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:
Make Me a Channel of Your Peace - Douglas Wagner
(c.1967, OCP Publications)
The so-called Prayer of Saint Francis, also known as the Peace Prayer or Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace, is a widely known Christian prayer. Often wrongly attributed to the 13th-century saint Francis of Assisi, the prayer in its present form cannot be traced back further than 1912, when it was printed in Paris in French, in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell), published by La Ligue de la Sainte-Messe (The League of the Holy Mass). The author's name was not given, although it may have been the founder of La Ligue, Fr. Esther Bouquerel. A professor at the University of Orleans in France, Dr. Christian Renoux, published a study of the prayer and its history in French in 2001. Around 1920, a French Franciscan priest printed the prayer on the back of an image of St. Francis, without attribution. The prayer has been known in the United States since 1927, when its first known English translation appeared in the Quaker magazine Friends' Intelligencer under the mistaken title "A prayer of St. Francis of Assissi". Senator Albert W. Hawkes and the saint's namesake Cardinal Francis Spellman distributed millions of copies of the prayer during and just after World War II.
The prayer has similarities to this saying of Blessed Giles of Assisi, one of the companions of St. Francis:
Blessed is he who loves and does not therefore desire to be loved; blessed is he who fears and does not therefore desire to be feared; blessed is he who serves and does not therefore desire to be served; blessed is he who behaves well toward others and does not desire that others behave well toward him; and because these are great things, the foolish do not rise to them.
A popular hymn version of the prayer is "Make Me A Channel of Your Peace", adapted and set to music in 1967 by South African songwriter Sebastian Temple (Johann Sebastian von Tempelhoff, 1928-1997). It is an anthem of the Royal British Legion and is usually sung every November at the Service of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall, London. In 1997, it was part of the Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and was sung by Sinéad O'Connor on the Princess Diana tribute album.
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love.
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord,
And where there's doubt, true faith in you.
Oh, master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love with all my soul.
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, only light,
And where there's sadness, ever joy.
Oh, master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love with all my soul.
Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
In giving of our selves that we receive,
And in dying that we're born to eternal life.
Douglas E. Wagner, a native of Chicago, Illinois, is an international recognized composer and arranger. With thirty years as a high school music educator and administrator behind him, Mr. Wagner now devotes all of his time and energy to writing, editing and their allied activities. He is an A.S.C.A.P. award-winning composer, an editor for a major publishing company, and has served several denominations as a church musician. 2,500 titles by Douglas E. Wagner have been published since 1973, included works for choir (sacred and secular), concert band, orchestra, handbell ensemble, organ, piano, instrumental solo, and voice. Fifteen million copies of his music have been sold to date.
Trumpet Voluntary - Francis Linley
(c.1975, McAfee Music Corporation)
Francis Linley (c.1771–1800) was an English organist and composer. Linley was born in Doncaster. Blind from birth, he received an education, and studied music under Edward Miller, also of Doncaster. Around 1790 Linley held the post of organist at St. James's Chapel, Pentonville, London. In 1796 he bought the business of John Bland, music-seller in Holborn. At a troubled time in his life, he went to America. He remained there several years, returning to England in 1799, and died, aged 26, at his mother's house in Doncaster, on 15 September 1800.
About the Piano Music:
Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound - Mark Hayes
(c.2006, Lorenz Publishing)
"Amazing Grace" was written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807). With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.
Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was drafted into the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion. However, he continued his slave trading career until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.
Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It was first printed in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, "Amazing Grace" was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today.
The melody sung to John Newton’s 1779 hymn “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound” is, without a doubt, America’s best-loved hymn tune. Unlike Lowell Mason’s “Nearer, my God, to thee,” the “Amazing grace” tune is of unknown origin. It first appeared in print in 1829 without any composer attribution, and there were thought to be no earlier surviving instances of the tune. However, an 1828 manuscript by Lucius Chapin (1760-1842), who was famous in his day as a hymn tune writer, raises the possibility that Lucius was its composer.
Lucius and his brother Amzi (1768-1835) were among the first and most influential composers to harmonize American folk hymns, using principles they had absorbed from New England and English church music, and perhaps from the oral tradition as well. They also composed hymns in a similar style. The brothers came from a large, musical Massachusetts family. Their mother was an exceptional singer, though she did not read music, and two of their brothers also became singing masters. Lucius and Amzi moved south and west as young men and taught singing schools throughout their lives. In 1828, Lucius was living in central Kentucky and Amzi in western Pennsylvania. The 1828 manuscript was mentioned in passing in James Scholten’s 1972 dissertation on Lucius and Amzi Chapin. On July 25, 1828, Lusius’ son Cephas died from typhus in Oxford, Ohio en route home to visit his parents. There are three tender expressions of paternal love and grief on the back of Cephas’ last letter penned there by Lucius, the tunes AMAZING GRACE and BRAINARD and a brief poem.
The familiar melody had a number of titles in its early publications: ST. MARY’S, GALLAHER, HARMONY GROVE (Shenandoah Harmony), NEW BRITAIN (Sacred Harp), and more. The one title it did not have was AMAZING GRACE, though that title was used for at least two other melodies. The tune wasn’t paired with Newton’s text until 1835. The great nineteenth-century scholar W.E. Chute (1832-1900) attributed the melody to the Chapins.
It is possible that NEW BRITAIN was added to the manuscript after 1828, or copied from a source that does not survive. However, the version here doesn’t exactly match any tune found, either published or in manuscript, in Nikos Pappas’ exhaustive index of over 60,000 early American hymn tunes (1700-1870). It is closest to the tune ST. MARY’S found in Shaw and Spilman’s Columbian Harmony (1829) [4]. Like Lucius, Shaw and Spilman lived in central Kentucky.
Even if Lucius were the first to notate the tune, the concept of “authorship” in this repertoire is difficult. Composers felt free to write arrangements of popular sacred or secular melodies in oral tradition and publish them, either as unattributed tunes or with their own names attached. They also made their own versions of tunes in books or manuscripts, appropriated and rearranged European classical music, and composed music from scratch in a folk idiom.
If Lucius didn’t compose NEW BRITAIN, then who did? The basic structure of the tune is ancient. NEW BRITAIN is a folk hymn—a sacred melody that existed, in some form, in oral tradition prior to being notated. It belongs to a recognized “tune family,” or group of tunes, sacred or secular, that share enough structure and melodic phrases that they seem to be descended from a common root. Other related tunes include Amzi Chapin’s TWENTY-FOURTH (written in the 1790s) and, more distantly, the African-American spiritual “Swing low, sweet chariot” (published in 1873, but definitely older). The folk hymn CONSOLATION (attributed to the Chapins when first published in 1812) has the same contour, but is in the minor mode. However, just because a tune is a folk hymn doesn’t mean that there wasn’t an originator for a particular variant of the tune family. There were at least ten slightly different versions of NEW BRITAIN written down from 1828 to 1840 in Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Three of these were from central Kentucky. This argues for oral transmission, but the fact that each version differs from the others only in the amount of ornamentation notated suggests that one person, perhaps an itinerant preacher or singing master, was the “vector” that spread the tune through this area in the late 1820s to 1830s.
Another interesting story, though tangential, is the Chapin family’s connection to the antislavery movement. If you’ve read the story of John Newton (the author of the words to “Amazing Grace”), you know that he was the captain of a slave ship who later rejected his past and advocated against slavery. The Chapin family lived in central Kentucky and some of their neighbors owned slaves, though there weren’t large plantations in the area. However, the diary of Cephas’ sister Harriet survives, and she was profoundly antislavery, though as a woman she didn’t have power to make decisions about her household. She thanks God that her father is “an Emancipator.” I don’t know if that means that he had slaves and set them free or if he didn’t believe in slavery and never owned slaves. Harriet considered it her duty to educate the two young African-Americans who worked for the family, an act that would have been illegal in many states. Harriet died in 1827, just a year before Cephas.
In general, the early revivals in Kentucky were far more democratic than were churches later in the 19th century. Both white women and African-Americans—even slaves—were called on to testify and even preach, and everyone participated in group singing, which was one of the hallmarks of these revivals. So the fact that this particular tune, whoever wrote it, is often associated with black spirituals and related to “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” is not surprising, as it was first popular in a mixed environment.
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind but now I see.
Shout, shout for glory, Shout, shout aloud for glory;
Brother, sister, mourner, All shout glory hallelujah.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come:
'tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease:
I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine;
but God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun.
Mark Hayes is an award-winning concert pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. His personal catalog, totaling over 1,000 published works, includes work for solo voice, solo piano, multiple pianos, orchestra, jazz combo, small instrumental ensembles, and choruses of all kinds. Mark received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1975. He has conducted the SWACDA and MCDA Community and Church Honor Choir, and served as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, featuring his Te Deum and Magnificat. In 2010, Baylor University Center for Christian Music Studies awarded Mark the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music. Mark arranged and orchestrated the music for Civil War Voices, which won six awards including "Best Musical" in the 2010 Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York. He conducted the world premiere of his work for chorus, orchestra and narrator, The American Spirit, at Lincoln Center in May 2011 and the world premiere of his Requiem in Lincoln Center in May 2013. Whether concertizing on the other side of the globe or composing at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, Mark is blessed to live out his mission "to create beautiful music for the world".
About the Choral Music:
Our Hope (O God, Our Help) - Nicole Elsey & Robert Sterling
(c.2016, Hal Leonard Corp and Robert Matthew Sterling Music)
Nicole Elsey is an Atlanta area native and graduate of Emory University, where she majored in vocal performance. She has worked as Music Director and Music Staff at several Methodist churches since 2002, but she is currently concentrating on her composing and filling in for musicians at various churches. Music has always brought Nicole closer to God, and she hopes to share that with others through singing and composing.
Robert Sterling is an American songwriter, arranger, and record producer. His songs have been recorded by a variety of Christian artists, notably including Point of Grace, Gold City and Sandi Patty. His tunes have worked their way to the top of the Christian pop, Southern Gospel, and inspirational radio charts. Among Sterling's record producing credits are the certified gold albums, Point of Grace, and The Whole Truth, by Point. A 1977 cum laude graduate of Baylor University's School of Music, Robert is a five-time winner of the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award. For five years he headed the songwriting faculty for the Academy of Gospel Music Arts. In 1997, Robert served as the chairman of the Coalition for the Protection of America’s Gospel Music Heritage, lobbying and testifying before Congress on behalf of Christian songwriters. In addition to his work as a writer, arranger and orchestrator, Sterling has also served as an adjunct professor of Music Publishing at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Elsey and Sterling have set Isaac Watts’ well-known text to a new tune, giving us a powerful, uplifting anthem.
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!
Under the shadow of Your throne Your saints have lived secure.
Sufficient is Your hand alone, and our defense is sure.
Be our light in the darkening world, the strength to face our fears,
our peace when tumult steals the day, and our hope throughout the years.
Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame,
from everlasting You are God, to endless years the same.
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
be now our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home!
Be our light in the darkening world, the strength to face our fears,
our peace when tumult steals the day, and our hope throughout the years.
Be our light in the darkening world, the strength to face our fears,
our peace when tumult steals the day, and our hope throughout the years.
About the Hymns:
How Firm a Foundation
The authorship of “How Firm a Foundation” 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) as BELLEVUE 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.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.
O God of Love, This is a Time of Turning - Carolyn Gillette
(c.2025, Carolyn Gillette)
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (b.1961) is a hymn writer and Presbyterian pastor. She has written over 400 hymns. Gillette and her husband Bruce are the pastors of First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, New York since December 2018. They have previously served as pastors in Philadelphia, Wilmington, Delaware, Pitman, New Jersey and Sussex County, New Jersey.
Gillette grew up in a Methodist family, and her father was a graduate of Drew Seminary. She was baptized and confirmed in Methodist congregations. She graduated from United Methodist Church-related Lebanon Valley College. She and her husband Bruce are graduates for Princeton Theological Seminary.
Her hymn tunes are available on the internet for use by all churches. “O God of Love, This is a Time of Turning” was written this January in response to events in Minneapolis and other areas of our country. It is set to the hymn tune FINLANDIA. The melody comes from the symphonic tone poem “Finlandia, Op. 26”, by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).
O God of love, this is a time of turning —
a time of change, with conflict in the news.
For in our land, some mighty winds are churning;
There's much at stake that we could gain or lose.
Love sings out strong, yet fires of hate are burning;
O God of all, you call us all to choose.
O God of peace, we hear your gracious promise:
Your love can heal the hearts of humankind.
May we stand firm for truth and peace and justice;
May we leave fear and hatred far behind.
May we sing out, and — singing — be a witness,
and show resolve to work for what is kind.
O God of all, of immigrant and neighbor,
of those in power — and of the refugee,
You give us all our common life and labor —
our common hope, the peace we long to see.
God, may we turn and be made strong together.
May we seek justice, love and unity.
O God of love, have mercy on your churches;
Take from our hearts our paralyzing fear.
Give us new faith! Make us courageous workers.
Help us to labor on from year to year
When other voices call out to distract us,
May we choose well and seek your kingdom here.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
