Now My Heart Rests on Roses

A little over two months ago we said goodbye to our former congregation. At that time we also said goodbye to our former choir. At our farewell reception, one of the choir members presented us with a gift that literally took our breath away. As soon as I saw it the tears came.

 

 

Our dear friend Judy made this for us. It is, of course, Luther's Seal. She picked the colors without even knowing that I painted our dining room blue last year. Isn't it gorgeous?

 

There's more to the story. Embroidered at the bottom of the tapestry are the words, "Now my heart rests on roses." These words are included in the text of a choral piece my husband composed about nine years ago. It is entitled "I Will Speak" and was published in 2004 by Concordia Publishing House. The words, by Phillip, are paraphrased from Psalms 119 and 145:

 

I will speak of your statutes before kings, O Lord,

And will not be put to shame.

I will sing and proclaim your truths, my God,

For you have anointed me with grace.

Blessed is he whose help is in God,

Whose help is the God of Jacob.

Blessed is the man who trusts in you!

Your strong word I confess;

I believe and am saved.

Princely powers I fear not,

For your truth is my faith.

Now my heart rests on roses.

 

"I Will Speak" was a staple of our former choir's repertoire. How fitting that the name of the choir is "Proclaim"! They sang it many times while we were with them but unfortunately I never got a recording. I was always playing the piano and my older children were always singing. If you are interested, though, you can hear the piece here. I like the way Proclaim sang it better.

 

Here's a detail of the bottom of the tapestry. We love you and miss you, Proclaim. Our hearts rest on roses when we think of you.

 

 



Golden Moments

You know what I'm talking about, don't you? They're those moments that are so precious you wish they could somehow be burned into your memory and then called to mind anytime you feel like it by simply pushing your brain's "play" button. James Taylor sang about them in his song by the same title:

"Now if all my golden moments could be rolled into one,
They would shine just like the sun for a summer day . . ."

Well, I had one of those moments today. And it wasn't even really mine. But I'll embrace it just the same. My husband (the Lutheran cantor) was having an end-of-the-year party for his children's choirs at church. As the party was winding down and children were enjoying free time in the gym, a group of about five pre-teen girls came gleefully running up to sing to my husband:

"He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. Titus 3:5-8."

Now, to see a group of little girls joyfully singing not the latest Britney Spears or Hannah Montana hit but rather the Third Part of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism from Martin Luther's Small Catechism is in itself worth noting, but when the music to which they are singing that catechism passage was composed by the very cantor standing before them (who happens to be my husband) . . . well, as my friend Rebellious Pastor's Wife says in describing one of her own golden moments, "There really are no words."

What's even better is that these girls had earlier sung the entire Sacrament of Holy Baptism with the rest of our Lutheran day school at morning chapel, and better still is the knowledge that these songs, originally written and released piecemeal in CPH's Growing in Christ Sunday School curriculum, are only a few months away from being made available on one compilation CD (as well as in a companion songbook) so that anyone who wants to can easily acquire and make use of this treasure. (If you've never heard them before, several audio samples of the catechism songs are available at the link above. The CD and songbook should be available from CPH this summer.)

To my husband: thank you. And I'm saying that from my heart as a Lutheran mother, not as your wife. Although I've had the privilege over the last three years of hearing these songs as they moved from conception to work-in-progress to completion, I still can't wait to get my very own catechism song CD. Which reminds me: since I am the composer's wife, do I get a complimentary copy?

Union City

In 2006 the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod published a new hymnal: the Lutheran Service Book (Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO). As many of my readers are already aware, this marvelous resource includes several compositions by my very own husband, including the music for the hymn "If Christ Had Not Been Raised From Death" (LSB #486). Not too long ago I was reminded of the back-story to this composition, which if known I think only heightens one's appreciation for a wonderful wedding of words and music. So below, in my husband's own words, is that story. (I think it will eventually be included in the LSB hymnal companion, but because you are smart enough to frequent this blog, you don't have to wait!)

"In November of 2003 I was musing over about a dozen texts that had been sent to me by the Hymnody Committee for the LSB. These were texts of hymns which had been identified as desirable by the Commission on Worship for inclusion in the LSB but that needed tunes appropriate for Lutheran worship. During that time my paternal grandmother died, so I traveled to Tennessee to attend her funeral. My father's side of the family is mostly Baptist, but my grandmother had for some time been attending an Assembly of God church. Because my Baptist relatives didn't want the funeral at her church, and because her pastor didn't want to do the service at the Baptist church, they compromised by having the funeral at a funeral home with a nice chapel in Union City, Tennessee. The location made it possible for both pastors to officiate. The funeral itself went fine until my grandmother's pastor got up to speak. As I listened to his words, my heart sank because his message emphasized my grandmother's good works, assuring us that she was going to heaven because she was "TRULY A GOOD WOMAN!" As a confessional Lutheran, I trust not in works but in Christ crucified to save me from my sin, and I was dismayed to think of those in attendance who were missing the opportunity to hear this Gospel message. But then the second pastor, a Baptist and a member of the family, got up to speak. He too related several stories about my grandmother's good qualities and Christian character, but concluded by saying, "But I'm here to tell you that Etta Marie would be the first person in this room to say that she wouldn't be kickin' up her heels right now at the Throne of the Lamb if it weren't for the BLOOD OF JESUS!" He then pulled out his Bible, read from 1 Corinthians 15, and preached the Gospel. When I returned home from Tennessee, the first hymn tune I started working on for LSB was "If Christ Had Not Been Raised From Death" by Christopher Idle, the text of which, amazingly enough, was inspired by 1 Corinthians 15. So after the title I had originally chosen for the tune was found to be taken (CHRISTUS VICTOR), I could think of no better choice than UNION CITY, the place where my grandmother made her home and was laid to rest. With the LSB now in use throughout synod, this hymn is being sung in Lutheran churches throughout North America and will also be included in the WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) hymnal supplement due out later this year. But it is also sung in a little Baptist church outside of Union City, Tennessee. My Baptist relatives love the story behind the hymn--and several of them now have their own copies of LSB."

If you have not sung or heard "If Christ Had Not Been Raised From Death" now's your chance: it was sung this week for the Morning Office in Kramer Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary. To hear it, click on the first link in the previous sentence and select Monday's broadcast. (If possible, treat yourself to the full service, but if time is of the essence you can fast forward about 10 minutes to hear the hymn.) I can't imagine a more glorious setting or inspiring sound than the voices of our seminarians at Kramer Chapel for Morning Prayer, can you?

*Hymns and tunes are two different things, with the word "hymn" referring to the poetry and the word "tune" referring to the music. Because a hymn can sometimes be sung to more than one tune and a tune may be used for more than one hymn, a distinction is made between the two, and tunes are given their own titles separate from the hymns that are sung to them. The tune is traditionally written in all capital letters to identify it as such. The text for "If Christ Had Not Been Raised From Death" was written by hymnist Christopher Idle (b. 1938) and is copyrighted by Jubilate Hymns Ltd. (1987). Mr. Idle and my husband have never met. Here is the full text of the hymn:

If Christ had not been raised from death Our faith would be in vain,
Our preaching but a waste of breath, Our sin and guilt remain.
But now the Lord is ris'n indeed; he rules in earth and heav'n:
His Gospel meets a world of need--In Christ we are forgiv'n.

If Christ still lay within the tomb Then death would be the end,
And we should face our final doom With neither guide nor friend.
But now the Savior is raised up, So when a Christian dies
We mourn, yet look to God in hope--In Christ the saints arise!

If Christ had not been truly raised His Church would live a lie;
His name should nevermore be praised, His words deserve to die.
But now our great Redeemer lives; Through Him we are restored;
His Word endures, His Church revives In Christ, our risen Lord.

Triduum Tableaux

Triduum - The "great three days" of Jesus' Passion, death, and resurrection, beginning the evening of Maundy Thursday and continuing through the celebration of Easter Sunday.

Tableau - a vivid image, scene or picture.

As I reflect on the Triduum weekend, here are a few of the tableaux that come to mind:

The bittersweet lump in my throat while watching the stripping of the altar at the conclusion of the Maundy Thursday service as cantors and congregation responsively sang Psalm 136: "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever."

Trying to warm up with the adult choir on Good Friday amidst a virtual forest of Easter lilies in my church's "Multi-Purpose Room" . . . it was like singing in a flower shop (not great for the more allergic among us)! It's not supposed to smell like Easter on Good Friday, but the lilies had arrived and needed a place to be. Multi-Purpose Room indeed! (It also serves as a meeting place and Sunday School classroom as well as the day school lunchroom.)

Accompanying my husband on piano while he sang "Why Do the Nations So Furiously Rage Together?" (Psalm 2) from Handel's Messiah and wondering how anyone's fingers could possibly play all those notes at such a raging and furious tempo (I will admit that thanks to some carefully planned edits, these fingers didn't).

The Litany (prayers) sung in a darkened sanctuary at the conclusion of the Good Friday Tenebrae, followed by the congregation's whispered Lord's Prayer, the final crying out of Jesus ("Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani?") and taking away of the Christ candle, the drum roll and strepitus signifying the closing of Jesus' tomb (as I tried to reassure my nervous 4-year-old), and the return of the Christ candle (signifying Jesus' impending resurrection) while the sweet voice of a child (in this case, my own little girl) sang a cappella the words of Paul Gerhardt: "O wondrous Love, what have You done! The Father offers up His Son, Desiring our salvation. O Love, how strong You are to save! You lay the One into the grave Who built the earth's foundation."

Rejoicing in the adult baptism that took place at our Easter Vigil service, and then hearing the amazing news that Pope Benedict baptized a Muslim man at the Easter Vigil in Rome. Read more about it here.

Waking up at 4:15 a.m. on Sunday morning and not minding one bit because it's Easter and Christ is risen! . . . then hurrying to put on the crock pot and fill the Easter basket before leaving for sunrise service.

Driving to church with my children at 5:45 a.m. and noting with wonder the full moon that due to atmospheric conditions (or something else?) was exhibiting a most unusual glow this day, resulting in vertical and horizontal beams of light emanating from it so as to create a cross shape in the sky . . . the vertical beam was highly pronounced, the horizontal beam less so, but nevertheless, the cross was there, shining in the darkness and leaving me speechless. I stopped at an intersection and tried to take a photo, but time was short and conditions didn't cooperate, so this picture in words will have to suffice. Wow.

Warming up with the adult choir once again on Sunday morning in the Multi-Purpose Room, this time while shivering with cold because the outside door had been left open to help dissipate the haze of smoke wafting in from whatever had burned next door in the kitchen as the youth prepared Easter breakfast.

Enjoying that mouth-watering Easter breakfast (eggs, pancakes, Canadian bacon, pastries, coffee and orange juice) served restaurant, not buffet style, in peace with my husband and two older children while the youngest slumbered at home with Grandma (I picked them both up for a later service).

Thinking to myself during communion that one of the reasons I prefer male lay ministers (aside from its being Biblical) is that there is nothing so touching as seeing those big, strong, tall men humbly serving their brothers and sisters in Christ as, with the utmost care, they carry the very blood of the Saviour and carefully bend down to lift that life-giving chalice to waiting lips while gently gazing into the communicant's face and pronouncing the gift of Christ's blood, "shed for you."

Preparing to accompany the youth choir on organ while my husband (the cantor) and friend (assistant cantor) nervously double-checked stops and pedals for me . . . . I say this not with resentment but with appreciation for their care . . . I am not an organist and need all the help I can get on the rare occasions I lower myself on that bench!

Playing percussion on the Tanzanian hymn "Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia!" (LSB 466) with my two older children as well as the same friend mentioned in the previous line while my husband played piano . . . it was joyful, and all we needed to complete the picture was some of these.

Playing the piano while my daughter's choir sang the Gerhardt hymn "Awake My Heart with Gladness" (full text here) to music by an especially gifted contemporary composer (see more of his stuff here and here).

Listening to my husband play and sing his way through eight liturgies in four days and realizing that having never had another cantor during my 20-plus years in the LCMS I am one blessed Lutheran indeed.

Helping my 4-year-old look for his "Ow-We-Woo-Ya" (Alleluia) butterfly (photo below).




Noting with satisfaction the "Closed" status of many of the retail businesses in our neighborhood as we drove home after services . . . though not as many were closed as on Christmas Day.

Coming home to a waiting crock pot full of this lady's ham and potato casserole (thanks for the recipe, Glenda!)

Returning from taking my mother home Easter evening to discover my four-year-old bleeding from the forehead . . . . a closer look revealed a deep cut in need of more than a bandage. . . . so off to the ER we went. Five stitches and a couple of days later he is doing just fine, but we still can't figure out exactly how one gets a cut on the forehead from running into the refrigerator (no one saw it happen, so we have to rely on his version of events, and all we know is that he was chasing the dog, or vice versa, and somehow the refrigerator attacked him!)

Disappointing Decision

One of the best elements of Concordia Publishing House's new Growing in Christ Sunday School Curriculum is the catechism memory songs included on the student CD. These songs provide musical settings of Luther's Small Catechism with the goal of assisting memorization of the six chief parts and their meanings. The songs are excellent: child-friendly yet musically fresh and interesting enough to appeal to all ages. We have used them in our home devotions and as someone who never had to memorize the Small Catechism--I was confirmed in the Roman Catholic church and became Lutheran after marrying one--I have found them personally helpful in my own learning. I sincerely hope that every Sunday School teacher in synod is utilizing them in the classroom.

Full disclosure: my husband is to date the sole composer for this project and is slated to see it through to completion some time next year. So that this not appear to be a commercial plug, I want to state for the record that his compensation is on a stipend, not a royalty basis. Upon completion and approval of a song, he is paid for his work and it becomes the sole property of CPH, with no further remuneration based on sales.

When he was first brought on to do this project, it was my husband's understanding that the songs would be an element of both the lower and upper grade Sunday School curriculums. Since we have a daughter in fifth grade, we were therefore surprised that she was not provided her own recording of the catechism songs for home listening. We wondered if perhaps her Sunday School teacher was not distributing the CD's. Upon further investigation, however, we were dismayed to find out that although the catechism songs are included on all the teacher CD's, CPH ultimately decided not to include a CD in the student packet for the upper grades, apparently as a cost-cutting measure. So some of the children who could most benefit--those approaching Confirmation study--are not receiving the tool they need to do so.

Luckily, our family has unusual access to the songs: the composer lives with us! And I also understand that CPH ultimately plans to release the entire song cycle as a separate package. In the meantime, if you would like a copy of the catechism songs but your church is not using the Growing in Christ curriculum or your child is not in the right grade to have received his own CD, you can obtain a CD by ordering either the "Lower Grades Student Stuff" package or the "Teacher Tools" kit (the teacher CD includes not only the songs but also files that allow printing of musical scores for the songs). Here's a link:

Growing in Christ