Music for Sunday, June 11, 2017 + Trinity Sunday

Vocal Music

• Triune God, Mysterious Being – Alfred V. Fedak

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

• Hymn 362 - Holy, holy, holy!  (NICEA)
• Canticle 13: Hymn S-236 - Benedictus es, Domine – setting by John Rutter
• Hymn 368 - Holy Father, great Creator (REGENT SQUARE)
• Hymn 295 - Sing praise to our Creator (CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN)
• Hymn 8 - Morning has broken (BUNESSAN)
• Hymn - Father, we adore you (MARANATHA)
• Hymn - Go make of all disciples (LANCASHIRE)

Usually the special days on the church calendar remember and celebrate events in the life of Christ (Christmas, Easter) or the church (Pentecost) or the Saints of God (All Saints), but this Sunday, Trinity Sunday, is the only day on the church calendar dedicated to a doctrine: the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in person. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, (2) each Person is fully God, (3) there is only one God. For that reason, we sing the great Trinitarian hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy.... God in three persons, blessed trinity." We'll also sing other hymns and songs that glorify the Trinity.

The choir will sing a fairly new anthem by Alfred Fedak with a text by the Rev. Carl P. Daw. Triune God, Mysterious Being unites Daw's evocative text with Fedak's quiet tune CHURCH UNITED. The union is ideal: Daw's vibrant Trinitarian imagery and its theology of dynamic interplay with the mission of the Church is perfectly mirrored in Fedak's gently rocking tune.

God the Spirit, guide and guardian,
windsped flame and hovering dove,
breath of life and voice of prophets,
sign of blessing, power and love:
give to those who lead your people
fresh anointing of your grace;
send them forth as bold apostles
to your Church in every place.

Christ our Savior, Sovereign, Shepherd,
Word made flesh, Love crucified,
teacher, healer, suffering servant,
friend of sinners, foe of pride:
in your tending may all pastors
learn and live a shepherd's care;
grant them courage and compassion
shown through word and deed and prayer.

Great Creator, Life-bestower,
Truth beyond all thought's recall,
fount of wisdom, womb of mercy,
giving and forgiving all:
as you know our strength and weakness,
so may those the Church exalts
oversee her life steadfastly
yet not overlook her faults.

Triune God, mysterious Being,
undivided and diverse,
deeper than our minds can fathom,
greater than our creeds rehearse:
help us in our varied callings
your full image to proclaim,
that our ministries uniting
may give glory to your Name.

©1989 Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, Ill. 60188  All rights reserved.

Alfred Fedak is Minister of Music and Arts at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Albany, New York. A native of New Jersey. He graduated from Hope College in 1975 with degrees in Organ Performance and Music History, and subsequently earned a Masters’ degree in Organ Performance from Montclair State University. He has done additional study at Westminster Choir College, Eastman School of Music, the Institute for European Studies in Vienna, Austria, and in England at the first Cambridge Choral Studies Seminar at Clare College, Cambridge.

Hymns for Sunday

• Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! (NICEA) In 325 AD, Church leaders convened in the town of Nicaea in Bithynia to formulate a consensus of belief and practice amongst Christians. What resulted was the Nicene Creed, a document passed on through the ages as one of the pillars of church doctrine. The primary function of this creed was to establish a firm belief in the divinity of Christ, countering the heresy of Arius, who believed that Jesus was not fully divine. It was this creed that inspired Reginald Heber to write this great hymn of praise to the Triune God, with the intent that the hymn be sung before or after the creed was recited in a service, and on Trinity Sunday – eight weeks after Easter. The tune, composed by John B. Dykes for Heber’s text, is also titled NICAEA in recognition of Heber’s text. The words evoke a sense of awe at the majesty of God, and call on all of creation – humans, saints and angels, and all living things – to praise the Godhead three-in-one.
• A Song of Praise: Glory to you (John Rutter) On some Sundays the Lectionary suggests certain canticles be sung instead of a Psalm. Canticle 13, Benedictus es, Domine, is especially appropriate for Trinity Sunday. We will sing a setting for Rite II by John Rutter, the leading composer of choral music throughout the world today. Be prepared for a short introduction!!
• Go make of all disciples (LANCASHIRE) Though not in any of our hymnals, this hymn is perfect for today's Gospel reading (Matthew 28:16-20), so I just had to include it. The author, Leon McKinley Adkins, was a Methodist minister from New York State who wrote this mission hymn for the 1964 edition of The Methodist Hymnal.

We're having an Old-Fashioned Hymn Sing on  Friday, August 11 at 7 PM. Help us decide what hymns to sing!  You can give Jackson Hearn a list of your favorite hymns at church or in an email. (jacksonhearn@goodshepherdkingwood.org). Or, you can vote on your favorite hymns by going to http://doodle.com/poll/4gh2kpy5vwyeyxa4 (or use scan this QR code on your smart phone or table)