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This Sunday afternoon Valerie and I are going to a lecture with music, presented by a wonderful former professor of music from Wesley Seminary, Dr. Eileen Guenther. The workshop is called "Spirituals of Lent: From Triumphal Entry to the Resurrection." I'm excited about learning more from Dr. Guenther. I was fortunate to attend her class on spirituals at Wesley.
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Sometimes we can understand more about a hymn or a song when we know who wrote it and why. Most of us know the story behind the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul," because it is so meaningful. In the midst of horrible family tragedy, Horatio Spafford wrote the beautiful words that reassure us that whatever happens, we can be at peace because of God's love.
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Many know that "Amazing Grace" was written by John Newton, an Anglican Priest. What you might not know is that he was a former slave trader. The hymn wasn't very popular in England, but it took off here in the U.S. during the revivals of the 1800s. Interestingly, the song was popular with those who were enslaved, for it spoke of their desire for freedom, and the hope that someday they would be with God and no longer experience the oppression they experienced during their lives.
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When I was in Dr. Guenther's class, my end of term paper was about the origins of the song "We Shall Overcome." It is a fascinating story of how the song harkens from the labor movement as well as maybe, just maybe, being related to an old Catholic hymn dedicated to the Virgin Mary (really!).
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Sometimes the words to hymns make us uneasy. I often have to clarify to folks that even though I am ordained Baptist and come from the Baptist tradition, I am uncomfortable with and don't sing the old "blood" songs. Our hymnal, The New Century Hymnal, published by the UCC, was compiled and edited to use inclusive language, eliminate militaristic images, and be mindful of the use of terms like "dark" or "darkness" to indicate evil. It also eliminated "archaic" language like "thee" and "thine." For some, singing "How Great You Are" rather than "How Great Thou Art" might be difficult. But for others, it brings the words up to date.
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Of course, it is not just the history of the songs, or the lyrics, but how the music is written. It was eye-opening to me when Dr. Guenther explained that the music to the Easter hymn, "Christ Arose" is written so that when it talks of Jesus in the grave the notes are on a lower scale - and when the words say "Up from the grave he arose!" the notes go progressively higher (I hope I described that correctly!).
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There is much to be learned from our hymns. I've preached a series on hymns before, perhaps we'll do that this year! What do you think?
Blessings,
Pastor Jill, she/her
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