Worship Service

A pre-recorded worship service, complete with readings, Pastor Linman's sermon, prayers, and music will broadcast at 10am on Sunday, November 8, on our YouTube channel and will be available below:

Worship material for November 8, 2020

• Home Worship Bulletin for November 8, 2020
• Children's Bulletin for November 8, 2020
• The transcript of Pastor Linman's sermon

The following have been posted to YouTube; here is the YouTube Playlist for November 8, 2020:

• Musical Meditation: “Allegro” from Trio for Flute by Laszlo Zempleni, played by Carole Smith, Suzanne Tsitsibelis and Claire Smith
• Psalm 70: 22 ELW Tone 9, Refrain: Psalter for Worship Year A
• Pastor Linman's recorded sermon
• Hymn #436: “Wake, Awake, For Night is Flying”
• Hymn #880: “O God beyond All Praising”

Music Notes

Hymn of the Day: “Wake, Awake, For Night is Flying” ELW #436
Text: Phillip Nicolai (1556-1608)
Tune: WACHET AUF, Phillip Nicolai

This hymn text was based on the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. The opening stanza calls the followers of Christ to be roused and alert for His Second Coming. Stanza 2 describes the joyous scene when the Bridegroom returns and takes His bride, the church, in to the wedding feast. Finally, the third stanza adores the Lamb of God and describes the glorious scene in heaven, as given in Revelation 19 and 21, where the saints will worship in song forever. The text contains a reverse acrostic to Nicolai’s deceased student and friend, William Ernst, with the letters beginning each of its three stanzas: WGZ, Graf zu Waldek (Count of Waldeck).

The WACHET AUF tune is usually regarded as composed by Philipp Nicolai, but he may have borrowed parts of the tune from other sources such as the melody “Silberweise” by Hans Sachs (1494-1576) or the fifth Gregorian psalm tone. It was published with this text, for which it is named, in Nicolai's Freuden-Spiegel in 1599. Like many German chorale tunes, WACHET AUF has two versions for the rhythm. The original version is called the rhythmic version, because it retains the variety of note values as the composer wrote them, while in the isorhythmic version, the notes are adjusted to a more regular rhythm, often by making all notes of equal value.

Worship Service

A pre-recorded worship service, complete with readings, Pastor Linman's sermon, prayers, and music will broadcast at 10am on Sunday, November 1, on our YouTube channel and will be available below:

Worship material for November 1, 2020

• Home Worship Bulletin for November 1, 2020
• Children's Bulletin for November 1, 2020
• The transcript of Pastor Linman's sermon

The following have been posted to YouTube; here is the YouTube Playlist for November 1, 2020:

• Musical Meditation: Requiem, Giacomo Puccini, Anthem by the choir, with Suzanne Tsitsibelis on flute
• Psalm 34:1-10, 22
• Pastor Linman's recorded sermon
• Hymn #422: “For All the Saints"
• Hymn #418: “Rejoice in God’s Saints”
• Organ Voluntary: Allegro molto from Sonata #6 in D Minor, Felix Mendelssohn

Music Notes

Musical Meditation: Choir Anthem
“REQUIEM,” Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

Puccini wrote this short Requiem – actually the setting of the antiphon to the Introit of the Mass for the Dead – as a commission for the publisher Giulio Ricordi for the fourth anniversary of the death of Giuseppe Verdi (1905).

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Hymn Of The Day: “for All The Saints” #422
Text: William W. How (1823-1897), tr. Catherine Wentworth (1827-1878)
Tune: SINE NOMINE, Ralph Vaughn Williams (1872-1958)

Ralph Vaughan Williams composed SINE NOMINE for this text and published it in the English Hymnal in 1906. Vaughan Williams wrote two harmonizations¬–one for unison stanzas and one for choral stanzas. The tune's title means "without name" and follows the Renaissance tradition of naming certain compositions "Sine Nomine" if they were not settings for preexisting tunes.

Equipped with a "walking" bass, SINE NOMINE is a glorious marching tune for this great text. Many consider this tune to be among the finest of twentieth-century hymn tunes. Allowing the "alleluia" phrase to enter before our expectation of it is a typical and very effective Vaughan Williams touch.

"For All the Saints" is considered to be William W. How's finest hymn text. Originally in eleven stanzas, it was published in Earl Nelson's Hymns for Saints' Days (1864) with the heading, "Saints' Day Hymn.

Organ Voluntary
Allegro molto from Sonata #6 in D Minor, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

The Organ Sonata #6 in D minor (1845) demonstrates Mendelssohn’s consummate craftsmanship and mastery of organ texture in a set of variations upon the Lutheran Bach chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich (BWV416). Beginning with a five-part harmonization of the Chorale, which pervades the sonata as a whole, Mendelssohn presents four variations of increasing brilliance before a restatement of the Chorale. Today’s voluntary features the beginning chorale and fourth variation.

Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonatas revitalised the moribund European organ tradition that existed at the time, spurred English organ-builders to new heights, and, through his particular blend of chorale, counterpoint and domestic spirituality, substantially augmented the organ repertoire for the first time since Bach.

Worship Service

A pre-recorded worship service, complete with readings, Pastor Linman's sermon, prayers, and music will broadcast at 10am on Sunday, October 25, on our YouTube channel and will be available below:

Worship material for October 25, 2020

• Home Worship Bulletin for October 25, 2020
• Children's Bulletin for October 25, 2020
• The transcript of Pastor Linman's sermon

The following have been posted to YouTube; here is the YouTube Playlist for October 25, 2020:

• Musical Meditation: In dir ist Freude, Paul Manz
• Psalm 1:1-8: Anne Krantz, Organ; refrain, Psalm Tones ELW 4, PFW 23
• Pastor Linman's recorded sermon
• Hymn #750: “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart”
• Hymn #504: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

Music Notes

Hymn of the Day: “Lord, Thee I Love With All My Heart” #750
Text: Martin Schalling (1532-1608), tr. Catherine Wentworth (1827-1878)
Tune: HERZLICH LIEB, B. Schmid, 1577

"HERZLICH LIEB HAB ICH DICH, O HERR" (From my heart I hold you dear, o Lord) is a Lutheran hymn in German by the Protestant theologian and reformer Martin Schalling, written in Amberg in 1569 and first printed in 1571. It is sung to an anonymous melody, Zahn No. 8326, which appeared in a tablature book for organ in 1577. The hymn is often used for funerals, especially the third and last stanza, "Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein" (Ah Lord, let thine own angels dear). It appears in the current German Protestant hymnal.

The first theme of the hymn is the love to God and one's neighbour, following the Great Commandment. Schalling included thoughts from Psalms 18:3. The hymn is regarded as a Sterbelied (song for the dying), as Schalling expressed stations of the transition after death in the last stanza, according to Lutheran doctrine as understood in the 17th century. The soul is seen as carried by angels to Abrahams schos (Abraham's bosom), according to Luke 16:22, the body transforming in the grave, rising on the last day ("am Jüngsten Tage") to be reunited with the soul. The final line is "Ich will dich preisen ewiglich!" (I want to praise you for ever!)

Musical Meditation: IN DIR IST FREUDE, Paul Manz (1919-2009)

Paul Otto Manz was an American composer for choir and organ. As a performer, Manz was most famous for his celebrated hymn festivals. Instead of playing traditional organ recitals, Manz would generally lead a "festival" of hymns from the organ, in which he introduced each hymn with one of his famously creative organ improvisations based on the hymn tune in question. The congregation would then sing the hymn with his accompaniment. Many volumes of these neo-Baroque chorale prelude improvisations have been written out and published and are among his most famous organ works, played by church organists throughout the world. Today’s Musical Meditation is one of those improvisations.

The chorale tune, IN DIR IST FREUDE, was composed by Giovanni G. Gastoldi (1582-1609) who served as a deacon and singer in the chapel of the Gonzaga family in Mantua. Gastoldi composed a considerable body of court music, such as madrigals, and some church music, but he is best known for his Balletti, which influenced composers such as Monteverdi, Hassler, and Morley.

Choir Anthen: “ALL GLORY BE TO THEE ON HIGH,” Rachel Aarons

A native of Laramie, Wyoming, Rachel Aarons has played piano since the age of four. While in college, she studied piano, voice, and composition while pursuing a B.A. in French Language and Literature. Rachel composes for her church choir where she is happy to be a Back Row Alto.

This anthem uses the hymn tune of the same name by Nicholus Decius (1539).

All glory be to thee, Most High,
to thee all adoration;
In grace and truth thou drawest nigh
to offer us salvation;
Thou showest thy good will to men,
And peace shall reign on earth again;
We praise thy Name for ever.

O Jesus Christ, our God and Lord,
Son of the Heavenly Father,
O thou who hast our peace restored,
The straying sheep dost gather,
Thou Lamb of God, to thee on high
Out of the depths we sinners cry:
Have mercy on us, Jesus!

O Holy Ghost, thou precious gift,
Thou Comforter unfailing,
From Satan's snares our souls uplift,
And let thy power, availing,
Avert our woes and calm our dread.
For us the Savior's blo,Od was shed;
We trust in thee to save us.

Worship Service

A pre-recorded worship service, complete with readings, Pastor Linman's sermon, prayers, and music will broadcast at 10am on Sunday, October 18, on our YouTube channel and will be available below:

Worship material for October 18, 2020

• Home Worship Bulletin for October 18, 2020
• Children's Bulletin for October 18, 2020
• The transcript of Pastor Linman's sermon

The following have been posted to YouTube; here is the YouTube Playlist for October 18, 2020:

• Musical Meditation: Finale: Andante from Sonata #6 in D Minor, Mendelssohn
• Psalm 96: 1-9, ELW Tones 10 and 12, adapted
• Pastor Linman's recorded sermon
• Hymn #713: “O God of Every Nation”
• Hymn #705: “God of Grace and God of Glory”

Music Notes

Hymn of the Day: “O God Of Every Nation” #713
Text: William W. Reid, Jr. (1923-2007)
Tune: LLANGLOFFAN, Welsh tune, 19th cent.

In 1958 William W. Reid, Jr. submitted this hymn text to a contest sponsored by the Hymn Society of America in conjunction with the Department of International Affairs of the National Council of Churches. The text won first place and was sung at the opening session of the Fifth World Order Study Conference held in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 13-21, 1958. It was published in the Hymn Society's Twelve New World Order Hymns (1958). "O God of Every Nation" is a beautiful prayer for God's shalom to reign over the whole world; for truth, love, and justice to preside over human affairs; and for an end to Warfare with its "trust in bombs that shower destruction" (st. 2). As war and rumors of War continue to plague our world; the final stanza holds before us the vision of a new heaven and earth in which "Christ shall rule victorious.”

This tune was originally published using another tune. However the prophetic power of LLANGLOFFAN, has made the association with this text a strong one.

Musical Meditation: Finale: Andante from Sonata #6 in D Minor, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

The Organ Sonata #6 in D minor (1845) demonstrates Mendelssohn’s consummate craftsmanship and mastery of organ texture in a set of variations upon the Lutheran Bach chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich (BWV416). Following a five-part harmonization of the Chorale, which pervades the sonata as a whole, Mendelssohn presents four variations of increasing brilliance before a restatement of the Chorale. The Finale is the only movement in which the chorale tune does not appear.

Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonatas revitalised the then-moribund European organ tradition, spurred English organ-builders to new heights, and, through his particular blend of chorale, counterpoint and domestic spirituality, substantially augmented the organ repertoire for the first time since Bach.