A GREAT DAY OF SINGING A Musical Service of Worship Celebrating the Contributions of Methodist and Wesleyan Hymn Writers PRELUDE WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS + Please Stand ENTRANCE + GREETING This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24 Response: Easter People, Raise Your Voices (st. 1) No. 304 + HYMN When in Our Music God Is Glorified No. 68 stanza 1: all stanza 3: all stanza 2: women stanza 4: men stanza 5: all + OPENING PRAYER Prayer: For True Singing (in unison) No. 69 MEDLEY OF FAVORITE METHODIST HYMNS AND SONGS O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing (st. 1) No. 57 To God Be the Glory (st. 1) No. 98 Blessed Assurance (st. 1) No. 369 There s Within My Heart a Melody (st. 1) No. 380 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (st. 1) No. 400 The Old Rugged Cross (st. 1) No. 504 When the Storms of Life Are Raging Stand By Me (st. 1) No. 512 Fill My Cup, Lord No. 641 In the Bulb There Is a Promise (st. 2) No. 707 PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire (st. 1,2) No. 603 SCRIPTURE READINGS + Psalm 150 (may be sung, Praise Ye the Lord, The Faith We Sing, no. 2010) + Gloria Patri (st. 4) No. 181 Now let us adore and give God all right, all glory and power, all wisdom and might; All honor and blessing with angels above, and thanks never ceasing and infinite love. Other Scripture: (to be selected by local worship planners or preacher)
SERMON + RESPONSE TO THE WORD + Creed: Standing on the Promises of God No. 374 CONCERNS AND PRAYERS Call to Prayer: Lead Me, Lord No. 473 Prayer Requests and Concerns Pastoral Prayer Prayer Response: Near to the Heart of God (st. 1) No. 472 OFFERING + DOXOLOGY: What Gift Can We Bring (st. 4) No. 87 THANKSGIVING + HYMN OF THANKSGIVING: Great Is Thy Faithfulness No. 140 PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING No. 493 Thanks be to you, O Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which you have given us; for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us. O most merciful Redeemer, friend, and brother, may we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, for your own sake. Amen. THE LORD S PRAYER (Ecumenical Text) No. 894 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen. SENDING FORTH + HYMN: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah No. 127 + DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING: Shalom to You (may be sung by a soloist) No. 666 + MUSICAL RESPONSE: God Be With You Till We Meet Again (st. 1) No. 672 Copyright 2004 The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, PO Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003; website www.umcworship.org; telephone 615-340-7070. Although the texts and music of some hymns included in this order are under copyright protection, this entire worship order may be freely reproduced without further permission required, provided the copyright clause is included on each copy along with the words Used by permission. It may not be republished, placed on a website, or used for profit. Consult individual hymns for copyright information. For further information, contact Dean McIntyre, Director of Music Resources, The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, Nashville, Tennessee; telephone 615-340-7073, email address music@gbod.org.
With the exception of the Psalm, all page numbers in this order are from The United Methodist Hymnal (1989). NOTES ON THE SERVICE (May be reproduced and included in the worship bulletin.) A GREAT DAY OF SINGING was begun in the 20 th century as an annual Sunday worship service set aside for the celebration of music and congregational singing. Though less used today than it once was, it remains an annual event in some churches. It was sometimes combined with fellowship and a meal and was called All-Day-Singing-and-Supper-on-the-Grounds, often with the singing and eating taking place outdoors or near a river. Methodists have always been a singing people. The world has never seen a greater hymn writer than Charles Wesley, nor a more important and influential hymnal editor than John Wesley. This service seeks to revive interest in the GREAT DAY OF SINGING, and it does so within a context that celebrates the great heritage and tradition of Methodist song. All of the hymns selected were composed by Methodist writers or have a strong historical Methodist connection. The order of service is also thoroughly United Methodist, taken directly from An Order of Sunday Worship Using the Basic Pattern, pages 3-5 in The United Methodist Hymnal. If worship planners make changes to the selected hymns, they should take care to only substitute hymns that will perform the same function as the original titles. For instance, the words of Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire are actually a prayer seeking the work of the Holy Spirit in aiding the hearing and understanding the reading of the Scripture and the proclaiming of the Word, which is the purpose of the Prayer for Illumination. NOTES ON THE HYMNS (Source: Companion to The United Methodist Hymnal by Carlton R. Young. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993) Easter People, Raise Your Voices (304) This hymn was composed by William M. James in 1979 while he was pastor of Community UMC in New York City. It was also included in the collection, Songs of Zion, 1981. James served several New York City African-American congregations, worked with ministries to street gangs and homeless people, and received an honorary doctorate from Drew University in 1985. When in Our Music God Is Glorified (68) This hymn has become a favorite of congregations, choirs, and musicians since its composition in 1972. It is among the most frequently arranged hymns for choir. Fred Pratt Green was an ordained Methodist minister in England from 1928-1969, who also wrote plays and poetry. Following his retirement, he took up hymn writing, and authored nearly 400 texts until his death in 2000. Noted hymnologist and scholar Erik Routley named Green as the most important Methodist hymn writer since Charles Wesley.
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing (57) This is the most known and sung of all the Wesley hymns, and is often considered the signature hymn of Methodism. It has nearly always been the first hymn in Methodist hymnals. Charles Wesley wrote this text to celebrate his conversion on May 21, 1738. Wesley titled the original eighteen stanzas For the Anniversary Day of One s Conversion. Seventeen stanzas appear as no. 58 in The United Methodist Hymnal. To God Be the Glory (98) Composed in 1875, this is one of Fanny Crosby s finest texts. It was popular in Great Britain long before it was popular in the USA, having been introduced there by the Moody and Sankey revivals of the 1870s and 1880s when it was still new and largely unknown in the USA. It was even included in the 1933 British Methodist Hymn Book. When Billy Graham held his London Crusade in 1952, his music director, Cliff Barrows, made frequent use of the hymn and brought it back to the USA. It was re-introduced in America in the 1954 crusade in Nashville. Blessed Assurance (369) This is the most sung of all of Fanny Crosby s over 8,000 hymns, and is among the most popular hymns of United Methodists today. It was also used frequently in the Moody and Sankey revivals and Billy Graham crusades. Crosby, blind since six weeks after her birth, began writing at age six. She married musician Alexander Van Alstyne, also blind. She was a lifelong Methodist, and collaborated with the most popular gospel hymn writers of her time, including Bradbury, Doane, Lowry, Sankey, and Kirkpatrick. There s Within My Heart a Melody (380) Composed in 1910, it is sometimes inaccurately stated that this hymn was written following a fire that took the lives of the author s wife and children. Author and composer Luther Bridgers attended Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, and served as a Methodist Episcopal Church, South, evangelist in eastern Europe, and later as pastor in Georgia and North Carolina. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (400) Robert Robinson, a barber s apprentice, was converted under the preaching of George Whitefield in 1755, and for a time preached at the Calvinistic Methodist chapel in Suffolk. He wrote this text in 1758. He later was rebaptized a Baptist, and much later, was influenced by Unitarian theology. The Old Rugged Cross (504) Composed by George Bennard in 1913, this hymn was popular among Methodists for almost fifty years before it was included in our hymnal. Hymnologist Erik Routley comments on why this text was avoided by hymnal editors for so long, saying it is a monstrous blasphemy, but I can give my reason, which is theological. I believe it to be wrong, misleading, and spiritually wicked to treat the Cross as affectionately as that lyric does. Bennard was a Salvation Army worker who became a Methodist evangelist in the northern USA and Canada. He wrote over 300 hymns. When the Storms of Life Are Raging Stand By Me (512) This was the first hymn by an African American to be included in a Methodist hymnal (1966). Charles Tindley was the son of slaves, taught himself to read and write, and worked as a janitor in the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. He also took night classes and correspondence courses from Boston School of Theology, and was eventually ordained. He served Methodist congregations in New Jersey and Delaware. In 1902 he
returned to Calvary Methodist as its pastor and the congregation grew to over 7,000 members. Over his protest, it was renamed Tindley Temple Methodist Church. Fill My Cup, Lord (641) Richard Blanchard was ordained in 1950 and served a number of large Methodist churches in Florida. In 1958, while waiting for a marriage counseling session at the church, he sat down at one of the pianos to soothe his frustrations, and within thirty minutes had completed the song. In the Bulb There Is a Promise (Hymn of Promise) (707) The hymn resulted from the author pondering ideas of life and death, spring and winter, Good Friday and Easter, and a phrase from T. S. Eliot, In our end is our beginning. Natalie Sleeth majored in music theory in college, and married a Methodist clergyman and homiletics professor. She was once music secretary at Highland Park UMC in Dallas, and audited a course taught by noted SMU music professor, Lloyd Pfautsch, who was instrumental in the publication of her first choral work. The hymn is often sung at funerals and memorial services, including the one for Sleeth s husband, but it s message of hope, resurrection, and new life should be heard and sung frequently. It is among the top five favorites of United Methodists. Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire (603) This Wesley hymn was first published in 1740 under the topic Before Reading the Scriptures. The hymn is remarkable for its use of metaphor (fountain, fire, key, dove) and for its description of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Praise Ye the Lord (The Faith We Sing, 2010) J. Jefferson Cleveland, co-editor of Songs of Zion, composed this setting of the 150 th Psalm for the July/August 1981 issue of Alive Now titled Singing Our Prayers. The rhythm, accents, accompaniment, and vocal style are all in the black gospel style. This hymn is included in the service as an option to the reading of the Psalm, and it is the only selection that is not in The United Methodist Hymnal. Gloria Patri (181) The early Methodists were often persecuted, slandered, and even physically attacked, charged with being Papists and against the King of England. It is within this context that Charles Wesley composed this hymn in 1744. Stanza four works well as an ascription of praise. Standing on the Promises of God (374) R. Kelso Carter was an ordained Methodist minister active in the 19 th century holiness and camp-meeting movements. This and other hymns he composed show his evangelical Wesleyan roots: freedom from sin, Christian perfection, sanctification, and holiness. Lead Me, Lord (473) This brief hymn is a small part of a larger work for organ and choir composed by Samuel Sebastian Wesley in 1861 in celebration of the new organ at Holy Trinity Church in Winchester. He was the grandson of Charles Wesley and famous as a performer and composer of church music. Near to the Heart of God (472) This is the only hymn in this service whose words or music were not actually composed by a Methodist. Words and music were written in 1903 by Cleland B. McAfee, a Presbyterian. However, it became a favorite among members of the former Evangelical United Brethren
Church, which joined with the Methodist Church in 1964. It was one of a number of hymns specifically requested by EUBs to be included in the 1989 hymnal. What Gift Can We Bring (87) Jane Marshall composed text and tune for the 25 th anniversary of the Northaven UMC in Dallas, Texas. Marshall is a distinguished composer, educator, conductor, and author, and has long been associated with the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Great Is Thy Faithfulness (140) With text by Thomas Chisholm and music by William Runyan, both Methodist ministers, it is curious why this hymn, written in 1923, did not appear in Methodist hymnals until 1989. It did, however, appear in the 1957 Evangelical United Brethren Church hymnal. It was wellknown as the unofficial school hymn of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. It has since become a favorite of United Methodist congregations, with a theme of an unchanging God in a changing world. Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (127) William Williams was well-known in Wales during the last half of the 18 th century as a Methodist poet and preacher. The original Welsh title is Nerth I fyned trwy r Anialwch, which literally means Strength to pass through the Wilderness. He composed over 800 Welsh and 100 English hymns. Shalom to You (666) Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace, and is used as both greeting and farewell. This is the last of a four-stanza English text by Elise Eslinger, former Director of Music Resources for the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, to go with the tune SOMOS DEL SEÑOR, originally published in Celebremos II, 1983. God Be With You Till We Meet Again (672) When author Jeremiah Rankin, a Congregational minister, wrote these words, he selected the music of William G. Tomer to accompany them. Tomer was a veteran of the US Civil War working in Washington, DC, where he also was music director for the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church. This hymn, along with similar songs, was often used as a parting song at the end of revivals and camp meetings and when a minister or musician left a congregation. It was long used at the New Jersey Ocean Grove Campmeeting Association and by Moody and Sankey in their meetings. It is often sung a capella, slowly and expressively, with great emotion. (Note: Additional hymns and songs by Methodists may be found in Index of Methodist and Wesleyan Hymn Writers in The United Methodist Hymnal (1989) and The Faith We Sing (2000) on the General Board of Discipleship worship and music website, http://www.umcworship.org.)