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Sunday we will begin celebrating Northmont’s 100th-anniversary year with a bang. The choir will be joined by some extras singers, a trumpet, and a guest organist. The choral music we sing will range in mood from the solemn to the celebratory to that of ceremonial grandeur, and it is sure to please.
In addition to great choral music, I’d like to draw attention to the three hymn texts we will all sing. The words will be unfamiliar, but the tunes we sing to the opening and closing hymns are very well known. Each hymn deals with the Church in somewhat different ways: her role in history, the world at large, and in our lives. Since they are unfamiliar, I will share them here and offer some background and some things for you to think about.
O Where Are Kings and Empires Now
This hymn was number 431 in The Hymnbook (1955), so some of you cradle Presbyterians may remember it. It was written in 1839 by Episcopal clergyman, A. Cleveland Coxe (1818-1896), the son of a prominent Presbyterian minister. Coxe was a prolific hymn writer, but few of his texts appear in today’s hymnals. “O Where Are Kings and Empires Now” is sung to the tune ST. ANNE, to which we sing the hymn, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” This hymn was sung at many of the services in the early years of the congregation, so it is a fitting way to begin the service.
O where are kings and empires now
Of old that went and came?
But, Lord, your Church is praying yet,
A thousand years the same.
We mark her goodly battlements,
And her foundations strong;
We hear within the solemn voice
Of her unending song.
For not like kingdoms of the world
Thy holy Church, O God;
Though earthquake shocks are threatening her,
And tempests are abroad,
Unshaken as eternal hills,
Immovable she stands,
A mountain that shall fill the earth,
A house not made by hands.
We Are Grounded
This hymn is the new kid on the block! The words were written in 2015 by American, Thomas Troeger (1945-2022). Dr. Troeger was a Presbyterian minister, scholar, and speaker, as well as a prolific author, poet, and hymnodist. He has a whopping eight hymn texts in The Presbyterian Hymnal. (We often sing his, “Swiftly Pass the Clouds of Glory” on Transfiguration Sunday.) “We Are Grounded” speaks of the foundation built by our forebears to meet the needs of others, the dreams that keep us active today, and the hope for new visions for the future, so that the Church will continue to manifest the Kingdom of God. This inspiring text is set lovingly by our friend, Glenn Rudolph, tenor in the Chancel Choir. Glenn chose the text and graciously set it for today’s service. Its tune name is NORTHMONT, so if it becomes popular, our church name may appear in hymnals for years to come. Thank you, Glenn!
We are grounded in the daring
Of our founders’ dreams and deeds
And their energies unsparing,
Spent in meeting human needs.
Lord, their dreams of holy beauty,
Of compassion, mission, care
Were made flesh through faithful duty
And their actions wrought from prayer.
By your Spirit we are gifted
With new dreams to serve our day
And our hope and courage lifted
To embody what we pray:
To restore lives bruised and broken,
To sustain the seeking heart,
To enact your word that’s spoken
Through our worship, song and art.
Christ, in faith may we keep growing
Toward the work the future brings,
Open always to the flowing
Of your living, ceaseless springs.
May those well-streams keep inspiring
Our own hearts to bring to birth
The great dream of your desiring:
A renewed and peace-filled earth.
Words © 2015 by Oxford University Press
God, Who Built This Wondrous Planet
The words of this hymn were written by Jaroslav J. Vajda (1919-2008) in 1986. Vadja was the son of Czech parents and was a Lutheran pastor. Born in Ohio, he served for a time in nearby Tarentum, PA. Vajda was a prolific hymn writer, but only one text appears in The Presbyterian Hymnal: the ever popular, “God of the Sparrow.” We will sing “God, Who Built This Wondrous Planet” to REGENT SQUARE, which you will know as “Angels from the Realms of Glory.” The first three stanzas address each member of the Trinity, asking God to be present in the church that Christ built of living stones, which the Spirit is asked to make grow in love, so that it may shine to those who lack hope. The final, rather mystical, stanza acclaims the various manifestations of the living God and the living Church as the adored and the adoring.
God, who built this wondrous planet
And all worlds beyond these bounds,
Crown your work and ours with blessing,
Meet us here on hallowed ground.
With your glory fill this temple,
Here be sought and here be found.
Christ, you build a holy structure
That, like you, outlasts the earth;
Chosen, like yourself, you make us
Living stones of priceless worth;
Home where prodigals returning,
Celebrate with holy mirth.
Spirit, make your church a beacon
Beaming hope where hoping wanes,
Daily in these stones creating
Life where death no longer reigns,
And in grateful hearts forgiven
Spark the love the world but feigns.
Living Father, living children,
Living servants, living Lord;
Living Savior, living body,
Living members, living Word;
Living Spirit, living temple;
We adoring, You adored!
I hope you can be there in person to enjoy our musical offerings and join in the eternal song of worship. We all might want to hope and pray for good weather!
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