Hermon Presbyterian Church - Bethesda, Maryland - Anniversary Hymn

If you live in metropolitan DC you may already recognize the Hermon Presbyterian Church.  It is the quintessential white frame church with a center tower at the doorway, that you will see depicted in many illustrations, especially at Christmas time.  It looks like a child's drawing of "The way churches are supposed to look".

If you are looking for a small church worship and community and you're in the DC area, you should visit. The congregation has a full mission ministry, and is a very welcoming place.

They are about to celebrate a milestone anniversary, and I am glad to be part of it, even if remotely, by having written an anniversary hymn for them to sing.  

It is great to be able to be with the church in spirit, if not in person, for their special day.  Here is how the new hymn came into being:

I worked with Andrew Corson, who is a church Elder and who grew up in the church. In response to my request for idea starters, Andrew provided Hermon’s beautiful and thoughtful Welcome Statement, as well as some photos of the current restoration work being done on the church.  Andrew indicated that they like singing ROCK OF AGES, A MIGHT FORTRESS, and GOD OF AGES. So I selected from those ROCK OF AGES, to which I wrote their new anniversary hymn called: “God of Blessings, On This Day…” and emailed it to him in early December.  I'm looking forward to hearing how the congregation enjoys singing it.

 

The Congregational Church of Westborough, Massachusetts - A New Hymn

The Congregational Church of Westborough, Massachusetts - A New Hymn

I am happy to share that recently I completed hymn for the 300th anniversary of the Congregational Church of Westborough, Massachusetts.  They will be having a big celebration on February 11, 2024, and this hymn will be part of it.

An interesting fact about this congregation is that for many years, the bell in their steeple was one that had been made by Paul Revere.  That same bell now resides in the belfry of old South Church in Boston.  The photograph you see is from the cover of a book that was written for the history of the church 25 years ago.  

The new hymn emerged as follows...

The planning began in conjunction with Catherine "Cathie" Achorn, who is the chairperson of their 300^th Anniversary Committee.  Thereafter, there were ongoing emails with Tom Morgan, their church historian, as well as with Cathie.  Cathie sent me the church's 275th anniversary history book, pictured.  Tom sent a link to the lecture he gave about the history of the houses of worship in Westborough.  From this great information, I wrote a hymn called “Three Hundred Years of Faith” for them.  I sent the hymn on November 26, 2023 which they thereafter approved the next day. 

Their motto for the anniversary is: "300 Years of Faith, Hope, and Service".  That served as the inspiration for my hymn, which is entitled: "300 Years of Faith!"

Is your church having an anniversary or special occasion?  I would love to write a new hymn for you.  

Lake Grove Presbyterian Church in Oswego, Oregon, will be celebrating it Centennial in 2024.

Lake Grove Presbyterian Church in Oswego, Oregon, will be celebrating it Centennial in 2024.  

I have written them a new hymn that the will sing to help mark the occasion.  This is the first of several new works that I have written for them. It is entitled: 

“We Join in Celebration…” to be sung to ANGELS STORY, to be sung as part of their anniversary celebrations on September 8, 2024. 

Soon I will be posting about the new lyrics I created for their Easter 2024 worship service.  Great to have this connection with a wonderful congregation!

Hymn for First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown, New York

Hymn for First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown, New York

I am delighted  to announce that I recently completed a hymn for the First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown New York.  The church is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. Here is how the writing of the hymn happened:

I first talked about it with the church's minister, the Rev Robert (Bob) Hagel. Thereafter, I worked in conjunction with Paige Hardison, who is the church's Director of Music, Chancel Choir, and Bells.  Paige consulted with their church organist and I began work on their hymn, set to a familiar tune. When it was ready, I sent it to Paige.  The hymn title being:  “We Know Some Names” which was approved in mid November 2023.

Trinity UCC in East Petersburg PA Marks its 175th Anniversary, Tomorrow, with a Hymn I Wrote for Them

 

Trinity United Church of Christ, in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania (Lancaster County) is celebrating its 175th Anniversary tomorrow in worship.  I have mentioned previously that they commissioned me to write a hymn for their anniversary.  

I grew up in East Petersburg, and while we were not members of this congregation, we have many friends who were and are, and have happy associations with the church.  So I was particularly pleased to be asked to write their hymn.

The church is justly famous for its warm hospitality and well-known for its beautiful stained glass window shown here:

Here is a look at the bulletin for the Anniversary Sunday (tomorrow).  The worship service is streamed on Facebook.  The hymn will be sung for the first time, as the conclusion of worship.

Update:

Here are several photos from the anniversary worship service, showing the church's pastor Chris Rankin and one of the sanctuary windows.  The camera never showed the congregation, otherwise I would include that as well.

New Anthem Written with Glenn Rudolph

As you may recall, I have been creating new hymns and anthems with Pittsburgh sacred music composer Glenn Rudolph for many years.  Looking back, I think the first piece we did together was around 2000, but I will double check to be sure.  Some of these new pieces have been published and are available for church musicians to select and present in their congregations.

Not long ago, Glenn asked me if I would write the text for a new anthem he was writing.  Based on an old and beloved tune, but modified and adapted by Glenn for our present age.  I was glad to give it a go.

Sometimes, working on hymns, it takes a lot of time, trial and error, and fine tuning to get the hymn text into a singable form that I am pleased with.  That is part of the creative process, and something I enjoy doing.  I anticipated this request would go something like that.  But I was happily surprised.  This hymn text practically wrote itself. In a very brief period of time.  Did I feel particularly inspired?  Yes indeed.  And the result not only worked, it was also "as it was meant to be".

At least I thought so.  And then, I sent it to Glenn to see what he thought of it.  His immediate answer back was: "Perfect!"

Isn't it great wen a plan comes together like that?  

So, here's the thing.  Glenn tells me that BEFORE he seeks publication for a new piece, he shares it with friends and colleagues, so they have a first chance preenting it, and also they can give some good feedback on how it was received, both by the choir presenting it and the congregation that received it.  He has done that.  And encouraged me to do the same.  So I sent it out, and have had some encouraging replies from friends who are anticipating presenting it in the near future.  As I learn when they will do so, I will update this post, so you can have a chance to hear it.

The anthem is called "Rejoice! Salvation's Come!" and it begins with the line "Why am I thankful every day?"  the tune is known to those who know the old old hymn "The Gate Ajar for Me" - except Glenn has giving it a new extra verve.  When I heard it, I told him he has a hit on his hands.  At least, that is my conviction.

Stay "tuned" for updates as they come!

As Your Dear Friend Once Welcomed You - A New Hymn

As Shadyside Presbyterian Church's Director of Music Ministry, Mark A. Anderson, and I were planning worship during this Lenten Season, back on February 21, we were not finding a hymn that we were happy with, to conclude worship on Sunday April 7.  The Gospel lectionary reading for that morning was John 12:1-8, when Jesus shared a meal at Bethany with his treasured friends Martha, Lazarus, and Mary.  

I said to Mark, "Why don't we sing a hymn that you have written?"  His reply, "John, the other option for the first Sunday in April for a closing hymn would be for you to write a text and for me to write the tune. That might be too much, with everything else on your plate, but keep it in mind for future Sundays. It would be great fun to see what we could do."  

What a gracious and great idea!  

So, that is what we did.  I wrote the words; Mark wrote the music.  And the congregation sang our brand new hymn on Sunday, April 7th.  It was a joy to work on the hymn with Mark, and a joy to hear the congregation sing it.  Here's to more collaborations!

Go to this link to the Shadyside Presbyterian Church blog to read more and to listen to the hymn:

New Hymn

Please contact me regarding use in worship.