AME Q &A
YOU ASK:
What are the correct words of the "Offertory"?
Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III
The 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder
I read a post on “A.M.E. Church Members Connecting Around the World” by the Rev. Jacquie Warren Wilson in which she said that one of her pet peeves was hearing AMEs sing the Offertory wrong. She pointed out that she hears parishioners sing, "All things come of Thee O Lord, and of Thine own as we given Thee."
Her comment hit me “between the eyes,” because I stand guilty as charged. I have been singing it that way for as long as I can remember.
After reading the Rev. Jacquie Warren Wilson's comment, I sang the Offertory and sure enough, I am one of those persons who sing, or used to before reading the post, "All things come of Thee O Lord, and of Thine own as we given Thee."
I felt about as dumb-founded when I read Rev. Wilson’s post as I felt in 2009 when Ms. Carol A. Bowie, the Director of Lay Activities at Oak Grove AME Church in Detroit, Michigan pointed out that “grievous” inthe General Confession was a two syllable word. I had always pronounced “grievous,” and had always heard it pronounced, with three syllables.
I still hear parishioners, preachers, and even bishops across the AME connection enunciating “grievously,” as a four syllable word instead of correctly pronouncing the word as a three syllable word.
Bad habits are hard to break
“Have,” not “as”
I went to the 1954 AME Hymnal, the hymnal I grew up with, and the Rev. Jacquie Warren Wilson is absolutely correct, the correct phrase of the hymn is, “All things come of Thee, O Lord; and of Thine own HAVE we given Thee. Amen."
I am a bit embarrassed because I have been singing the Offertory with the word, “as” instead of the correct word, “have,” and probably have been doing so for years; and I suspect that I am not the only one.
The Rev. Jacquie Warren Wilson’s pet peeve is a legitimate one.
And, while we are on pet peeves, I have a couple of pet peeves
The definition of “henceforth” means, “from now on.” It is redundant to end a benediction with, “Now, henceforth and forevermore.”
More appropriate benediction endings might be, "Both now and forevermore," “Now and always,” “From this time forth and forever,” “From henceforth and for ever,” “Now and forever, “ Henceforth and forever,” “From now and unto eternity,” and “From this time forth and for evermore” based on different biblical translations of Psalm 131:3.
And, of course, the Apostolic Benediction is always appropriate: “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” Jude 1:24-25
Another pet peeve
Cherub. Another common mistake is putting an “s” on the plural word of cherubim, which is plural. Cherub is the singular of “cherubim.”
Seraphim - a word that gives new preachers trouble; can be used in the plural or singular. The plural of “seraphim” does not take an “s.”
Sometimes seraph may be used as the singular of seraphimand seraphs may be used as the plural of seraph. The term, Seraphim, does not require an “s” to make it plural.
Don’t cut out part of the message
It is obvious that some pastors and some musicians have not understood the appropriate use of hymns or gospel songs in worship. I suspect that there are some pastors who have never sung all of the stanzas of any hymn. I have heard pastors, and have done so myself, instruct the congregation to sing the 1st, 2nd and 4th stanzas.
For some hymns that might be appropriate, but not for all hymns and it is important for pastors and music directors to know the difference when it is appropriate to skip a stanza. And, please do not confuse stanzas and verses, but that’s another editorial.
The Difference
When one reads a novel, he or she does not skip chapters because if he or she did so, it might make the storyline unintelligible. The same principle can be applied to certain hymns that tell complete story.
When I read the comic strips, I don’t read all of them; I pick and choose which comic strips to read because each comic strip has its own message. I can skip over the ones I don’t want to read.
When I read a news article, I have to read the entire article; I don’t skip over paragraphs because if I did, I would not fully understand the article.
Some hymns stanzas tells a complete story
It might be appropriate to skip a stanza when each stanza tells a complete story. “Amazing Grace” is such a hymn, each stanza tells a complete story.
The hymn, “I Know the Lord’s laid His Hands on me” is another hymn in which each stanza tells a story.
Some hymns are written to tell one story
Other hymns tell one story and worshippers have to sing the entire hymn to get the complete message.
It is not appropriate to skip stanzas in the hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation” because each stanza is a chapter and together the chapters tell a story. Skipping a stanza would be like skipping a chapter in a book. “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” is another hymn that all the stanzas should be sung.
“Let the Church say ‘Amen’”
The AME Church has historically sung the Doxology at the beginning and at the end of worship as a way to affirm the Trinity. Trinitarian denominations almost always include “Amen” when hymns end in a Trinitarian or Doxological verse.
Another pet peeve
I do not understand why many of our churches omit the “Amen” when the Doxology is sung at the beginning of worship. I believe that we should affirm “Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost” by including “Amen” because “Amen” is an expression of concurrence or assent.
“Amen” is a term used in response to a religious statement and is always an appropriate ending of prayers. To say, "Amen" is to express strong approval of, or support for religious statements or expressions. “Amen” simply means, “So be it” and “I agree.”
Historically, the “Amen” at the end of hymns was decided by each denomination. Some denominations have had hymnbooks without “Amens.” and other hymnals included “Amens.” The AME Church Hymnal has some hymns with “Amen” and other hymns without “Amen.”
I can understand why a hymn as, “Farther Along” would not end with an “Amen” because that hymn provides information and raises questions. The hymn, “Get right with God” does not have an “Amen” because it’s telling us to “get right with God” and it’s conveying a warning.
“Amen” is appropriate for doxological hymns, and appropriate for praise, assurance, and hope.
I have not done a formal study but my anecdotal observation is that every sacramental denomination affirms all doxological hymns with. “Amen.”
One more pet peeve
In the AMEC Hymnal, The Book of Disciple of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 2008, the AMEC Book of Worship and printed church bulletins, the bold print in the liturgy always indicates that the bolded text is to be read by the people and the unbolded text is read by the worship leader.
The Prayer of Thanksgiving in the Communion liturgy is bolded in the AMEC Hymnal, which indicates that the people and clergy read the Prayer of Thanksgiving in unison.
In AME Churches the Lord’s Prayer is usually prayed in unison or sung, yet The Discipline instructs the elder to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Actually, The Discipline says, “Then the elder say the Lord’s Prayer.” I was always taught, and it made sense to me that we “pray” the Lord’s Prayer.
The AMEC Book of Worship rubric says, “Then the Minister and the people pray in unison,” but the print is unbolded.
It’s time to get all of the worship liturgy materials consolidated.
I want to thank the Rev. Jacquie Warren Wilson for posting her pet peeve on the “A.M.E. Church Members Connecting Around the World” FaceBook website.
One more thing
Some people struggle with negative FaceBook postings, but the reality is that people have to have a safe place to vent and technology is here to stay. No matter how negative a posting, it’s better than anonymous letters. I see some far-out comments on FaceBook, but I also see a lot of good, constructive comments on FaceBook. I have also seen some enlightening discussions on FaceBook and that’s a positive.
I am willing to keep my mind open and learn and I learned something this week – “All things come of Thee, O Lord; and of Thine own HAVEwe given Thee." Amen.”