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In an earlier post I made reference to Isaac Watts being remembered as the “Father of English Hymnody” – today we honor Erik Routley known by many as the driving force behind the “Hymn Explosion” of the 1970s.

Following is a brief biographical sketch for Routley:

ERIK REGINALD ROUTLEY (1917-1982), was a scholar and an authority with keen insight, wit, grace and style. Pastor, musician and hymn writer in his own right, he was the catalyst for much that helped produce “The Hymn Explosion” of the 1970s. His influence as an editor, beginning with Congregational Praise (1951), Dunblane Praise (1962), Cantate Domino (1968), New Church Praise (1972), Ecumenical Praise (1977), and Rejoice in the Lord (1985), was profound.

Dr. Routley deserves full credit for halting the dreary practice of singing “Amen” at the end of each hymn sung in American churches. A collection of his texts and tunes was published in 1990 under the title Our Lives Be Praise (Hope Publishing Company). Two of his texts have become standard fare in all new hymnals. They are “All Who Love and Serve Your City” and “New Songs of Celebration Render.” Dr. Routley has seven hymn credits in The Hymnal 1982.

My earlier post about Isaac Watts included a story about a metrical setting of Psalm 98. Today we offer another metrical setting of this same Psalm from the pen of Dr. Routley in 1972. This text is paired with a sixteenth century tune by Louis Bourgeois in the 1990 Presbyterian Hymnal.

New songs of celebration render to God who has great wonders done;
Love sits enthroned in ageless splendor; come and adore the mighty One.
God has made known the great salvation which all the saints with joy confess.
God has revealed to every nation truth and unending righteousness.

Rivers and seas and torrents roaring, honor the Lord with wild acclaim;
Mountains and stones, look up adoring, and find a voice to praise God’s name.
Righteous, commanding, ever glorious, praises be sung that never cease:
Just is our God, whose truth victorious establishes the world in peace.

Copyright © 1974 by Hope Publishing Company.

Today – we turn our attention to the marvelous work of Brian Wren. Following is a brief biographical sketch for this gifted hymn writer:

BRIAN WREN (b. 1936) is an internationally published hymn-poet whose work appears in hymnals from all denominations and traditions. Ordained in Britain’s United Reformed Church, he lives in Decatur, Georgia, where he serves as the first holder of the John and Miriam Conant Professorship in Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary. A Fellow of the Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada, Brian holds B.A. and D.Phil (= Ph.D.) degrees from Oxford University and an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis. He is the author of PRAYING TWICE, the music and words of congregational song (Westminster John Knox Press, 2000), WHAT LANGUAGE SHALL I BORROW? (Crossroad, 1989 – now out of print), PIECE TOGETHER PRAISE: A THEOLOGICAL JOURNEY (1996), an anthology of his hymn poems (Code No. 1884), and six words-and-music hymn collections, of which the most recent are VISIONS AND REVISIONS (1998) (CODE No. 1590) and CHRIST OUR HOPE (2004) [Book Code No. 8222; CD Code No. 8222C]. Brian lives with his partner in marriage and ministry, Rev. Susan Heafield (“Hayfield”), a United Methodist Pastor and composer. Together they have published two worship song collections, WE CAN BE MESSENGERS [Book Code No. 8149, CD Code No. 8150] and TELL THE GOOD NEWS (Book Code No. 8171, CD Code No. 8172) distributed in the USA by Hope Publishing Company. Brian Wren’s hymn collections are published by Hope Publishing Company, which represents all his hymns in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Twenty five Brian Wren hymns appear in Hope’s new hymnal WORSHIP & REJOICE (2001). http://www.hopepublishing.com/html/main.isx?sub=307&search=107

A personal favorite of mine is his text “We Meet as Friends as Table” – paired with Hal H. Hopson’s tune MEAL OF LOVE by Hope Publishing Company in their 2001 publication Worship & Rejoice, hymn 704.

We meet as friends at table, to listen, and be heard, united by the Spirit, attentive to the Word.
Through prayer and conversation we tune our varied views to Christ, whose love has made us the bearers of good news.

Fulfilled, and glad to follow wherever Christ may lead, we journey from the table to love a world in need
with patience, truth and kindness, that justice may increase and all may sit at table in freedom, joy, and peace.

Copyright 1996 Hope Pubishing Company.

This post – and the following two – will focus on the contributions to hymnody of three very influential figures from England – Fred Pratt Green – Brian Wren – and – Erik Routley.

Today – Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000) – a British Methodist pastor and hymn writer. “His hymns reflect his rejection of fundamentalism and show his concern with social issues. They include many that were written to supply obvious liturgical needs of the modern church, speaking to topics or appropriate for events for which there were few traditional hymns available.”

One of those texts – “When in Our Music God Is Glorified”* – is generally matched to the sturdy hymn tune ENGELBERG composed by Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924).

When in our music God is gloified, and adoration leaves no room for pride,
it is as though the whole creation cried: Alleluia!

Let every instrument be tuned for praise! Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise!
And may God give us faith to sing always: Alleluia!

*Words © 1972 Hope Publishing Company.

One of the great joys in my current life is the blessing of working with The Reverend Dr. Jim Rigby, Pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church here in Austin, TX. Jim is blessed with a superb gift for words, and is a master communicator – both with spoken words and written words. A couple of weeks ago he handed me a stack of paper – each page was filled with hymn texts that Jim had written – like finding great hidden treasures on each and every page. What a blessing to have a colleague and friend who has been given the gift of not only words – but also poetic words that are marvelous for singing. Like Jane Parker Huber – Jim authored these texts with existing well-known hymn tunes in mind. It is always easier to introduce a new hymn if both the text and the tune are not new. That needs to be a primary subject for a series of future posts – writing for a congregation is very different than writing for a choir or solo artist.

Following is Jim’s text for the hymn we used at the opening of worship last Sunday. We paired it with the hymn tune “Ein’ Feste Burg” – attributed to Martin Luther and usually sung using words also attributed to Martin Luther – “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” – both tune and text written in the first quarter of the sixteenth century.

I especially appreciate the way that Jim’s text points us toward an awareness that when living from the heart in Christ – loving is the answer!

We seek the truth that sets us free, we seek the truth abiding.
We dwell within your loving word, your wisdom ever guiding.
The spirit and the dove, they only sing of love,
They whisper through the day and call us on our way,
They guide us lest we stumble.

We seek the truth that sets us free, we seek the truth abiding.
Great God, who made the stars and light shine on us when we’re hiding.
From Christ we learn the art, of living from the heart;
Each day we learn anew, love tells us what to do,
For loving is the answer.

Bold emphasis is mine.

Copyright © 2013 by Jim Rigby. All rights reserved.

I have been privileged in the past to work with other colleagues and friends who have been a real blessing to me by sharing the fruits of the stewardship of their gift of words. I will write about them in future posts.

We must always be reminded and know that in our living loving is the answer!!

Yesterday I mentioned that today I would begin a series of posts honoring hymn text writers who have made significant contributions to hymnody with inclusive texts.

Today we remember – and pay tribute to Jane McAfee Parker Huber – born in 1926 in China to parents who served as Presbyterian missionaries. She died in 2008 having written more than one hundred hymn texts, mostly set to well known existing hymn tunes. Eleven of her hymn texts were included in the 1990 Presbyterian hymnal. Her texts offer superb examples of inclusive texts that reflect a strong understanding of the Reformed faith tradition.

My first awareness of her texts was during the years I was serving Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston where we frequently utilized several of her texts. My personal favorite is “Called as Partners in Christ’s Service” – usually paired with the hymn tune Beecher which most often is the tune used for “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.” It was my privilege to compose an original tune for this text which was published as an anthem by Choristers Guild (CGA-539) in 1990 with the title “Prayer for Partnership.” That beautiful text reads:

Called as partners in Christ’s service, called to minisries of grace,
we respond with deep commitment, fresh new lines of faith to trace.
May we learn the art of sharing, side by side and friend with friend,
equal partners in our caring to fulfill God’s chosen end.

So God grant us for tomorrow ways to order human life
that surround each person’s sorrow with a calm that conquers strife.
Make us partners in our living, our compassion to increase,
messengers of faith, thus giving hope, and confidence, and peace.

More information about Jane Parker Huber may be found by visiting http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/h/u/b/huber_jp.htm

Isaac Watts – 1674 – 1748 – is often referred to as the “Father of English Hymnody – having written more than 700 hymns texts. Many of them remain in use today including “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and the one that is central to the following story.

During the younger years of Watts’ life – and for many years to follow – it was a common practice to sing metrical settings of the Psalms in worship. Unfortunately, the combination of English translation and metrical setting from time to time yielded a less than perfect result.

Apparently one Sunday morning at the church attended by Watts and his father the liturgy included the singing of Psalm 98. In the English Standard Version of the Bible verse 7 is translated as “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!” It seems that the metrical setting of that verse became “Ye monsters from the bubbling deep your Master’s praises spout, up from the deep ye coddlings peep and wag your tails about.”

After worship had concluded the young Watts is reported to have remarked to his father that he did not feel that the metrical setting and translation of the verse was appropriate for inclusion in worship. Fortunately for the world Isaac’s father is reported to have replied “Then write something better, Isaac.” Sometime later Isaac Watts penned the following:

“Joy to the world the Lord is come . . . let heaven and nature sing!”

Another example of less than wonderful text manipulation will forever remain etched in my mind. We were scheduled to sing “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” as the closing hymn in a service of worship – but -when we opened our worship bulletin we discovered that someone had cleverly re-written the text substituting “Parent Me, O Good Sustainer.”

Clearly everyone who writes new hymn text words are not of the caliber of Isaac Watts. More is required than simply substituting inclusive words for the text to become meaningfully inclusive.

With deep gratitude I acknowledge the creative contribution of a number of hymn text authors who are enriching our worship liturgies with words that are truly inclusive and fully appropriate for inclusion in a service of worship.

The posts that follow this one will offer tribute to some of these people who practice the stewardship of their God given gifts by creating hymn texts that are fully inclusive and also filled with the mystery, awe, and wonder that is needed for our contemporary worship liturgies today – and as we move boldly into the future.

Grace and peace . . .

As stated in yesterday’s post – this post will introduce The Inclusive Bible with specific interest in the intentional choices that were made in the process of preparing the text. The following is from the section labeled “Inclusive Language” from the Preface.

If there is one word to describe the process of developing inclusive language readings, it is transformational. The transformation we have experienced in our work on these readings challenged us to confront how we think and speak about God and how our concepts influence the way we treat other people. We also have had to consider whether modern renderings of sacred scriptures present modern sexist biases, in addition to biases of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean cultures. In the course of our work, we developed new ideas about the role of sacred scripture in liturgy.

The most difficult problem we address is what can be done about the sexism in scripture without destroying the actual text. Several guiding principles have emerged from our work on this problem. One principle is to determine whether it is the linguistic convention used that expresses a sexist bias or whether the text itself is sexist in its meaning. In all circumstances, we seek to recover the expression’s meaning within the context in which it is written without perpetuating the sexism. (vi)*

These words are just the beginning of the explanation of the complex and detailed process that makes this superb translation possible. An extraordinary process obviously executed with sesitive loving care.

Now – it is time to turn our attention to the issues of inclusive language in the music of worship. The words we ask the congregation to sing – and – the words we offer as prayer on behalf of the congregation in anthems and other artistic expressions require the very same careful consideration as the care given to the content of sacred scripture.

Of course – the matter is complicated in many ways by the provisions of copyright law. These provisions do not allow changes to be made without the permission of the owner of the copyrighted material – and – I am determined to honor those provisions. One solution for this is to do a lot of writing of new materials. I am blessed to have a number of colleagues and friends who have been gifted with talent for writing words that are poetic, expressive, and contribute to the width and depth of our worship experiences. Sometime in the not too distant future – I hope – you will be reading about a publishing enterprise that will make these new creations available for licensed use by those who share our concerns for language and inclusivity.

The posts for the coming days will focus on the language of the music of worship.

In the meantime – please join our community of conversation and invite others to join – the larger the circle the better.

Grace and peace

*The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007.

It has been several days since I posted my last entry on this blog. I intended to add a post on May 24 – but – something very unexpected happened that day which derailed my plan and it has taken this long for me to process the situation – to write – but – to write trying not to be guilty of the same sort of remarks that derailed me.

It was my pleasure and honor to be included in two wonderful events that day. The first was a service of worship honoring the life of a friend, mentor, and colleague who had made a significant positive difference in my life and the manner that I do the things that I do. The second was a blessed opportunity to visit in a home with beautiful people who are facing very difficult health challenges – to be with other friends – to sing some of the great songs of faith and to share communion.

What happened between these two marvelous events is what sent me into a tail-spin. Just a short remark made by a single person. I hope the remark was made in jest – and – even if that is the case it was still completely inappropriate, insensitive, and hurtful. Sadly, I confess, these few words placed a dark cloud of exclusiveness over my day – made even darker for me because I never would expect the person who said those words to ever have said them – particularly at the place and time where they were uttered – and – even if they were said and understood to be in jest.

The day taught me a valuable lesson – YES what a person says does matter – it always matters. It is never appropriate to not use the inclusive language of love.

The post I intended to write on May 24 was going to be about the recent joy that I have experienced by becoming acquainted with The Inclusive Bible as part of my service at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. It makes me sad to know that this superb resource has been available for several years, but that I am just now becoming aware of it. So tommorrow’s post will be what I originally intended to write on May 24. Today, however, I will conclude with the opening paragraph from the Preface to The Inclusive Bible:

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me,” says the old proverb. We now know that this is a lie. Words can wound, alienate, and degrade people. Language can also affirm and express love. Care for language is a show of concern for people and a revelation of the attitudes of the speaker. (v)*

YES – it REALLY does matter!! The language of LOVE always includes!!

*The Inclusive Bible: The First Egaltarian Translation. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefied Publishers, Inc., 2007.

It hasn’t taken long for the “people get what they deserve” theologians (I’m not sure that theologians is actually an appropriate term in this case) to come forth with their comments following the disastrous storm in central Oklahoma.

Today as I made my way through the multitude of daily stories on Facebook – I found the following two. I will simply let each story speak for itself – I do not find it appropriate – or necessary – for me to add my opinion on the matter.

http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/abusive-theology-piper-mahaney

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/pope-francis-good-atheists_n_3320757.html

Let us continue to pray for love!!

Amazing! At least at this point in time that seems to be the best word I know to describe a situation that continues to provide a serious stumbling block for people who are seeking a community of unconditional love and acceptance. So clearly people continue to live in a world of fear and scarcity – but – at the same time continue to proclaim that they have faith in an all-powerful and all-loving God. It seems to me that the proclamation of faith without the practice of that faith is not faith!

For years and in many locations I have been a member of a communities of faith that have found it impossible to actually practice unconditional love and acceptance – afraid of what might happen if they practice the tenets they proclaim so boldly.

Unconditional love and acceptance are difficult – they involve letting go – they require a willingness to not be in charge – they demand a level of trust and faith which are often frightening. And yet so many are unable to see that their lives are out of control – willfully trying to be in control – to take charge – to manipulate and manage. That seems to me to be the essence of the first step of the Twelve-Steps – a willingness to admit that things do not work when we demand that we remain in control – and that is followed, of course, by steps two and three – coming to a realization that there is a greater power that is able to restore our sanity – and then being willing to turn control of our lives over to that greater power. It is so very simple – but – at the same time so incredibly difficult – but it offers the only hope for the future.

I am blessed to have recently been invited to become a part of a community of faith that seeks to intentionally practice unconditional love and acceptance. That practice restores a sense of calm – a sense of blessing – a sense of grace and peace. But – it is only able to happen when we are willing to no longer be willful.