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:
The Church of Christ, in Every Age - J. Bert Carlson
(c.2001, Augsburg Fortress)
The name of the Rev. F. Pratt Green is one of the best-known of the contemporary school of hymnwriters in the British Isles. His name and writings appear in practically every new hymnal and "hymn supplement" wherever English is spoken and sung. And now they are appearing in American hymnals, poetry magazines, and anthologies.
Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000) was born in Roby, England, just outside of Liverpool, to Charles Green and Hannah Greenwood. They were both very successful business owners as well as a strong religious influence over young Fred. The youngest of three children, he was born into a Christian home he described as “a place where religion was scrupulously observed but never made burdensome.” Following his education, Green was ordained in the British Methodist Church in 1924 and continued his ministry in various parishes throughout England well into the 1940s. As a minister, he rarely had time for outside interests, but when he met devout poet Fallon Webb, he was instantly fascinated. The two exchanged poetry for nearly 20 years, setting the stage for Green to focus on hymn writing after his retirement from active ministry.
Green’s hymns reflect his concern with social issues. Many were written to serve the liturgical needs of the modern church, such as specific seasons of the Christian year. Others speak to topics for which there were few traditional hymns available. Eminent British hymnologist Erik Routley noted that with some exceptions, the Methodist influence in hymnody had decreased since the hymns and translations of the Wesley brothers. When a supplement to the Methodist hymnal, Hymns and Songs, was released in Great Britain in 1969, Routley declared “this [trend of few significant Methodist hymn writers] has changed; it has been irreversibly changed by Fred Pratt Green.”
Green composed this hymn in 1969, a time of social unrest throughout much of the world, including the U.S., Europe and South Africa. Published at first under the heading of “The Caring Church,” it appeared in Green’s 26 Hymns (1971) and then in New Church Praise (1975), where it came into prominence.
William Knapp (1698-1768) composed WAREHAM, so named for his birthplace. A glover by trade, Knapp served as the parish clerk at St. James's Church in Poole (1729-1768) and was organist in both Wareham and Poole. Known in his time as the "country psalm-singer," Knapp published A Set of New Psalm Tunes and Anthems (1738) and New Church Melody (1753). WAREHAM was published in his 1738 collection with the melody in the tenor as a setting for Psalm 36. Its slightly simplified form appears in nearly all modern hymnals.
The Church of Christ in every age Beset by change but Spirit led,
Must claim and test its heritage And keep on rising from the dead.
Across the world, across the street, The victims of injustice cry
For shelter and for bread to eat, And never live until they die.
Then let the servant Church arise, A caring Church that longs to be
A partner in Christ's sacrifice, And clothed in Christ's humanity.
And all men suffer deeper ills: for there’s fever in our blood
that prostitutes our human skills and poisons all our brotherhood.
For he alone, whose blood was shed, Can cure the fever in our blood,
And teach us how to share our bread And feed the starving multitude.
We have no mission but to serve In full obedience to our Lord:
To care for all, without reserve, And to spread his liberating Word.
J. Bert Carlson (1937-2017), retired pastor, holds a master of music from Duquesne University School of Music and has served as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Whiting, NJ since 1997. Carlson wears many diverse hats as a piano teacher, organ recitalist, tenor soloist, musical director, and conductor as well as cofounder of the Chicago Oratorio Society and clinician for numerous workshops with an emphasis on choral methods, organ and hymn composition. His prodigious list of publications includes anthems, vocal songs, organ works, and piano works.
About the Piano Music:
The Church's One Foundation - Lloyd Larson
(c.2017, Lorenz Publishing)
Songs are a powerful means of teaching. The melodies, rhythms, and rhymes that characterize songs make the words easier to remember. The best and most effective songs combine lyrics and music to cultivate feelings that complement the meaning. The Rev. Samuel John Stone (1839-1900) was well aware of the effectiveness of singing when he wrote and published Lyra Fidelium in 1866. As a curate in the small town of Windsor, England, he was aware of his parishoners’ habit of using the Apostles’ Creed in their private prayers. But he was concerned that many of them did not grasp the meaning of what they said. The prose felt too academic, disconnected from the average worshipper, and lacking a devotional spirit.
It was in this context that he wrote Lyra Fidelium, which consisted of twelve hymns, one for each article of the Apostles’ Creed. With each hymn he included a short “summary of truths confessed” in that article, along with a list of the Scripture passages supporting it. “The Church’s One Foundation” was the hymn he wrote for article 9 of the Creed, which affirms belief in “the holy catholic church” and “the communion of saints.”
“The Church’s One Foundation” is the best known of the twelve hymns in this collection. Louis Benson quotes one English archbishop as saying that “wherever he was called upon to open or dedicate a church, he could always count on two things—cold chicken and ‘The Church’s one Foundation’.” The hymn’s long legacy undoubtedly owes to the many doctrines it includes, its use of the words and concepts of Scripture to express them, and its uniqueness in teaching the doctrine of the church. Benson describes it as embodying “practically every doctrine concerning the church [Stone] held most dear (its divine origin, its unbroken continuity, its catholicity and essential unity, its orthodoxy, its sacramental grace, its communion with God and with the departed saints, its militancy and final triumph).”
AURELIA was written by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876), the son of Samuel Wesley and grandson of Charles Wesley. Famous in his lifetime as one of his country's leading organists and choirmasters, he composed almost exclusively for the Church of England, which continues to cherish his memory. There are memorial tablets to him in Exeter Cathedral and Winchester Cathedral, and his memorial at Gloucester Cathedral is in stained glass. Of his hymn tunes the best-known are AURELIA and HEREFORD, but CORNWALL and HAREWOOD are also particularly fine. AURELIA has been widely adopted in the United States, and is regularly heard there. Usually sung to the words "The Church's One Foundation", Wesley composed the tune for the hymn "Jerusalem the Golden”.
While at Winchester Cathedral Wesley was largely responsible for the Cathedral's acquisition in 1854 of the Father Willis organ which had been exhibited at The Great Exhibition, 1851. The success of the Exhibition organ led directly to the award of the contract to Willis for a 100-stop organ for St George's Hall, Liverpool built in 1855. Wesley, with Father Willis, can be credited with the invention of the concave and radiating organ pedalboard, but demurred when Willis proposed that it should be known as the "Wesley-Willis" pedalboard. However, their joint conception has been largely adopted as an international standard for organs throughout the English-speaking world and those exported elsewhere.
The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, our Lord;
we are a new creation by water and the Word.
From heav’n he came and taught us what perfect love can be;
through life and death he sought us, and rose to set us free.
The church in ev’ry nation is one through all the earth;
our charter of salvation, one God, one faith, one birth;
one name together blessing, one holy food we share,
to one hope ever pressing, at one in work and prayer.
Still, schisms, tribulation, and hatred fuel our war;
we wait the consummation of peace forevermore.
The saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
Yet we on earth have union with God, the Three in One,
and mystic, sweet communion with those whose rest is won.
Oh, happy ones and holy! God, give us grace that we,
like them, the meek and lowly, may live eternally.
Lloyd Larson (b. 1954) is an active composer and arranger for several major publishing companies of church and school music. His compositions and arrangements include well over 1,000 published works—including choral anthems, numerous extended Christmas, Easter and non-seasonal works, keyboard collections, vocal solo and duet collections, instrumental works for solo and ensembles, orchestrations, and handbell settings. It is Lloyd's work in his local church that continues to be the catalyst for much of his writing. He currently directs the adult choir in his home church in addition to being involved in worship planning and leadership.
About the Choral Music:
One Faith, One Hope, One Lord – Craig Courtney
(c.1989, The Sacred Music Press)
A native of Indiana, Craig Courtney received a Bachelors and a Masters degree in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati. He served on the faculty of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, serving as piano teacher and accompanist for the woodwind and brass department. While serving in the music ministry of the Salzburg International Baptist Church, Courtney began composing sacred choral music. In 1985, his compositions came to the attention of John Ness Beck through the publication of his octavo, Thy Will Be Done, initiating a close working relationship between the two men which continued until Beck’s death in 1987. In making plans for the ongoing of Beckenhorst Press, Beck appointed Craig Courtney staff composer and editor. Courtney’s published works include more than two hundred choral octavos, nine vocal collections, two piano solo collections and six extended works for choir and orchestra. Courtney combines his background as pianist, cellist, vocal coach, accompanist and choral director to create works in his unique style.
Dignified and thoughtful, this powerful affirmation of faith is harmonically rich and features beautiful choral writing, which thickens through the piece. The text is based on Ephesians 4:4-6, 13.
One faith, one hope, one Lord, one church for which He died,
One voice, one song, we lift in praise to Him who was and is and shall be evermore.
There is one body, one spirit, as you were called to one hope.
One Lord, baptism and faith, one God and Father of all,
One God and Father of us all, one God and Father of all, who is in you all.
One faith, one hope, one Lord, one church for which He died,
One voice, one song, we lift in praise to Him who was and is and shall be evermore.
Though we be many people, diverse with various gifts,
We are given to each other for the unity of faith,
That we grow in the knowledge of the Son of God, in the fullness of Christ.
One faith, one hope, one Lord, one church for which He died,
One voice, one song, we lift in praise to Him who was and is and shall be evermore.
One faith. One hope. One Lord. One God.
About the Hymns:
The Church is Christ's Own Body
Witness Lee (1905-1997) was a Chinese Christian preacher and hymnist belonging to the Christian group known as the local churches (or Local Church) in Taiwan and the United States. He was also the founder of Living Stream Ministry. Lee was born in 1905 in the city of Yantai, Shandong, China, to a Southern Baptist family. He became a Christian in 1925 after hearing the preaching of an evangelist named Peace Wang and later joined the Christian work started by Watchman Nee. Like Nee, Lee emphasized what he considered the believers' subjective experience and enjoyment of Christ as life for the building up of the church, not as an organization, but as the Body of Christ.
Many of Witness Lee's spoken messages have been published in over 400 books translated into more than fourteen different languages. His largest written work is The Life-study of the Bible, comprising over 25,000 pages of commentary on every book of the Bible from the perspective of the believers' enjoyment and experience of God's divine life in Christ through the Holy Spirit. A radio broadcast called Life-study of the Bible with Witness Lee was later produced from these spoken messages. Following the Life-study Lee began a focused Crystallization-study to look at high points, or "crystals," of each book of the Bible. However, he died before completing this work. He was also the chief editor of a new translation of the New Testament into English and Chinese called the Recovery Version.
In addition, Witness Lee wrote, collected, and translated Christian hymns. In 1963 and 1964, he wrote the lyrics to approximately 200 new hymns that he compiled together with hymns from other authors. These were then categorized by topic for Hymns, with a total of 1,080 songs, published by Living Stream Ministry.
Composed by Samuel S. Wesley, AURELIA (meaning "golden") was published as a setting for “Jerusalem the Golden” in Selection of Psalms and Hymns, which was compiled by Charles Kemble and Wesley in 1864.
The Church is Christ’s own Body, The Father’s dwelling-place,
The gathering of the called ones, God blended with man’s race;
Elect before creation, Redeemed by Calv’ry’s death,
Her character and standing Of heaven, not of earth.
New man of new creation, Born through her risen Lord,
Baptized in God the Spirit, Made holy by His Word;
Christ is her life and content, Himself her glorious Head;
She has ascended with Him O’er all her foes to tread.
Christ is her one foundation, None other man may lay;
All that she has, as Christ, is Divine in every way;
Her members through the Spirit Their death on Calv’ry own;
They’re built in resurrection— Gold, silver, precious stone.
One God, one Lord, one Spirit—Her elements all one—
One faith, one hope, one baptism, One Body in the Son;
The triune God is in her, One Body members own,
By faith they are united, In hope of glory shown.
From every tribe and nation Do all the members come,
Regardless of their classes United to be one.
No high there is, nor lowly, No Jew, nor Gentile call,
No free, nor slave, nor master, But Christ, the Lord of all.
One Body universal, One in each place expressed;
Locality of dwelling Her only ground possessed;
Administration local, Each answ’ring to the Lord;
Communion universal, Upheld in one accord.
Her local gatherings model The New Jerusalem;
Its aspects and its details Must show in all of them.
Christ is the Lamp that shineth, With God within, the Light;
They are the lampstands bearing His glorious Image bright.
I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
“I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord” (1801) is perhaps the earliest hymn still currently used that was composed by a citizen of the United States. The author, Timothy Dwight (1752-1817), was one of the outstanding leaders of his time. Dwight was the grandson of the Calvinist preacher Jonathan Edwards. He demonstrated a precocious spirit at a young age, reading the Bible at age 4, learning Latin during grammar school and entering Yale College at age 13. Graduating from Yale at 17, he taught grammar school in New Haven and then became a tutor at Yale. Dwight obtained a preacher’s license and served as a chaplain during the Revolutionary War with George Washington. Hymnologist Albert Bailey notes Dwight’s sermons and songs were an inspiration for the soldiers he served.
After the war, Dwight became a Congregational minister in Fairfield, Conn. Dwight supplemented his insufficient pastoral salary by opening a private academy. The success of this academy led to his election in 1795 as president of Yale College. Dwight left a legacy of improved scholastic standards at Yale College, serving not only as the school’s president, but also as professor of literature, oratory and theology, and college chaplain. He is credited with fostering a revival among the students through his sermons in the college chapel, a revival that spread to other New England colleges.
Dwight’s literary accomplishments were many. He may be best known today for his 1797 revision of Isaac Watts’ 1719 Psalms of David, to which he added 33 of his own texts. “I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord,” published in the 1801 revision of Watts’ Psalms of David, is the only remaining text from Dwight’s Watts, prepared at the request of the General Association (Congregational) of Connecticut, that has survived. The original eight stanzas have been reduced to four or five in most hymnals. This paraphrase of a portion of Psalm 137 appeared originally under the title, “Love to the Church.”
I love thy kingdom, Lord, the house of thine abode,
the church our blest Redeemer saved with his own precious blood.
I love thy church, O God! Her walls before thee stand
dear as the apple of thine eye, and graven on thy hand.
For her my tears shall fall, for her my prayers ascend,
to her my cares and toils be given, till toils and cares shall end.
Beyond my highest joy I prize her heavenly ways;
her sweet communion, solemn vows, her hymns of love and praise.
Sure as thy truth shall last, to Zion shall be given
the brightest glories earth can yield, and brighter bliss of heaven.
Christ Be Beside Me
(c.1987, Faith Alive Christian Resources)
Scottish Jesuit Father James Quinn (1919-2010) was born in Glasgow, Scotland and educated at St. Aloysius' College in Glasgow and Glasgow University. His first hymn collection, New Hymns for All Seasons, was published in 1969, and Praise for All Seasons, which contained texts drawn from some of his earlier works, was published in 1994. In 2017, after becoming sole publisher and licensing agent, OCP published Hymns for All Seasons, the first-ever complete edition of Fr. Quinn's hymn texts. Fr. Quinn worked for decades to make the theology of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) accessible and easily sung by worshipers. He wrote paraphrases of psalms and Scriptures or English translations of Marian prayers to the number of beats in the lines of existing melodies. Many of his texts, set to traditional hymn tunes appear in the English-language hymnals of nearly every Christian denomination around the world. In 1998, the “Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians” praised Father Quinn's ability to articulate the orthodox aspects of Christianity in new and fresh ways. He published more than 200 texts during his lifetime.
This hymn is a reworking of the prayer known as ‘St Patrick’s Breastplate’. The tune ‘Bunessan’ is said to have been noted down by Alexander Fraser from the singing of a wandering Highland singer and appeared in print first in Songs and Hymns of the Gael, which Lachlan McBean published in 1888. McBean was a major influence in widening the appreciation of Gaelic culture in his time.
Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,
Christ be behind me, King of my heart.
Christ be within me, Christ be below me,
Christ be above me, never to part.
Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me, shield in the strife.
Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising, light of my life.
Christ be in all hearts thinking about me,
Christ be on all tongues telling of me.
Christ be the vision in eyes that see me,
In ears that hear me Christ ever be.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
