Music Spotlight! (Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021)

Choral Anthem: "What Gift Can We Bring?" by Jane Marshall  

Consecration Sunday is coming. We are spending the next few Sundays pondering, "What is God calling me to give?" Our Clerk of Session, Lesa Goder, explains that "New Consecration Sunday is based on the biblical philosophy of the need of the giver to give for his or her own spiritual development, rather than on the need of the church to receive...Instead of treating people like members of a social club who should pay dues, we will treat people like followers of Jesus Christ who want to give unselfishly as an act of discipleship." 

Gifts come in all shapes in sizes. Jane Marshall, the composer of our anthem today, explores what gifts we can share and appreciate through the act of song. The choir joyfully shares this music and gives thanks for their "mission that bids us turn prayer into deed!"

What gift can we bring, what present, what token?

What words can convey it, the joy of this day?

When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing,

What song can we offer in honor and praise?

Give thanks for the past, for those who had vision,

who planted and watered so dreams could come true.

Give thanks for the now, for study, for worship,

for mission that bids us turn prayer into deed.

Give thanks for tomorrow, full of surprises,

for knowing whatever tomorrow may bring,

the Word is our promise, now and forever,

we rest in God's keeping and live in God's love.

This gift we now bring, this present, this token,

these words can convey it, the joy of this day!

When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing

this song we now offer in honor and praise! 

Jane Manton Marshall (1924-2019) established herself as a leading composer of church music, teaching conducting and composition for more than two decades at Southern Methodist University. From 1975-2010, she served an integral role in the Church Music Summer School, hosted by Perkins School of Theology, to provide training for musicians who have not usually attended seminary. As a clinician and composer, Mrs. Marshall has had a profound influence on at least two generations of church musicians. Her anthems are carried by numerous publishers, and she has received lifetime achievement awards for her contribution to church music by the Southern Baptist Church Music Conference and the Fellowship of United Methodist Musicians and Worship Arts. In addition to "What Gift Can We Bring," Marshall contributed greatly to The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), especially in the area of responses for the psalms. Grace, Noted, a collection of her homilies and essays, was published in 1992. [Source] 

Hymn #762: "When the Poor Ones" (EL CAMINO) 

When the poor ones, who have nothing, still are giving; 

when the thirsty pass the cup, water to share; 

when the wounded offer others strength and healing... 

We see God, here by our side, walking our way.

Little is known about José Antonio Olivar and Miguel Manzano, the two Roman Catholic priests from Spain who collaborated on this text. They reflect the post-Vatican II spirit of the 1970's when the Catholic Church was beginning to explore congregational singing and when liberation theology was rising in its influence.

“Cuando el pobre” explores the parable of the great judgment, Matthew 25:13-46, specifically verses 34-36:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’” (NIV).

In stanza one, we encounter the “poor” (pobre), “thirsty” (sed) and the “crippled” or weak (débil). In stanza two, those “suffer” (sufre) and those who hope even when they are tired of hoping (espera . . . cansa de esperar) are lifted up. In stanza three, we realize that happiness has nothing to do with acquiring things, but with loving “simple things.” Finally in stanza four, abundance (abunda) is associated with making peace (paz) and welcoming the stranger (extraño). [READ MORE]