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STLT#208, Every Time I Feel the Spirit
This is one of those hymns that make you go “huh!” (And that isn’t a bad thing.) First “huh” – it’s a Pentecost song, most definitely, stuck in the Worship section. And I go “huh, is that so we’ll use it, because some music directors and ministers will flip right by that liturgical season?” Second… Continue reading
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STLT#207, Earth Was Given as a Garden
Hmm. I’ve been staring at the screen for longer than is helpful, thinking about this hymn and what to say about it, wondering what it really is I feel about it that’s quantifiable. There’s something about it that bugs me, which actually makes me sad, as it’s perfectly suited for the beloved Hyfrodol hymn tune,… Continue reading
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STLT#205-206, Amazing Grace
This is the second of what I realize now are three times when the same lyrics are applied to two different tunes. Now in the case of Light of Ages and of Nations, and later, O Little Town of Bethlehem, they are actually two completely different tunes. But here, we have two distinct versions of… Continue reading
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STLT#204, Come, O Sabbath Day
Before the hymn, I want to address a comment: On the Facebook comments for yesterday’s post, a colleague noted with surprise that I actually liked one, as though I hate our hymns and this is a chore. I’m surprised that this came up, and maybe that colleague is the only one who thinks that, but… Continue reading
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STLT#203, All Creatures of the Earth and Sky
Sometimes all you really have to say is YES! I love this Hymn. I love that we sing this joyful alleluia to the earth and all its inhabitants, and that we use an Easter Hymn to sing this joy. (Edit 4/24/17: In my sleep-deprived state, I called this an Easter hymn, but research by my… Continue reading
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STLT#202, Come Sunday
I wonder how many denominations have Duke Ellington in their hymnals? A hat tip to our hymnal commission for finding a place for this piece. And, as I’ve talked about before, this fits in the ‘not every song in the hymnal is meant for the congregation to sing’ category – although I would love to… Continue reading
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STLT#201, Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!
I have stared at the screen for probably twenty minutes, unsure how to start today’s post. Do I talk about how joyful this song is, in the midst of crisis? And how joy comes out of pains, sorrows, and troubles? Do I talk about how the notes on this are so sketchy we really can… Continue reading
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STLT#200, A Mighty Fortress
Happy Two Hundredth Hymn-by-Hymn Post Day! Only 290 more to go. Gulp. That seems daunting, but then, holy cow, how are we 200 in already? Time does fly, friends, even through hard, dark days. Thanks to my regular, rather frequent, and occasional readers. And if you’re just discovering this today, welcome to my daily spiritual… Continue reading
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STLT#199, Precious Lord, Take My Hand
I’ve been to church this mornin’. Not literally, of course, and yet… When I was in seminary, I joined the gospel choir – I was tentative at first, not only because I am white but because I am not a Christian. But I was assured that this gospel choir was indeed open to all, and… Continue reading
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STLT#198, God of Many Names
Artists of all stripes have a signature style, a turn of phrase or brush or pen or finger that marks them as distinctive, a common theme or mood that repeats throughout a body of work. If we are seeing a representative sampling of Brian Wren’s hymns, then his signature is a propensity for expanding the… Continue reading
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links
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