11am Choral Eucharist, Sunday, February, 2018
5th Sunday after Epiphany
Themes from the readings: Jesus destroys death and sin and because he was both man and God, he understands our temptation to sin; happy are those who are saved by the Lord; Jesus heals a man who was possessed.
Prelude: “A Mighty Fortress”, Arranged By: Timothy Albrecht
Processional Hymn: 688 A mighty fortress is our God (Ein feste Burg)
Gloria: S280, Powell
First Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18
Psalm: Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32, Setting By: Peter Hallock
Choir: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his mercy endures forever.
All: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his mercy endures forever.
Choir: 2. Let all those whom the Lord has redeemed proclaim*
that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
3. He gathered them out of the lands;*
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
All: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his mercy endures forever.
Choir: 23. Some went down to the sea in ships*
and plied their trade in deep waters;
24. They beheld the works of the Lord*
and his wonders in the deep.
All: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his mercy endures forever.
25. Then he spoke, and a stormy wind arose,*
They mounted up to the heavens and fell back to the depths.
26. They mounted up to the heavens and fell back to the depths;*
their hearts melted because of their peril.
All: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his mercy endures forever.
28. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,*
and he delivered them from their distress.
29. He stilled the storm to a whisper*
and quieted the waves of the sea.
All: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his mercy endures forever.
30. They were glad because of the calm,*
and he brought them to the harbor they were bound for.
31. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy*
and the wonders he does for his children.
All: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his mercy endures forever.
Gospel Hymn: 537 Christ for the world we sing! (Moscow)
Gospel: Mark 5:1-20
Offertory Anthem: Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, By: C. Hubert H. Parry (1848-1918)
Choir: Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives Thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard,
beside the Syrian sea,
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word,
rise up and follow Thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee,
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
the silence of eternity, interpreted by love!
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of Thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and Thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.
-Words: John G. Whittier (1807-1892)
Doxology: Hymn 380, stanza 3
Holy: S125, Proulx
Communion Anthem: Lord Jesus, Think on Me, Arranged by: Kenneth Fitzgerald, Tune: Southwell
Choir: Lord Jesus, think on me
and purge away my sin;
from earth-born passions set me free
and make me pure within.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
amid the battle’s strife;
in all my pain and misery
be Thou my Health and Life.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
nor let me go astray;
through darkness and perplexity
point Thou the heav’nly way.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
that I may sing above
to Father, Spirit, and to Thee
the strains of praise and love.
Communion Meditation: “Adagio from Symphony No. 3”, By: Charles-Marie Widor
Processional Hymn: 535 Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim (Paderborn)
Postlude: “Go, My Children, with My Blessing”, By: Barbara Harbach
Music Notes
By: Ashley Sosis
Friends, I bet you’re wondering where I am today. I was invited by our friends at St. John’s Church to give an organ recital this evening...in Savannah, GA! Luckily I’ve left you with the best musicians in Myrtle Beach, Tim Koch (Choir Director) and Darleen Smith (Organ). Under their fine leadership this morning, you won’t miss me one bit.
The striking communion anthem, “Lord Jesus, Think on Me” connects four different centuries. Synesius of Cyrene (c. 375-430) wrote the original Greek text of the prayer “Lord Jesus, think on me”. It was translated by Allen W. Chatfield (1808-1896) into the rhyming English version you may read on the previous page. The music, the tune “SOUTHWELL” was written by Daman, single-named Italian composer, (c.1540-1591) and arranged by Richard Kenneth Fitzgerald in 2004. The open fifths and fourths in the choral harmony remind me of American colonial hymns. This beautiful passing down of text and melody is like the church itself, both at once old and ever new!
“Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” was written by a Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier. Of his many hymn texts, “Dear Lord and Father,” is certainly the most popular, but is it the most beautiful? Here is my favorite Whittier hymn text, “All things are thine; no gift have we.”
All things are thine; no gift have we,
Lord of all gifts, to offer thee;
And hence with grateful hearts today
Thine own before thy feet we lay.
In weakness and in want we call
On thee for whom the heavens are small;
Thy glory is thy children’s good
Thy joy thy tender Fatherhood.
O Father, deign these walls to bless;
Fill with thy love their emptiness;
And let their door a gateway be
To lead us from ourselves to thee.