HYMN SING

   We rocked the rafters at SPPC on Sunday night with an old-fashioned hymn sing.    From the contemplative "It is well with my soul,"  to the rousing "Onward Christian Soldiers," we sang, "lustily and with good courage," as one compiler of a hymnbook urged.

   From our own Book of Praise, we read that "Praise is the truest expression of our faith in and love towards God.  St. Paul urged the Ephesian Christians to 'be filled with the spirit' and to speak in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."  

Many thanks to our organist, Larry Skaggs for taking the lead on this event.  It was a great opportunity to worship with members of other churches and to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord."

Stand up, Stand up for Jesus

Irwin and Diane got to sit together!

This is My Father's World

Of course, there was food. 

From the oldest to the youngest, we all had a great evening, and "Praised the name of the Lord.  Amen." 

         

Take My Life and Let it Be, was the congregational hymn of choice last Sunday. Here is what Dr. Kirk had to say about it.


Scripture reading:  2 Corinthians 8. 1 - 9

        This is one of the best known hymns on the subject of Christian consecration and discipleship.  The occasion for the writing of the hymn was a five day visit Miss Havergal made to the home of some friends.  There were ten other guests at the home, some unconverted, others nominally Christian.  She prayed "Lord, give me all in this house!"  Before she left her prayer was wonderfully answered.  "Before I left," she wrote, "I . . passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration; and these little couplets formed themselves and chimed to my heart one after the other, till they finished with 'Ever, only, ALL for thee!'"

            We must never forget that the Christian is not only saved from something but also to something.  We are saved from a life of slavery to sin but we are also saved to a life of service.  Our salvation is not for ourselves but for the glory of God and the service of others.  Everything we have, everything we are, comprise God's gifts to us and we are the stewards of God's gifts.  They are held in trust and we are required to render an account of our stewardship.

            How do we use our time, our moments and our days?  Time is such a fleeting commodity.  If it is not used aright it can be rapidly squandered and before we realize it many precious years will have flitted by.  Time should be used "in ceaseless praise" to our great God.  And what about our bodies?  Do we use them as means of helping others?  There are many people who could use a helping hand in one way or another.  There are countless errands of mercy that could be a blessing to an incapacitated person if our feet were "swift and beautiful" for our Lord.  But we not only praise God in our actions we must also praise him with our voice.  Let us use our voice to sing his praises - and there is so much for which we should praise him!  Let us use our lips to impart messages of hope and joy and peace to others.  There is so much bad news abroad in the world; we can use our lips to bring the good news of the Saviour.

            There is no more searching examination of our Christian committment than in our use of money.  "The silver is mine and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts" (Hag. 2. 8).  Our bank book should be as much the Lord's as our hymn book.  And yet it is so often true that churches and missions are hampered in their outreach because of the niggardliness of God's people.  It is only when we can say, "Not a mite would I withhold" that we have begun to give in the same sacrificial manner as Christ gave to us.

            Our intellect, our will, our heart, all the influence of mind and heart that we have in relation to others must be subjected to his Lordship.  These are his own by right of our creation by him and also by right of our re-creation through his death.  It is only when we have enthroned Christ over every part of our life, having no personal ambitions of our own but placing him first in our affections that we have finally and truly consecrated ourselves to him.  That is summed up in the hymn's concluding lines.  There we pour out the "treasure store" of our love and allow Christ to be all in all for us.  Time, hands, feet, voice, lips, wealth, mind, heart and love are all re-integrated in the final prayer, "Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for Thee".  That is a difficult petition to pray but what joy is ours when we reach the place where we can make that act of consecration.

   These words have been set to a variety of tunes.  The one used on Sunday was Hendon, composed by H.A. Cesar Malan and first published one of Lowell Mason's hymnals in 1841.

   SPPC loves its hymns and we love to sing, so Sunday, August 25,  7:00 pm we're having a hymn-sing.  Come and join us, raise your voice, bring your friends and family.  Admission is free.  Lots of parking.

BOOKS WANTED

The suggestion for this week's blog came from Linda Cliff, our resident "book-lady."

A recent fire in Bella Bella destroyed the Thistalalh Memorial Library, an important centre for the people of Bella Bella.  We have an opportunity to help to restore the library by donating gently used or new books to that community.   The  UVIC School of Environmental Studies who will ship them up to Bella Bella after they have been collected.   
   The Thistalalh librarian has requested books in the following categories: 

-Children’s literature (e.g. Robert Munsch , Mercer Mayer, Phil Hoose).

-indigenous literature (e.g.Joseph Boyden, Eden Robinson, Leslie Marmon Silko, N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, Gerald Vizenor, Sherman Alexie, Thomas King and Richard Wagemese )
-international fiction
-eco-literature
-natural history and field guides
-general non-fiction

There is a box marked "Bella Bella" in the library corner of the Malloy Hall, where books can be dropped off.  Linda will collect them and see them on their way.

If you have extra books that don't fit in the categories listed above, don't despair, SPPC is holding a garage sale in September and will be glad to put your extra books, china, toys, small appliances, dvd's, etc. toward a good cause.

Questions re the books should be directed to Linda Cliff. Questions about the garage sale can be directed to Jean Strong or any member of session.



And here's a heads-up for Sunday, Aug. 25. We're having an old-fashioned hymn sing, in the sanctuary at 7:00pm. Admission is free. Bring your friends.>

Feast of Music

Mary Byrne, Tore Valdal, Alice Valdal

With the choir on vacation, one might expect the music programme at SPPC to be in slow mode, but we've been  treated to a feast of music  in July.  Our own soloists have shared their gifts, we've had two visits from my favourite flute player, Mary Byrne and on the last Sunday of the month, Raven Baroque Orchestra enriched our worship.  So much for summer doldrums!

Raven Baroque Orchestra at SPPC

   Music sings in my soul so I've always been grateful that it has been nourished in my church life.  There have been times, throughout history, when music, especially instrumental music, was banned from worship, for various reasons.  Yet, we read in 1 Chronicles 25: 1-6, that David selected three men to lead and organize the music of public worship.  Not only that, he ordered four thousand to play on instruments. (1 Chronicles 23:5)  Four thousand!  What a joyful noise they must have made.
   But music in worship, however beautiful, it not meant merely to entertain, or to give the preacher a break.  At its heart, worship is a time set aside to adore God, to seek the presence of the Holy Spirit and to proclaim the Gospel.  Music is a prime tool for achieving all these things.
     In song, choir and congregation express elements of the faith, committing great swaths of scripture to memory, and proclaiming our belief in "God who touches earth with beauty," or "The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord," to name but two.
    Music invites the congregation to participate in hymns and responses, becoming part of the whole body to experience a connection to God and with each other.  At other times, an anthem provides an opportunity for congregation members to hear a message proclaimed, not only with words, but with the resonance of music that reaches beyond the intellect and touches the soul.
   I've a saying on my wall, "When words fail, music speaks."  July at SPPC has given us a wonderful opportunity to experience the "voice" of music, ringing the faith of generations and vibrating in our hearts.

Raven Baroque Orchestra at Mt. Tolmie

Last week's offertory hymn, "I've found a Friend, O Such a Friend,"  was the choice of our music director, mostly because the tune was composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan of Gilbert and Sullivan fame.  If you listen closely, you may hear echoes of operetta in the strongly dotted rhythm.

   The text of the hymn was written by James Grindly Small of Edinburgh. He was educated at the High School, and the University of Edinburgh,  studied divinity under Dr. Chalmers, and in 1843 he joined the Free Church of Scotland.  The hymn,  "I've found a Friend; oh such a Friend" (Jesus, the Friend), appeared in his Psalms & Sacred Songs, 1866.

      Sullivan names his tune "Constance" in reference to the theme of the text.  God's love for us is constant, unchanging and unchangeable.   We hear in the first stanze that God loved us, before we loved Him. (1Jn. 4:10)  The second stanza speaks of Christ's gift of eternal life.  "He bled and died to save me."  In the third stanza bears echoes of Paul's great proclamation in Romans 8: 35-39 that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  Then in the final stanza concludes with the words, "I am His forever."

   Just as in his secular work, Sullivan is sensitive to the text when composing his music.  CONSTANCE is a solid Victorian tune with a fine climax in the melody of its final line.
   This hymn is not as well-known as Sullivan's most famous hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers," but since it's first publication it has appeared in 20 hymnbooks and seems to be gaining in popularity.

   Summer at SPPC has become a time to try out new hymns and old.  Everyone is invited to submit requests so don't be shy.

 

 

Here's another in our summertime series of favourite hymns. 


"In the Cross of Christ I Glory"


Scripture reading: 
1 Corinthians 1:14 - 18

        Sir John Bowring [author of the hymn]was a great traveller.  As such he must have seen, time and again, the forlorn symbols of empires and civilizations that had flourished and then fallen.  There are numerous examples familiar even to those who have not had the experience of travel - the pyramids of Egypt, the Coliseum in Rome, the Acropolis in Athens, the ruins of Machu Pichu in South America.  Built by former ascendant civilizations, they remain now as relics for the curious.  The armies of the pagans, the rationalists, the Communists and many others have warred against the Cross and the ideals it represents.  They have been destroyed but the radiance of the Cross continues to tower "over the wrecks of time".  It has survived them all and will continue to outlive them all.

            That is the historical perspective.  But the Cross has a far more personal application.  In times of defeat when "the woes of life o'ertake me", in times of fear when I am perplexed and uncertain as to the outcome of my struggles, in times of disappointment when the pleasures of the world prove to be fleeting and the hopes that the world offers prove to be a deception, the Cross still remains constant.  It is the symbol of God's love and of his deliverance from the very things that appeared to offer so much and yet proved to be so transient.  Its message still sounds forth with the promise of peace, bequeathed to us by the One who died on that Cross (John 14:27), and joy such as the world has never known (John 15:11).  We are not told how the Cross is able to do this but human experience has shown that contemplation of the sufferings of Christ and the lesson of victory through self-sacrifice that is implicit in the Cross are a powerful inspiration.

            There are other times when things go well for us, when "the sun of bliss is beaming light and love upon my way".  At such times the consciousness that our lives are linked with God through Christ puts the glory of eternity into our fleeting happiness.  It is easy, in times of joy, to lose sight of the Cross and imagine that the good things of life are the result of our own effort.  Then it is important for us to take our stand at the foot of the Cross and allow its radiance to stream over us.

            The fourth stanza reiterates these same ideas in another way.  The opposites in life - "bane and blessing", "pain and pleasure" - are reconciled when we are able to view them in the light of eternity.  We see them as being "sanctified", made holy to us, in the shadow of the Cross.  Again we are reminded that the Cross brings peace and joy.  The peace is without measure and the joy remains with us through all ages.  They are enhanced because now we are able to see them in their true perspective.  We are reminded of the words Jesus shared with his disciples in the Upper Room.  "I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  The means by which he has overcome the world is the Cross.  The wonder of Christianity is that an instrument of torture and degradation should be the very thing by which we know peace and joy. 

Commentary by Dr. Cecil Kirk

YOUR CHOICE

   

  It's summertime and the choir is on holiday.   This doesn't mean we have no special music in the service, it just means a different format.   This is the time for congregational favourites.   If you haven't already noticed it, there is a sign up sheet in the narthex where you can request your favourite hymn to be sung during the service
  In keeping with the "your choice" theme, this blog will feature the same hymns.  
    I'm indebted to the late Rev. Dr. Cecil Kirk for the content of these essays and to his wife, Edna, for sharing them with us.  Here's one we sang last summer that is a perennial favourite.

Guide Me, O, Thou Great Jehovah

Scripture reading: Joshua 3. 1 - 17



There is no more thrilling sound than that of fifty thousand Welsh rugby fans cheering on the national team at Cardiff Arms Park, not with shouts, but by singing Arglwydd, arwain trwy'r anialwch (Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah) in their native tongue. The hymn has almost the status of a second national anthem. It is the work of William Williams who was born in Llandovery in Carmarthenshire. He was twenty years old and training for the medical profession when he heard a sermon by Howell Harris, the leader of the evangelical revival in Wales, and was converted. He was ordained as a deacon in the Anglican Church by the Bishop of St. David's but three years later he left to become a minister in the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist church. Rather than ministering to a settled congregation he took the whole of Wales as his parish, becoming an itinerant evangelist. During the next forty-three years he travelled almost 100,000 miles on foot and horseback preaching the gospel.



As with so many other hymns, the imagery is taken from the Biblical story of the Israelites' journey to the promised land. We are reminded of the fact that the Christian life is a pilgrimage that has a definite goal in mind. The pilgrim life is a progressive experience. The Christian pilgrim is not someone who settles down comfortably in the present world as though it were a place of permanent residence. We are here but for a time and not for ever. That means that we must have a sense of detachment from the world and the things of the world. While there may be many interesting and worthwhile things on earth we know that there are better things in store for us in the heavenly country to which we journey.



In order to travel wisely and safely we ask for divine guidance. We are moving through a "barren land" like the wilderness traversed by the Israelites and as they needed to be guarded and guided so do we. We also need nourishment for the journey, hence the prayer for the "Bread of heaven". That bread for the Hebrews was the heavenly manna. Jesus claimed to be the living bread, the heavenly bread, (John 6. 41) and it is that bread we pray for in the words "feed me till my want is o'er". And not only were the Israelites hungry, they were also thirsty and cried to Moses for help. He in turn cried to the Lord who provided water, a "crystal fountain" to quench their thirst (Ex. 17. 6). Jesus invites us, in our spiritual need to come to him and drink, assuring us that if we drink of the water he gives we will never thirst again (John 7. 37; 4. 14).



The Israelites were directed at all times by "the fire and cloudy pillar", a symbol of God's presence with his people day and night. The meaning is clear for us today. As God's pilgrim people we have the assurance that he is our companion and our "strong deliverer" at all times and for every mile of our journey.



When the people of Israel came to the end of their pilgrimage they found one last obstacle that had to be overcome before they could enter into their inheritance - the river Jordan had to be crossed. In Christian symbolism Jordan stands for the river of death and its waters which threaten to overwhelm are the cause of "anxious fears"; "Canaan's side" is heaven itself. The hymn concludes with a prayer that when our pilgrimage is over and our time comes to face death, the Lord will give us peace of mind and heart and a joyful end to life's journey. And there is an additional prayer. Jesus is described in two amazing phrases. He is called the "Death of death and hell's Destruction". He is the living Lord and he is the Death of death by defeating it through his resurrection and annihilating its power. At the same time he is also the Destruction of hell, hell meaning separation from God. In Jesus Christ not only do we die but in him we are risen, reconciled and glorified and with such blessings to be grateful for what can we do but offer him our "songs of praise" for all time.