This Sunday we will celebrate the feast day of our church’s patron saint, St. Martin of Tours. There are many stories about St. Martin that revolve around the idea of Servitude. The music for this Sunday reflects and honors the Trinity: our experience of the Spirit, our knowledge of Christ, and our service to others in the world with God’s support.
Our Processional hymn will be the hymn that includes the 4th stanza that we have been singing for our Glory to God this fall, Gracious Spirit, give your servants, written by Carl P. Daw, Jr. This beautiful hymn to the Holy Trinity was written for the Consecration of the Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith, Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Connecticut in 1996.
Our Sequence hymn will be Lord, make us servants of your peace, sung to the Gift of Love tune, O Waly Waly. The text has been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and his famous prayer, but it can’t be traced back further than 1912, when it was found in Paris in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette. The hymn text was written by Father James Quinn SJ (1919-2010), a Scottish priest who saw his hymn writing as an extension of his commitment to his Jesuit order. It reflects the ways that we can help to bring about the Kingdom of God. (music.churchofscotland.org.uk) The Prayer of St. Francis has been known in the United States since 1927 when its first known translation appeared in the Quaker magazine Friends’ Intelligencer. It became popular during and just after World War II. (Wikipedia.org)
The Offertory can also be attributed to the famous Prayer of St. Francis: Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace, arranged by Dr. Russell L. Robinson. Written in the spirit of compassion and empathy for all, this prayer has been wonderfully set to an upbeat gospel style that brings strength and conviction to the powerful text. (jwpepper.com)
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love, and where there is injury pardon.
Where there is doubt, sow faith, where there is despair, let me sow hope.
Where there is darkness, let me sow light, where there is sadness joy!
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console.
To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love,
For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And, it is in dying that we are born to eternal life!
Lord, make me an instrument, O my Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Robinson, Emeritus Professor of Music Education at University of Florida is a published author, composer and arranger with over 450 publications and has had many appearances as a conductor, speaker, consultant and presenter at music festivals and conferences all over the world. This piece was commissioned by First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, Florida, and Robinson believes that “it speaks to how we should always try to help others, rather than just ourselves.” (2020 by Excelcia Music Publishing, LLC)
Our final hymn will be in honor of Veteran’s Day, Almighty Father, strong to save. The first three stanzas of this hymn appeal to the Trinity with Scripture passages where each Person controlled the sea, imploring “O hear us when we cry to Thee for those in peril on the sea.” The first stanza refers to God's discourse with Job, in which the Lord asks “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I … said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?” (Job 38:8, 11 ESV) The second stanza refers to two occasions when Jesus calmed the raging sea: when He walked on the water (Mark 6:45-52), and when He slept through a storm until His terrified disciples woke Him (Mark 4:35-41). The third stanza alludes to Creation, when “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2 ESV) The final stanza summarizes the hymn and promises continued praise “from land and sea.” The tune Melita was composed by John B. Dykes specially for this hymn in 1861 and is named after the island where Paul was shipwrecked as described in Acts 28 (modern translations use the name Malta for the island). It describes our respect and appreciation for all Veterans, reminding us that St. Martin of Tours also served as a soldier in his younger days. (Hymnary.org)