Music for January 17, 2016 + The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Vocal Music

• Thanks Be to God – Marty Haugen (b. 1950)

Instrumental Music

• Voluntary in C Major – George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
• Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness - Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718-1795)
• March in G – George Frideric Handel

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of those marked “R” which are from Renew.)

• Hymn 440 - Blessed Jesus, at thy word (Liebster Jesu)
• Hymn R90 - Spirit of the Living God (Iverson)
• Hymn 132 - When Christ’s appearing was made known (Erhalt uns, Herr)
• Hymn 339 - Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness (Schmücke dich)
• Hymn 371 - Thou, whose almighty word (Moscow)

Martin Haugen

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we approach the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, I wanted to do something to support his ideals of equality and justice for all. One of my favorite anthems in that vein is the anthem Thanks Be to God from a one-act theatre piece by Marty Haugen called AGAPÈ - The Stories and the Feast. Loosely based on the structure of the mass, AGAPÈ utilized music from many cultures and the prophetic voices of our day to bring alive a story of struggle, hope, and celebration among God's people. This work was inspired by King's famous "I have a dream" speech.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!

From this speech, Haugen wrote these words, including the hymn of the Civil Rights Movement, We Shall Overcome. :

Thanks be to God when people care,
Thanks be for friends and loved ones,
Thanks be to God forever and ever.Thanks be to God for food and homes,
Thanks be for health and laughter,
Thanks be to God forever and ever.Thanks be to God when hatred ends,
Thanks be for peace and safety,
Thanks be to God forever and ever.Teach us the way of your peace, kindle your fire within us,
Give us a vision of a world where people care for each other.
We shall overcome, We shall overcome, We shall over come some day.Deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall overcome some day.
© 1993 by G.I.A. Publications, Inc., 7404 So. Mason Ave, Chicago, IL 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.  

The Good Shepherd Choir will be joined by the St. Gregory choir. The children get to sing  We Shall Overcome while the adults repeat the petitions for wisdom, courage, and vision. There is something very real and raw about hearing those children and youth sing those words that meant so much to another generation, another culture.

The communion voluntary is a pastorale setting of the communion hymn, Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness. It is written by  Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, a man whose vocation was public service, but his avocation was music. Marpurg began his public career as a private secretary in Paris where he associated with such eminences as Voltaire and Rameau. In 1763 Marpurg became director of the lottery in Berlin, a position he maintained until his death. In his spare time he delved into music criticism, composition, theory, and history. He wrote the preface to the first edition of Bach's Art of Fugue (1751/52)wrote one of the first theories of Bach's fugal style. His writings on music theory far outpaced his composing of music. This prelude is an example of a small volume of organ music he wrote.