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Hymn Blog May 3, 2009
Today TSP is holding an EcoFestival and our worship will focus on Ecotheology. Ecotheology is a rather new area of study, with major works appearing in the last two decades of the twentieth century. It is not surprising then that in our hymnody, our lyrical theology, most hymns addressing ecological themes have appeared in the last quarter century, and that we have found four of this morning’s six hymns in More Voices.
MV 135 – Called by Earth and Sky. Words and music are by Pat Mayberry, a singer songwriter who began singing in Ottawa in 2001. She has written for the Seasons of the Spirit and Bible Quest curricula. Four of her hymns are found in More Voices.
MV 37 – Each Blade of Grass. Words are by Keri Wehlander (see April 27 hymn blog). The tune comes from the New England singing school tradition, adapted and arranged by Linnea Good.
VU 748 – God is My Shepherd. The text is based on the Scottish Psalter 1650 (see VU 747 for the original text) and adapted by Lavon Bayler, a United Church of Christ (USA) minister. She is a well known author of worship resources and a hymn poet. The tune, BROTHER JAMES’ AIR was written by James Leith Macbeth Bain (Brother James), a Scot who left the orthodox church to pursue a healing ministry. Like St. Francis, he combined the spiritual genius of the mystic with the irresistible charm and trust of the child who loves all men and all creatures. The hymn tune was adapted from a choral anthem by British composer Gordon Jacob, based on Bain’s melody.
MV 143 – We Cannot Own the Sunlit Sky. Author Ruth Duck, a United Church of Christ (USA) minister, is professor of worship at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois, and a widely-published author of hymn texts, including 10 in Voices United and 10 in More Voices. Her texts express a progressive and justice centered theology in beautiful, carefully crafted poetry. Composer Marty Haugen is a liturgical composer from Eagan, Minnesota, whose compositions are widely used in Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches. His work appears 6 times in Voices United and 3 times in More Voices, including the wonderful “Let Us Build a House” (MV 1) for which he also wrote the text.
MV 41 – O Beautiful Gaia. American Carolyn McDade is well known for her songs of personal and social transformation. For three decades she has gathered circles of women to sing and reflect on life, the verses of this hymn coming from such a gathering in Atlantic Canada. The arrangement is by Lydia Pederson, former music director at Royal York Road United Church, and active member of the Hymn Society.
VU 295 – The Earth and All Who Breathe. The text is by Ruth Duck (see above, VU 143) from her 1992 collection “Dancing in the Universe”. The tune, attributed to J.S. Bach, was first published in Leipzig in 1736, in a collection of religious arias and songs which Bach edited.
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