WORSHIP AT HOME
May 24, 2020
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Blessing of the Wheels Service
Prelude – My Soul Will Magnify The Lord
Introit – MV 75
Candle & Opening Prayer
Opening Hymn – VU 320 Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth
HESPERUS (QUEBEC)
Learning Together
Scripture Acts 1:3-8
Reading from Julian of Norwich
Offering
Offertory Solo – It Is Well with My Soul
Sung Response to Scripture – VU 379 o Holy Spirit, Root of Life
Reflection
Closing Hymn – VU 642 Be Thou My Vision SLANE
Blessing & Peace
Thanks to all who participated in the service
Rev. Emily Gordon, Natalie Jahn, Matthew Boutda, David Phillips, Nancy Stewart, Rachel Wood, Sheila McCoy, Peter Bull, Chris Norman
BEHIND THE MUSIC:
Opening Hymn VU 320 Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth
Fitting as it is for this Sunday, the text writer of this hymn is by Julian of Norwich (ca. 1400). Norwich was also known as Dame Julian or Mother Julian, who was an English anchorite of the Middle Ages. She wrote the earliest surviving book in the English language written by a woman, Revelations of Divine Love. This hymn text was later adapted by Jean Wiebe Janzen in 1991. Janzen grew up in the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church, where her strong connection with the church had a significant influence on her poetry.
Offertory Solo – It Is Well With My Soul
One of Julian of Norwich’s well known quotes is “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well…” As a related text to this quote, I thought it would be fitting to sing “It is Well With My Soul” by Horatio G. Spafford. This well known song was written after traumatic events in Spafford’s life. This included the death of his four-year old son and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which ruined him financially. In a late change of plan, he sent his family ahead to travel to Europe, while he was delayed on business concerning the zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sea vessel, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford’s daughters died. His wife survived and shortly afterwards, as Spafford travelled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.
Closing Hymn VU 642 – Be Thou My Vision
This Sunday we are singing an ancient Celtic Hymn, “Be Thou My Vision.” It’s a powerful and profound hymn, on account of both its tune and its text. The tune, SLANE, is a traditional Irish ballad melody, first transcribed in the early 20th century. The text is a translation of a medieval text attributed to St. Fallan, a 6th century Celtic monk, poet, and follower of St. Columba. Later, Eleanor Hull (1860-1935) enters the story. Born in Manchester, England, she was the founder of the Irish Text Society and president of the Irish Literary Society of London. Hull versified the text and it was published in her Poem Book of the Gael (1912). After WWII, the hymn came to the attention of hymnal editors in North America and it has become a standard hymn in most hymnals today.