Hymn Blog - October 30, 2011

October 30, 2011 – Reformation Sunday

VU 811 – To Render Thanks unto our God. Our processional hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 92 from the Scottish Psalter (1650). The tune, BISHOPTHORPE, is attributed to Jeremiah Clark (c. 1670 – 1707), and is first found in Select Portions of the Psalms of David for the use of Parish Churches (undated).

MV 45 – You are Holy. Our children’s hymn is a traditional South African song, paraphrased in English and arranged by the compilers of More Voices.

MV 155 – Unbounded Spirit, Breath of God. This stunning text was written by Brian Wren for the 150^th anniversary of Chicago Theological Seminary. Wren, born in England and ordained in the Congregational Church, now lives in the United States with partner Rev. Susan Heafield, a United Methodist Pastor and composer. Wren’s hymn poems are widely represented in many contemporary hymnbooks, with 18 texts in Voices United and 4 in More Voices. The setting, PARTRIDGE, is by Canadian Jane Best, who is church musician at All Saints Anglican Church in Gore Bay, Ontario, on Manitoulin Island. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto and many years' experience leading music in United and Anglican churches.

MV 115 – Behold, Behold, I make All Things New. Our prayer response is a simple, two part refrain with words and music by John L. Bell of the Iona Community.

VU 421 – Lead On, O Cloud of Presence. This Ruth Duck text is based on Numbers 9:15-23. As can easily be seen, it was written as a revision to “Lead On, O King Eternal” with the new text inspired by movements for liberation. The tune, LANCASHIRE, was written by Henry Thomas Smart, organist and composer, in 1835 for a mission festival at the church he was serving, the Blackburn Parish Church in Lancashire. The tune was written to celebrate the three-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation in England.