“Draw us in the Spirit’s tether”

Dear Friends, 

It makes my day when someone approaches me after church on Sunday morning to tell me how the hymns and anthems resonated with the Lessons and the sermon. This is a good thing since the preacher of the day and I both draw on those set Lessons to dictate the themes we will expound upon.

The Hymnal 1982 remains one of the great collections of theology available today, even in its fifth decade. We have supplements that contain newer material, but no principal volume comes close (in my humble opinion!). Most denominations go through the expensive process of replacing their hymnals every decade or two; but our committees were thorough when they designed this one.

You’ll notice links between this Sunday’s hymns and both the Epistle and Gospel. The Offertory Anthem ruminates on the opening of the Epistle. The text was written by Percy Dearmer, an Anglican priest, scholar, author of the liturgical manual The Parson’s Handbook, and General Editor of The English Hymnal. In this case, he marries God’s promise to be present “when two or three are met together” with the notion that following Christ’s example for living our daily lives is indeed sacramental. 

Harold Friedell first composed a melody for this text when he was Organist at Calvary Chapel in Manhattan. He later became Organist at St. Bartholomew’s and professor of theory and composition at the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary, which eventually moved to Yale University. Friedell expanded this melody to the full-scale anthem we will sing on Sunday. It has since become one of the most beloved pieces of American choral repertory, and for good reason!

Stuart.