service of remembrance November 1, 2015, at 3 pm Westminster Presbyterian Church Ann Arbor, Michigan

Transcription

1 service of remembrance November 1, 2015, at 3 pm Westminster Presbyterian Church Ann Arbor, Michigan

2 prelude Service of Remembrance welcome to this time and place The Ache of Autumn in Us The trees grow more restless; October wind weaves through them: they shake their arms in dismay as if to fight the coming cold and the grief of leaves going. Autumn air does a heart-dance on branches already gone barren; the misty air clings to golden leaves, making the trees bend even lower. It is a season to hold the trees close, to stand with them in their grieving. It is a time to open my inner being to the misty truths of my own goodbyes. Opening Prayer Joyce Rupp Autumn comes. It always does. Goodbye comes. It always does. The trees struggle with this truth today and in my deepest of being, so do I. And so I begin my fallow vigil, remembering the truth of the ages: Unless the wheat seed dies it cannot sing a new birth. Unless summer gives in to autumn springtime will never embrace me. Scripture Reading All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:6b 8

3 Requiem, 1 Requiem æternam Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion: et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem, exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet. Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Poem The Five Stages of Grief The night I lost you someone pointed me towards the Five Stages of Grief. Go that way, they said, it s easy, like learning to climb stairs after the amputation. And so I climbed. Denial was first. I sat down at breakfast carefully setting the table for two. I passed you the toast you sat there. I passed you the paper you hid behind it. Anger seemed more familiar. I burned the toast, snatched the paper and read the headlines myself. But they mentioned your departure, and so I moved on to Bargaining. What could I exchange From Missa pro defunctis Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may light perpetual shine upon them. It is fitting that a hymn should be raised unto Thee in Zion and a vow paid to Thee in Jerusalem; give ear to my prayer, O Lord, unto Thee all flesh shall come at last. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Linda Pastan for you? The silence after storms? My typing fingers? Before I could decide, Depression came puffing up, a poor relation its suitcase tied together with string. In the suitcase were bandages for the eyes and bottles of sleep. I slid all the way down the stairs feeling nothing. And all the time Hope flashed on and off in detective neon. Hope was a signpost pointing straight in the air. Hope was my uncle s middle name, he died of it. After a year I am still climbing, though my feet slip on your stone face.

4 The tree line has long since disappeared; green is a color I have forgotten. But now I see what I am climbing towards: Acceptance written in capital letters, a special headline: Acceptance. Its name is in lights. I struggle on, waving and shouting. Below, my whole life spreads its surf, all the landscapes I ve ever known or dreamed of. Below a fish jumps: the pulse in your neck. Acceptance. I finally reach it. But something is wrong. Grief is a circular staircase. I have lost you. Requiem, 2 Out of the Deep Psalm 130 Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice. O let thine ears consider well: the voice of my complaint. If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss: O Lord, who may abide it? For there is mercy with thee: therefore shalt thou be fear d. I look for the Lord: my soul doth wait for him, and in his word is my trust. My soul fleeth unto the Lord: before the morning watch, I say, before the morning watch. O Israel, trust in the Lord, with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his sins. Scripture Reading Matthew 11:28 30 Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

5 Requiem, 3 Pie Jesu Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem, requiem æternam, dona eis Domine, Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem, sempiternam requiem. From Dies Irae, Missa pro defunctis Brenden Kaiser and Marie Howard, soloists Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them rest, Rest eternal, grant them, Lord, Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them rest, Everlasting rest. Responsorial Prayer (congregation please read bold text) I Teeter on the Brink of Endings Ted Loder O God of endings, you promised to be with me always, even to the end of time. Move with me now in these occasions of last things: of shivering vulnerabilities and letting go: letting go of parents gone, past gone, friends going, old self growing; letting go of children grown, needs outgrown, prejudices ingrown, illusions overgrown; letting go of swollen grudges and shrunken loves. Be with me in my end of things, my letting go of dead things:

6 dead ways, dead words, dead self I hold so tightly, defend so blindly, fear losing so frantically. I teeter on the brink of endings: some anticipated, some resisted, some inevitable, some surprising, most painful; and the mystery of them quiets me to awe. In silence, Lord, I feel now the curious blend of grief and gladness in me over the endings that the ticking and whirling of things brings; and I listen for your leading to help me faithfully move on through the fear of my time to let go so the timeless may take hold of me. celebration of communion Invitation to the Table

7 Requiem, 4 Sanctus Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra Gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis. Words of Institution Requiem, 5 Agnus Dei Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem. Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up, and is cut down like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem. In the midst of life, we are in death. Of whom may we seek for succor? Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem. I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. From Missa pro defunctis Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Latin text from Missa pro defunctis; English text from the Burial Service, 1662 Book of Common Prayer Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest.

8 Prayer after Communion Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen. Requiem, 6 The Lord Is My Shepherd Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; therefore can I lack nothing. He shall feed me in a green pasture, and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort. He shall convert my soul, and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his Name s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, reading Each of us has a name given by God and given by our parents. Each of us has a name given by our stature and our smile and given by what we wear. Each of us has a name given by the mountains and given by our walls. I will fear no evil; For thou art with me: Thy rod and thy staff comfort me. Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me: thou hast anointed my head with oil and my cup shall be full. But thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

9 Each of us has a name given by the stars and given by our neighbors. Each of us has a name given by our sins and given by our longing. Each of us has a name given by our enemies and given by our love. Each of us has a name given by our celebrations and given by our work. Each of us has a name given by the seasons and given by our blindness. Each of us has a name given by the sea and given by our death. reading of the names Litany of Remembrance (adapted from a Jewish prayer) In the rising of the sun and its going down, In the blowing of the wind and the chill of winter, In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring, In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer, In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn,

10 In the beginning of the year and when it ends, When we are weary and in need of strength, When we are lost and sick at heart, When we have joys we yearn to share, As long as we live, they too shall live; for they are now a part of us, as And we take heart, for free from their labors, at rest at last, in your kingdom Lord, they see you face to face, now knowing fully even as they are fully known. Scripture Reading Revelation 21:1 7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.

11 And the one who was seated on the throne said, See, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true. Then he said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. Requiem, 7 Agnus Dei I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours. Even so saith the Spirit, for they rest. Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine: Cum sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es. Requiem æternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Closing Blessing English text from the Burial Service, 1662 Book of Common Prayer; Latin text from Missa pro defunctis Deborah Rebeck Ash and Suzanne Lange, soloists Please depart in silence Let eternal light shine upon them, O Lord; with Thy saints in eternity, for Thou art merciful. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may light perpetual shine on them. Shawn McDonald, director Westminster Choir Ensemble: Ann Agustin, oboe; Holly Clemans, flute; Lydia Cleaver, harp; Julian Goods, organ; Irina Tikhonova, cello

12 Program Notes Requiem was written in 1985 in memory of the composer s father. The first performance was given in Dallas, Texas, in October 1985, and what was conceived as a personal memorial has gone on to become one of s internationally most often-performed choral works, both in church and concert hall. Unlike the dramatic, large-scale Requiems of Berlioz and Verdi, Rutter s setting belongs in the smaller-scale, more devotional tradition of Fauré and Duruflé. The choral forces do not need to be large, the instrumentation is restrained, the duration less than forty minutes. As with Fauré and Duruflé, the Latin text of the Missa pro defunctis is not set in its entirety, the chosen portions being those which underline a theme of light and consolation emerging out of darkness and despair; and as with more than one twentiethcentury Requiem, vernacular texts are interwoven with the traditional Latin. There are two psalms associated with the rite of burial, the somber De profundis (Psalm 130) and the serenely confident Psalm 23, each of these settings having an important part for a solo instrument, cello and oboe respectively. In addition, movements 5 and 7 incorporate sentences from the Anglican Burial Service, in the incomparably magnificent English of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The complete seven-movement work forms an arch-like structure: the first and last movements are prayers to God the Father, movements 2 and 6 are psalms, 3 and 5 are prayers to Christ the Son, and the central Sanctus is an affirmation of divine glory. The occasion of a Requiem is one for reflection and looking back, and, like a number of composers in their Requiem settings, Rutter pays homage to his predecessors influences including Fauré, Mahler, Howells and Gershwin can be detected, along with the use of Gregorian chant at two key points in the work but out of these disparate elements a synthesis emerges which has been widely recognized as the composer s own. Louise Legner Collegium Records Westminster presbyterian church Rev. Dr. Judy Shipman, Interim Pastor 1500 Scio Church Road, Ann Arbor, mi (734) wpcoffice@westpresa2.org