MUSIC OF PRAISE AND PRAYER

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

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Brethren, We Have Met to Worship……...…HOLY MANNA; Arr. Gina Sprunger

Morning Has Broken………………………………..BUNESSAN; Arr. Mark Hayes

Spirit of , Descend Upon My Heart..MORECAMBE; Arr. Frederick Atkinson

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms………..….SHOWALTER; Arr. Carol Tornquist

Beautiful Savior…………………CRUSADER’S HYMN; Arr. Thomas Keesecker

His Eye Is on the Sparrow…………………..Charles Gabriel; Arr. Jack Schrader

This Is My Father’s World……………………….TERRA BEATA; Arr. Joel Raney

In the Garden………………………………….…C. Austin Miles; Arr. Hal Leonard

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing…….….NETTLETON; Arr. Gina Sprunger

Karen Harvey, piano

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Thank you for tuning in to today’s musical meditation. Please consider joining us next week for more hymns of praise and prayer. Notes on today’s authors

George Askins (Brethren,We Have Met to Worship) was born in Ireland, and immigrated to the United States as an adult. He was a Methodist and became an itinerant preacher for the Baltimore Conference in 1801, also preaching in Virginia, Kentucky, and , where he died in 1816.

English author Eleanor Farjeon was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex to write Morning Has Broken in 1931, then set her words to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, Bunessan.

George Croly (Spirit of God, Descend Upon my Heart) was born in Dublin in 1780; after taking Holy Orders, he took up residence in London in 1810, devoting himself to literature. His prose publications were numerous, dealing with biographical, historical and scriptural subjects.

The son of an Evangelical , Elisha Hoffman (Leaning on the Everlasting Arms) was born in 1839 and grew up singing sacred hymns in church and at home. He became a Presbyterian minister, composing over 2,000 hymns and editing over 50 song books before his death at the age of 90.

Joseph Seiss (Beautiful Savior) was born in Graceham, Maryland, to an agricultural family; his interest in religious studies began in childhood. In 1839, Seiss enrolled at but completed his theological courses by private study, earning his license to preach in 1942. Described as “an eloquent pulpit orator”, periodicals of the day mention his speeches at New York’s Steinway Hall and other prominent venues.

His Eye Is On the Sparrow is closely associated with the African-American experience, and was written by lyricist Silvia Durfy Martin. Born in Nova Scotia in 1866, she lived most of her life in Atlanta.

This is My Father's World was written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock and was published after his death in 1901. A graduate of Syracuse University, he continued his education at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York. After serving two congregations at Lockport near Lake Ontario and Baltimore, he assumed the pastorate at Brick Church. He died just a few months short of his 42nd birthday in a hospital in Naples, Italy, following a trip to the Holy Land. Babcock loved to explore the great outdoors; before leaving for these walks, he would say, “I’m going out to see my Father’s world.”

Charles Austin Miles, born in 1868, was a prolific American writer of gospel songs; In the Garden was by far his most famous. He studied at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and the University of , but in 1892, ceased to practice as a pharmacist. His first gospel song, "List! ’Tis Jesus’ Voice", was published by the Hall-Mack Company, where he worked as editor and manager for 37 years. He said, "It is as a writer of gospel songs I am proud to be known, for in that way I may be of the most use to my Master, whom I serve willingly although not as efficiently as is my desire". He wrote at least 398 songs, and the music to at least 8 more.

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing was written by the 18th century and hymnodist Robert Robinson, who penned the words in 1758 at the age of 22. He had a conversion experience and became a minister of the gospel; first, in a Baptist church, then in a Methodist church, and later in other denominations. Unfortunately, he began to grow unstable and unhappy. Sometime later, he found himself the fellow passenger of a young lady on a stagecoach. It is reported that she began to sing to break the monotony of the trip. And what did she sing? “Come, Thou fount of Every Blessing”, to which Robinson replied, “Madam, I am the unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago; and, I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, if I could feel now as I felt then.”