By Robin G. Jordan
Sermon. The 1928 Prayer Book places the Nicene Creed
before the Sermon in imitation of the earlier Prayer Books. In medieval times
and earlier, the Sermon was preached after the Gospel, not after the Creed.
More recent Anglican service books have either restored the Sermon to this
position or permit the preaching of the Sermon before the Gospel or after the
Creed. As Massey J. Shepherd Jr. points
out in his discussion of the Creed in the 1928 Order for the Administration of
the Lord’s Supper in The Oxford American
Prayer Book Commentary, Cranmer placed the Creed before the Sermon because
he considered the Creed to be “part of the first, or instructional, half of the
service.” The sequence of Creed and Sermon “forms a logical and complete
service of instruction in itself.” The singing of a hymn between the Creed and
the Sermon disrupts this sequence.
The rubric permitting the singing of a hymn before and after
the sermon was derived from a period when sermons were often preached apart
from the Mass, and sermons within the Mass had become to be regarded as an
addition to the Mass rather than as an integral part of it. This led to the
development of a special preaching service known as the “prone” in which a
sermon, preceded and followed by various devotions, was preached before,
during, or after the Mass. At the Reformation the Continental Reformers made
the prone the principal service on Sunday morning, replacing the Lord’s Prayer,
Ave Maria, and other devotions before
and after the sermon with metrical psalms.
For political reasons Queen Elizabeth I permitted the
singing of a metrical psalm before and after Prayer Book services and before
and after sermons in imitation of the Continental practice. The singing of
metrical psalms had become extremely popular in England. The English people
from all walks of life sung metrical psalms as they went about their daily
occupations. During her reign the Puritans campaigned for a number of changes
in the Book of Common Prayer as they did not consider the Prayer Book to be
sufficiently reformed. Those who wished to further reform the Prayer Book were
not only found in Parliament but also on the Privy Council. Elizabeth made
these concessions to the Puritans while at the same time limiting the preaching
of a sermon to one Sunday a month and requiring the reading of a part of a
homily from the Book of Homilies on all other occasions.
Omitting the so-called sermon hymn is more consistent with
Cranmer’s intentions. The rubric is permissive. It does not require the singing
of a hymn before a sermon. Good practice strongly favors its omission.
It is noteworthy that the indices of Hymns Ancient & Modern New Standard (1983) in listing suitable
hymns for the different parts of the service of Holy Communion do not list any
for before the Sermon. Hymns Ancient
& Modern New Standard (1983) was compiled for use with the 1662 Book of
Common Prayer as well as the then new Alternative
Service Book 1980.
At the Offertory. The
rubrics state that while the Alms and Oblations are received and presented, a
hymn or anthem may be sung. Even if no collection is made, a hymn or an anthem
is appropriate at this particular place in the service when Holy Communion is
the chief Sunday morning service. In Choosing-and
Using—Hymns Lionel Dakers points out that Offertory is the place for
“longer and more spacious hymns.”
In The Ceremonies of
the Eucharist: A Guide to Celebration Howard F. Galley offers this helpful advice.
“During the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, on holy days, it is desirable that the texts of offertory hymns, psalms, and anthems relate directly to the season or the occasion. It is also suitable that they relate to the proper of the day—though this is not always possible or necessary.
Historically, offertory texts used on ‘green’ Sundays have been of a general nature, and this is a tradition worthy of respect. Some hymns included under ‘Holy Eucharist’ are also appropriate for occasional use at the Offertory on these Sundays.”
Galley goes on to note that the singing of a doxology or the
playing of a fanfare at the presentation of the gifts is not recommended. He
points out that the offertory is a “preparatory action,” and not an “event in
itself.” Due to the liturgical clutter that tends to accumulate at this point
in the service, it is not unusual to lose sight of the ancillary nature of the
Offertory.
Among the hymns listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal
DH-100 CP’s Master Index and suitable for use as offertory hymns are:
Be thou my vision SLANE
Blest be the King
whose coming VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN (ST. THEODULPH)
Christ Beside Me
BUNESSAN
The Church's One
Foundation AURELIA
Come, All Christians,
Be Committed BEACH SPRING
Eternal Lord of love,
behold your Church OLD 124TH
Fairest Lord Jesus
CRUSADERS' HYMN (ST. ELIZABETH), SCHONSTER HERR JESU
Fight the Good Fight
DUKE STREET, PENTECOST
For All Your Saints,
O Lord FESTAL SONG
The original first line of this hymn was “For all thy
saints.” It was first published in The
Hymnal Revised and Enlarged (1892) of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
the USA.
For Beauty of Meadows
ST. DENIO
Forgive Our Sins as
We Forgive DETROIT
DETROIT may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a
distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
For The Fruit of All
Creation AR HYD Y NOS, EAST ACKLAM, SANTA BARBARA
For the Fruits of
This Creation EAST ACKLAM
For the Healing of
the Nations WESTMINSTER ABBEY, CWM RHONDDA, REGENT SQUARE (Smart), ST.
THOMAS (Wade)
For Your Gift of God
the Spirit BLAENWERN
Give Thanks, O
Christian People ES FLOG EIN KLEINS WALDVOGEL/WOODBIRD
God, Whose Giving
Knows No Ending NETTLETON, BEACH SPRING, RUSTINGTON
God, Whose Purpose Is
to Kindle HOLY MANNA
HOLY MANNA may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a
distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
How firm a foundation
FOUNDATION
FOUNDATION may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a
distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
How Sweet the Name of
Jesus Sounds ST. PETER (Reinagle), NEW BRITAIN/AMAZING GRACE [ORTONVILLE,
DOVE OF PEACE,]
This hymn is set to the tune TAPESTRY in Songs for Celebration: Church Hymnal Series
IV. It has a beautiful piano accompaniment. Stanzas 4 and 5 may be omitted
and a piano interlude played between stanzas 3 and 6. I have sung “How sweet
the name of Jesus sounds” to this tune as a solo.
I Heard the Voice of
Jesus Say KINGSFOLD
I want to walk as a
child of the light HOUSTON (Thomerson)
Jesu, Jesu, fill us
with your love CHERAPONI
Jesus, Love of My
Soul ABERYSTWYTH, MARTYN, REFUGE
ABERYSTWYTH may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a
distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
Lord, make us
servants of your peace DICKINSON COLLEGE [O WALY WALY/THE WATER IS WIDE]
Lord of the Church,
We Pray for Our Renewing LONDONERRY AIR #109
Lord, You Give the
Great Commission ABBOT'S LEIGH
Many and Great, O God
Are Thy Works LACQUIPARLE
My Shepherd Will
Supply My Need RESIGNATION
RESIGNATION may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a
distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
My Song Is Love
Unknown RHOSYMEDRE
O Jesus I Have
Promised NYLAND, MUNICH,ANGEL’S STORY
Shepherd of souls,
refresh and bless ST. AGNES
Spread, O spread,
thou mighty word GOTT SEI DANK
Take Up Your Cross,
the Savior Said BOURBON, NUN LASST UNS DEN LEIB, QUEBEC, O JESU, MI
DULCISSIME
BOURBON may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a
distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
Tell His Praise in
Song and Story HOLY MANNA
This hymn is based on Psalm 34 and may be used as an introit
hymn and a communion hymn as well as an offertory hymn.
HOLY MANNA may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a
distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
There Is a Balm in
Gilead BALM IN GILEAD
A cantor may sing the verses and the congregation the
refrain
.
.
We praise you with
our minds CLONMEL
When Christ was
lifted from the earth ST. BOTOLPH, HAYES
This list is by no means exhaustive.
It may come as a surprise but the singing of a doxology or
presentation hymn or sentence during the presentation of the Alms and Oblations
is not actually a practice sanctioned by the rubrics of the 1928 Communion
Service. The practice is a hangover from the 1892 Communion Office whose
rubrics did make provision for the singing of a doxology or presentation hymn
or presentation sentence sentence during the presentation of the Alms and
Oblations. The rubrics of the 1892 Communion Office also provided for the
recitation or singing of Offertory Sentences during the ingathering of the Alms
and Oblations. The 1928 revision changed these rubrics, permitting the singing
of a hymn or anthem when the Alms and Oblations are received and presented. It withdrew permission to
sing a doxology or presentation hymn or presentation sentence during the
presentation of the Alms and Oblations.
The Joint Commission on the Revision of the Hymnal would
drop the doxology section from The
Hymnal, 1940. The commission did, however, add a brief Presentation of the Alms
and Oblations section near the very end of the service music. It contains the
first stanza of “All things are thine; no gift have we,” set to GARDINER and a
chant setting for the presentation sentence, “All things come of thee, O God.”
It lists three alternatives to these two songs—“We give thee but thine own,” in
the General Hymns section, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow: in the
Thanksgiving Day section, and “Father we thank thee who hast planted” in the
Holy Communion section.
The addition of this brief section points to the haphazard
way the commission went about putting the hymnal together—an observation that The Companion to The Hymnal, 1940
confirms in a number of places. The section’s addition also shows that a number
of Episcopal parishes were not paying attention to the rubrics of the 1928
Prayer Book. With its addition the commission gives tacit recognition to the
continuance of a practice that the rubrics of the 1928 Prayer Book no longer
countenanced.
The brevity of the section, its placement near the end of
the service music, and the omission of a doxology section, however, suggests
that the commission did not entirely support the practice. The listing of “Praise God from whom all
blessings flow” second to last in the list of three alternatives to “All things
are thine; no gift have we” and “All things come of thee, O God” and its
listing as an alternative to the Gloria
in excelsis in the Liturgical Indices of the 1940 hymnal shows that the
commission did not envision the use of the doxology in the inflexible manner
that it is used in a number of churches. The commission did not imagine that it
would become the fixture at the Offertory that it has become in these churches.
The commission envisioned a much more flexible use of the doxology.
The evidence suggests that the particular use to which these
churches put the doxology in celebrations of Holy Communion is regional. On the
West Coast the doxology is sung in place of the Gloria in excelsis in a number of churches.
Based upon what Lionel Dakers wrote in Choosing-and Using—Hymns, the practice of singing a doxology at the
presentations of the Alms and Oblations was virtually unknown in the Church of
England in the 1980s. It was an American practice. Doxologies were printed in English
hymnals for use at the end of services and parts of services.
The Offertory Sentences in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer do
not include any presentation sentences. As Percy Dearmer points out in The Parson’s Handbook, the use of any
special prayer before or during the presenting and placing of the basin on the
Holy Table “robs the Liturgy of its meaning…when a suitable prayer is appointed
to be said publically at the appointed time.” He is referring to the Prayer for
Whole State of Christ’s Church which includes the petition, “We humbly beseech
thee most mercifully to accept our alms and oblations….”
In An American Prayer
Book: Its Origin and Principles Edward Lambe Parsons and Bayard Hale Jones
make a similar point.
“The intercalation in the Intercession is reduced to ‘accept our [alms and] oblations.’ This makes it clear that the elements themselves are oblations, and constitutes the Intercession as a corporate offertory prayer.”
An additional offertory prayer is
superfluous.
The rubrics of the 1928 Communion Service do not require the
singing of a doxology, presentation hymn, or presentation sentence during the
presentations of the Alms and Oblations. Even the 1892 rubrics were permissive.
As has been already noted, the 1928 rubrics permit the singing of a hymn or
anthem when the Alms and Oblations are received and presented. The rubrics do
not envision any more than one song at this particular juncture in the service.
The singing of a doxology, presentation hymn, or
presentation sentence during the presentations of the Alms and Oblations is
purely a local custom. It is one of those customs that should be carefully
evaluated for its usefulness. It should not be followed simply on the basis of
“we have always done it that way.”
If after careful evaluation of the practice it is decided to
retain it for pastoral reasons, consideration should be given to the use of
“All things are thine; no gift have we” or “We give thee but thine own” as the
presentation hymn. This would free the Thomas Ken doxology, “Praise God from
whom all blessings flow” for use elsewhere in the service such as in place of
the Gloria in excelsis.
As noted below, two of the hymn stanzas suggested for use as
substitutes for the Gloria in excelsis
in the hymn list after the last setting of the Gloria in excelsis in the first service music section of The Hymnal, 1940 are doxologies at the
end of a hymn. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” and “From all that
dwells below the skies” whose third stanza is “Praise God from whom all
blessings flow” are suggested as substitutes for the Gloria in excelsis in the second Liturgical Index of The Hymnal, 1940.
Limiting the use of the Thomas Ken doxology to the
presentation of the Alms and Oblations at the Offertory is not good stewardship
of the use of that particular hymn stanza or of the hymn tune to which it is
invariably sung.
The first stanza “All things are thine; no gift have we” is
printed in Presentation of the Alms and Oblations section of The Hymnal, 1940. The complete hymn is
printed in the Consecration of a Church section of the same hymnal. GARDINER,
also known as GERMANY, is in the digital hymnal’s Master Index. The tune is
Long Meter (8.8.8.8.). The tempo of GARDINER is fairly slow. A hymn tune with a
faster tempo would be a better choice for a presentation hymn.
ERHALT UNS, HERR has the right tempo and is listed in the Gulbransen
Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index. Another possibility is CANONBURY,
which is also in the Master Index.
Only the first stanza of Bishop William Walsham Howe’s hymn,
“We give thee but thine own,” is printed in the General Hymns section of The Hymnal, 1940. A longer version of the hymn is in Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (2013).
1 We give thee but thine own,
whate'er the gift may be;
all that we have is thine alone,
a trust, O Lord, from thee.
whate'er the gift may be;
all that we have is thine alone,
a trust, O Lord, from thee.
2 May we thy bounties thus
as stewards true receive,
and gladly, as thou blessest us,
to thee our firstfruits give.
as stewards true receive,
and gladly, as thou blessest us,
to thee our firstfruits give.
3 The captive to release,
to God the lost to bring,
to teach the way of life and peace:
it is a Christ-like thing.
to God the lost to bring,
to teach the way of life and peace:
it is a Christ-like thing.
4 And we believe thy word,
though dim our faith may be;
whate'er we do for thine, O Lord,
we do it unto thee.
though dim our faith may be;
whate'er we do for thine, O Lord,
we do it unto thee.
This version is the version printed in a number of the
hymnals listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Manual. It is
suitable for use as an offertory hymn. The six stanzas of the original hymn are
found in the Oremus Hymnal. This is
the version that was printed in the 1889 hymnal.
“We give thee but thine own” is printed in 285 hymnals. The
hymn is written in Short Meter. The most common tune to which it is sung is
SCHUMANN, which is is in the digital hymnal’s Master Index. It is not a
difficult tune to sing. ST. ANDREW (Barnby) is another common setting for the
hymn. ST. ANDREW (Barnby) is also in the Master Index.
Other possibilities are ST. MICHAEL/OLD 134TH*, TRENTHAM—a little too slow, ST. THOMAS (Williams), CARISLE
(Lockhart), FRANCONIA (Konig)*, and FESTAL SONG*which are also in the Master
Index.
If the Thomas Ken doxology is used at the presentations of
the Alms and Oblations, consideration should be given to varying the tune of
the doxology. One of the dangers of this practice is that the singing of the
doxology can become perfunctory and even lackluster when the same tune is
always used. Varying the tune should be given consideration wherever the Thomas
Ken doxology is used in a service.
The Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index
contains a number of tunes that can be sung with the Thomas Ken doxology. LASST
UNS ERFREUEN (VIGILES ET SANCTI) is the perfect tune for Easter through Whitsunday,
permitting the congregation to adorn the doxology with alleluias.
Jimmie Owen’s FAIRFIELD, also known as DOXOLOGY, is a
delightful tune that I first learned in the early1980s here in western Kentucky
at St. Peter’s of the Lakes, then a relatively young church, having been
launched in 1980, one of the last of the new Episcopal churches planted in the
region and the diocese. One attractive way to sing the doxology to this tune in
parts is to singing the doxology three times, each time adding parts. The first
time the doxology is sung, the sopranos begin and the altos are added at
midpoint; the second time, the tenors begin and the basses are added at
midpoint; the third time, all sing.
The doxology may be sung as a round, using THE EIGHT TUNE,
also known as TALLIS’ CANON. THE EIGHT TUNE is the tune for metrical setting of
Psalm 67 in Archbishop Parker’s Psalter. It is one of nine tunes that Thomas
Tallis contributed to the Psalter. THE EIGHTH TUNE may be sung as a round or a
canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
If the Thomas Ken doxology cannot be sung, it should be
omitted. It should never—and I emphasize NEVER—be
recited! This also holds true for “All things are thine; no gift have we,” “We
give thee but thine own,” and “Father, thou has planted.” These texts are
printed in The Hymnal, 1940 to be
sung. If a presentation sentence is needed, the 1928 Prayer Book provides
two—“Thine, O Lord, is the greatness…” (1 Chronicles 29:11) and “All things
come of thee, O Lord…” (1 Chronicles 29:14). They are printed at the end of the
Offertory Sentences.
The 1928 rubrics do not require the use of a presentation
sentence. The use of one of these two presentation sentences is left to the
discretion of the priest.
A doxology or a presentation hymn and a presentation
sentence should not be used together. This kind of redundancy is not edifying
and borders on the “vain repetitions” of Matthew 6:7. If a doxology or
presentation hymn is sung, the presentation sentence should be omitted and visa
versa.
An offertory hymn or anthem in which the Thomas Ken doxology
or another doxology form the last stanza of the song, however, may be sung
while the Alms and Oblations are received and brought forward to the priest and
the priest may say one of the two presentation sentences when he humbly present
and place the basin containing the alms for the poor and the other offerings of
the people upon the Holy Table. This practice involves separate liturgical
actions and is consistent with the rubrics. It does not entail the needless
duplication which occurs when the congregation sings a doxology or presentation
hymn and the priest says a presentation sentence as he presents and places the
basin on the table.
The Offertory is one of those places in the communion
service that attracts liturgical clutter. Doxologies, presentation hymns,
presentation sentences, offertory prayers, and trumpet fanfares are extraneous.
They give the Offertory a Pelagian cast. All that is required is that the priest
should receive the basin directly from whoever brought it to the chancel steps
and that he should without elaborate ceremonial or exaggerated gesture present
and place the basin on the Holy Table. This may be done in silence as was the
ancient practice of the Church. Both Habakkuk 2:20 and Zephaniah 1:7 emphasize
the appropriateness of silence when we draw near to God. “But the LORD is in
his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” Habakkuk 2:20. “Hold
thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand:
for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests” Zephaniah 1:7.
The priest should not wave the basin before the Holy Table as if it was an Old
Testament wave offering.
The Offertory is a good place to apply the liturgical
principle that less is more and to keep the music and the ceremonial fairly
simple. While the priest is preparing the bread and wine and the designated
person or persons are taking the collection, a hymn can be sung or instrumental
music played. During the final stanza of the hymn or toward the end of the
instrumental music the appointed person brings the collection forward to the
chancel steps where the priest is waiting. At the conclusion of the hymn or
instrumental music, the priest takes the basin from that person and presents
and places it on the Holy Table. The priest may say a presentation sentence
from the Prayer Book when he does that or he may do it in silence. In light of the
observations of Dearmer, Parson and Jones the latter would be the preferred
practice. The priest then offers up the bread and wine as directed by the
rubrics.
On occasion a hymn with a doxological ending might be used
as the offertory hymn; on occasion the four stanza version of “We give thee but
thine own” might be sung. A good practice is to vary the music at the Offertory from week to week—a
hymn one week; instrumental music, the next; a small group vocal or a solo, the
following week, and so on. In this way no hymn tune would be used too much like
OLD HUNDRETH has been overused.
Timothy Dudley Smith’s hymn, “The God of grace is ours,”
deserves mention at this point. It is based on 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 and is
particularly suitable for use at the Offertory. It may be sung to CARLISLE, ST.
BRIDE, or FESTAL SONG. It is a hymn of praise and is doxological from beginning
to end. It also contains the text of the first presentation sentence printed
with the Offertory Sentences in the 1928 Prayer Book. Singing a doxology or
presentation hymn or saying a presentation sentence would be decidedly
redundant when this hymn is used. ST. BRIDE may be sung as a round or a canon,
normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
“For the life that you have given” also deserves mention.
Carl P. Daw Jr. wrote the text as an offertory response for the Fourth
Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
For the life that you have given,
for the love in Christ made known,
with these fruits of time and labor,
with these gifts that are your own:
here we offer, Lord, our praises;
heart and mind and strength we bring;
give us grace to love and serve you,
living what we pray and sing.
for the love in Christ made known,
with these fruits of time and labor,
with these gifts that are your own:
here we offer, Lord, our praises;
heart and mind and strength we bring;
give us grace to love and serve you,
living what we pray and sing.
It is listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master
Index with the 87.87.D tune PLEADING SAVIOR.
If the congregation felt a compelling need for a
presentation hymn, “For the life that you have given” would be a good choice.
As in the case of “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” the tune should be
varied so that no tune was overused. If this offertory response is used at the
presentation of the Alms and Oblations, saying a presentation sentence is redundant.
No comments:
Post a Comment