern Gospel. He has penned over 800 songs for a “who’s who” list in both genres. Over the years he has earned a staggering twenty No. 1 songs on Christian radio. His songs have been recorded by mainstream artists like Chris Mann, Clay Aiken, and The Backstreet Boys.
Twila LaBar is an award-winning songwriter with songs recorded by Avalon, (Orphans of God), Point of Grace, Jeff and Sheri Easter with Vince Gill, Dottie Peoples, Karen Peck and New River, and more. Twila's extensive background in songwriting and music production made transitioning into filmmaking a natural next step. Twila made her narrative film directorial debut in the independent feature film "Blanche." Twila received "Best First Time Filmmaker" and "Best Woman Filmmaker" awards in the Royal Wolf Film Awards. Twila is also the recipient of the Hollywood Gold Awards Silver Award for Best Original Song for "The Miles Don't Even Matter." In 2020 and 2021 “Blanche”received 16 film festival awards. In addition to directing Blanche, Twila composed background music for the film and wrote and recorded two songs for the “Blanche” soundtrack, "Saddle Up" and "The Miles Don't Even Matter." Country artist Jordan Kirkdorffer, a contestant on The Voice 2018, is featured on "The Miles Don't Even Matter." “Blanche” is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Vimeo on Demand. Twila is currently in post-production on the documentary film "Where the Horses Heal the Soul."
“Orphans of God" is a song of hope by Joel Lindsey and Twila LaBar that was first performed by Avalon, a contemporary Christian music group. “Orphans of God” was recorded and released as a single by country artist Ty Herndon and singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth, going to #1 on the iTunes Christmas Songs chart.
Who here among us has not been broken?
Who here among us is without guilt or pain?
So often abandoned by out transgressions,
If such a thing as grace exists, then grace was made for lives like this.
There are no strangers, there are no outcasts,
there are no orphans of God.
So many fallen, but, hallelujah,
There are no orphans of God.
Come ye, unwanted, and find affection,
Come all ye weary, come and lay down your head.
Come, ye unworthy, we are a family.
If such a thing as grace exists, then grace was made for lives like this.
There are no strangers, there are no outcasts,
There are no orphans of God.
So many fallen, but, hallelujah,
There are no orphans of God.
O blessed Father, look down upon us,
We are Your children, we need Your love.
We bow before Your throne of mercy,
and seek your face to rise above.
There are no strangers, there are no outcasts,
There are no orphans of God.
So many fallen, but, hallelujah,
There are no orphans.
There are no strangers, there are no outcasts,
there are no orphans of God
So many fallen, but, hallelujah,
There are no orphans of God.
There are no orphans of God.
About the Hymns:
Many Gifts, One Spirit
(c.1974, Al Carmines)
Reverend Alvin Allison "Al" Carmines, Jr. (1936-2005) was a key figure in the expansion of Off-Off-Broadway theatre in the 1960s. Carmines attended Swarthmore College, majoring in English and philosophy, and then Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, earning a Bachelor of Divinity in 1961 and a Master of Sacred Theology in 1963. Carmines was hired by Howard Moody as an assistant minister at Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square Park, New York, to found a theater in the sanctuary of the Greenwich Village church in conjunction with playwright Robert Nichols. He began composing in 1962 and acted as well. His Bible study group grew into the Rauschenbusch Memorial United Church of Christ, with Carmines as pastor.
Carmines is perhaps best remembered in the church for the hymn "Many Gifts, One Spirit" #114 in the United Methodist Hymnal. He was commissioned by the United Methodist Women to write this hymn for their General Assembly in 1974.
God of change and glory, God of time and space,
When we fear the future, Give to us your grace.
In the midst of changing ways Give us still the grace to praise.
God of many colors, God of many signs,
You have made us different, Blessing many kinds.
As the old ways disappear, Let your love cast out our fear.
Freshness of the morning, Newness of each night,
You are still creating Endless love and light.
This we see, as shadows part, Many gifts from one great heart.
Many gifts, one Spirit, One love known in many ways.
In our difference is blessing, From diversity we praise
One Giver, one Lord, One Spirit, one Word
Known in many ways, Hallowing our days.
For the Giver, for the gifts, Praise, praise, praise!
Heaven Shall Not Wait
(c.1987, Iona Community, GIA Publications, agent)
John Bell (b. 1949) was born in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, intending to be a music teacher when he felt the call to the ministry. But in frustration with his classes, he did volunteer work in a deprived neighborhood in London for a time and also served for two years as an associate pastor at the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam. After graduating he worked for five years as a youth pastor for the Church of Scotland, serving a large region that included about 500 churches. He then took a similar position with the Iona Community, and with his colleague Graham Maule, began to broaden the youth ministry to focus on renewal of the church’s worship. His approach soon turned to composing songs within the identifiable traditions of hymnody that began to address concerns missing from the current Scottish hymnal:
"I discovered that seldom did our hymns represent the plight of poor people to God. There was nothing that dealt with unemployment, nothing that dealt with living in a multicultural society and feeling disenfranchised. There was nothing about child abuse…,that reflected concern for the developing world, nothing that helped see ourselves as brothers and sisters to those who are suffering from poverty or persecution." [from an interview in Reformed Worship (March 1993)]
That concern not only led to writing many songs, but increasingly to introducing them internationally in many conferences, while also gathering songs from around the world. He was convener for the fourth edition of the Church of Scotland’s Church Hymnary (2005), a very different collection from the previous 1973 edition. His books, The Singing Thing and The Singing Thing Too, as well as the many collections of songs and worship resources produced by John Bell—some together with other members of the Iona Community’s “Wild Goose Resource Group,” —are available in North America from GIA Publications.
Bell wrote both the words and music to “Heaven Shall Not Wait”>
Heaven shall not wait for the poor to lose their patience,
the scorned to smile, the despised to find a friend:
Jesus is Lord; he has championed the unwanted;
in him injustice confronts its timely end.
Heaven shall not wait for the rich to share their fortunes,
the proud to fall, the élite to tend the least:
Jesus is Lord; he has shown the master's privilege ̶
to kneel and wash servants' feet before they feast.
Heaven shall not wait for the dawn of great ideas,
thoughts of compassion divorced from cries of pain:
Jesus is Lord; he has married word and action;
his cross and company make his purpose plain.
Heaven shall not wait for triumphant Hallelujahs,
when earth has passed and we reach another shore:
Jesus is Lord in our present imperfection;
his power and love are for now and then for evermore.
May God Bless and Keep You - Jim Strathdee
(c.1994, Desert Flower Music)
Internationally known artists, Jim and Jean Strathdee sing with thousands of people each year as they offer their music in concerts, worship, conferences, reteats, and workshops. Most often they travel throughout the United States and Canada, but over the 40 year span of their ministry they have shared their music in India, New Zealand, Cuba, and Central America. Their music spans a diversity of sound and style and includes use of guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica, African drums, and Native American flute. They see music as an agent of transformation where ecumenical and inter-faith communities come together to make a stand for positive change. Jim and Jean have served on the staff of United Methodist churches in southern and northern California and Hawaii. They have written hundreds of hymns, songs, and anthems.
May God bless and keep you,
May God's loving face now shine on you and be gracious, gracious, Amen.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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