SUNDAY WORSHIP HYMNS | VIRTUAL HANDBELL CHOIR

This Fifth Sunday of Easter is also Communion Sunday. Our theme for this Sunday is love. We will start our service with Julia Hanna playing a classical piano music “Pastorale from Album Pour Mes Petits Amis” by Pierné. Our first hymn, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” is a famous hymn usually played at weddings. PUMC Virtual Handbell choir will treat us to a beautiful rendition of “Jesus Loves Me.” Our final song will be “I Come With Joy, A Child Of God, Forgiven, Loved, And Free.” We will end our service,  as we started, with another beautiful classical piece, “Rigaudon from 10 Piano Pieces” by Prokofiev. 

VIDEO “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”

“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, Joy Of Heaven, To Earth Come Down” was written in 1774 by Charles Wesley and sung most often to Beecher by John Zundel. This poetic hymn covers themes of God’s love and ours, sanctification or Christian perfection, and is also considered a prayer. Its text is based in part on 1 John 4:16 and 2 Corinthians 3:18. It is a classic Anglican wedding hymn.

Rev. Jenny Smith Walz will preach on the subject “Perfected in Love.” Sunday’s Scripture “1 John 4:7-21” and John 15:1-8 will be read by Hyelim Yoon.  Click here to join us in this worship service as we lift up our hearts to the Lord with joyful songs and music.

Written by Isabella Dougan

SUNDAY’S WORSHIP HYMNS | VIRTUAL CHANCEL CHOIR

On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, we will start our worship service with the hymn “Come, Christians, Join To Sing, Alleluia, Amen!” We will also sing the hymns “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need” and “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” Julia Hanna will play classical music on the piano during the service.

The PUMC Virtual Chancel Choir will treat us to a special performance of E. Rentz’s arrangement of “In the Garden,” reflection of Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Christ. This music has an upbeat rhythm that will make everyone want to get up and dance. So, let’s get up and dance and sing praises to our risen Lord!

            Video “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need”

The hymn “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” written by Isaac Watts, refers to Psalm 23 and Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Watts, in this hymn, evokes the living water that Jesus offered the woman at the well (John 4:7–15.) He assures us that those who find themselves in the wilderness will be led back by truth and grace because our God is a God of mercy. You who believe in his name are God’s children and you will dwell in his house forever, not as guests, but as his beloved children.

We welcome Rev. Dr. Deborah Blanks, an itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, currently appointed to Mt. Pisgah A.M.E. Church in Princeton,  as our guest preacher on Sunday. She will preach on the topic “The Good Shepherd” based on John 10:11-18our Scripture reading for this service.

Click here to join us in this worship service as we lift up our hearts to the Lord with joyful songs and music.

[Video credit: YouTube] [Image Source: Google]

Written by Isabella Dougan

WORSHIP HYMNS | YOUTH SUNDAY

To celebrate Youth Sunday on April 18, we will have special musical performances of hymns we love featuring the Youth Choir. Other performing musicians will include Leanne Griffiths (piano), Gillian and Reanna Bartels Quansah (vocals), Delaney McCarty (flute), and Andre Penn (piano). There will also be classical music from Bach, Faure, and Mendelssohn.

Our hymns include “When The Poor Ones” and “No Hands But Yours,” written by Tom Shelton, PUMC Director of Children’s and Youth Choirs. Shelton has written many hymns and served as guest conductor at many music festivals for children and youth. We will start the service with one of my favorite hymns, “In Christ, There is No East or West.”

William A. Dunkerley wrote the hymn “In Christ, There Is No East Or West” in 1908 under the pseudonym John Oxenham, and is sung to the tune  ST. PETER (Reinagle). While it is appropriate for the Easter Season, some people criticized it for emphasizing masculine qualities.

 VIDEO   “In Christ, There Is No East Or West”

PUMC youth will lead our worship service, including prayers, music, and liturgy, with Ana Francisco-Cabus and Delaney McCarty sharing their youth testimonies. The Scripture is from “Matthew 25:34-40.”

Click here to join us in this worship service as we come before the Lord with joyful songs.

[Videos credit: YouTube] [Photo credit: PUMC Library]

Written by Isabella Dougan

WORSHIP MUSIC | SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

On this Second Sunday of Easter, April 11, Music Director Hyosang Park performs a handbell solo, and Pianist Julia Hanna treats us to beautiful classical music pieces.   Our hymns include “Spirit Of God” and “Open My Eyes, That I May See,” popular hymns for this season. “Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us, a favorite hymn of mine,” fittingly brings this service to its close. 

 The hymn, “Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us,” was first published by its composer Dorothy Ann Thrupp in a collection of songs titled “Hymns For The Young,” and sung to the music “Bradbury” by William B. Bradbury. It is a prayer  based on Psalm 23, with pleas for tender care from lost, needy children. The Shepherd responds with love. We are his lambs, and He, our Shepherd continues to lead us.

Video:  “Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us,”      

In this Easter season, we celebrate new life in Christ, who triumphed over death and is alive again. Come, let us worship in the light of his teachings and his healing mercies, and come before his presence with music and hymns.  Pastor Rebekah Anderson is preaching on “The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith,” as recorded in the Scripture Mark 7:24-30.  

Click here to join us in this worship service and share in songs and music.

[Videos credit: YouTube]  [Photo credit: PUMC Library]

Written by Isabella Dougan

EASTER SUNDAY WORSHIP MUSIC

🎵🎸🎼“Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son; endless is the victory thou  o’er death hast won.” 🎼🎻🎵

On Easter Sunday, we experience the joy of Jesus’ resurrection and celebrate his victory over death. Christ has risen! Christ has risen indeed! Let us come before God’s presence with song and music and praise him for fulfilling the resurrection promise. Our talented musicians sharing in this service are Julia Hanna, the Chancel Choir, the Handbell Choir, William Gardner, Jenni Collins, Lori Pantaleo, Stephen Offer, and Tom Shelton. We are treated to a unique performance featuring a choral response with the “Hallelujah Chorus.” My favorite Easter hymn “Christ The Lord Is Risen Today” opens this Resurrection Sunday service.

Video:   “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”

Charles Wesley wrote most of the stanzas of “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” in 1739. This hymn is considered an anthem for Easter, and it remains a traditional processional hymn on Easter Sunday. It focused on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and became well known for the “Alleluia” sung after each line, added by an unknown author to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

On this Easter Day, God turned a shockingly painful situation into one full of celebration. If you’re suffering or struggling with a problem, talk to God and ask him with confidence to bring good out of your situation. We journeyed to the tomb with Mary Magdalene and discovered the stone rolled away. The empty grave remained to prove our Savior lives. Jesus died for our sins so we might be saved. God loves us, and because he lives, we will live too. 

 

[Video Source: YouTube] [Image Source: Google Images]

Written by Isabella Dougan

 

 

 

 

 

 

WORSHIP MUSIC | FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

🎼🎸🎻🎺🎵”O God of every nation, of every race and land, redeem the whole creation with your almighty hand. Where hate and fear divide us, and bitter threats are hurled, in love and mercy guide us, and heal our strife-torn world.”🎼🎸🎻🎷🎵

On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, we will have a music performance featuring the PUMC Children’s Choir singing “Lenten Love Song” by Helen Kemp.  “God Made from One Blood,” a hymn set to a Welsh folk melody, refers to Acts 17:26, which tells us that from one man [Adam], God made all the families of the whole earth. It also deals with the reality of the modern family. The hymn  “O God Of Every Nation” is an appeal to God who created all races and the whole world, to deliver every nation and heal this strife-torn world. It also pleads for truth, love, and justice for all humanity and a bright future with an end to hate and division.  Joaquín Turina’s classical music including “Berceuse From Niñerias” is a favorite of PUMC.  Thank you Julia Hanna for playing such beautiful music! Our music and hymns always give us hope with renewed faith, especially this Sunday, as we mark one year of virtual worship. We look forward to going back to worship in our beautiful sanctuary.

Video “Sanctuary”

“Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary (Haz de mí, Dios, hoy, un santuario Vivo).” The authors of the text of “Sanctuary” are Randy Scruggs and John Thompson. Born in 1953 in Nashville, Tennessee, Randy Lynn Scruggs is a music producer, songwriter, and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13. He has won a Grammy Award and was twice named “Musician of the Year” at the Country Music Association Awards. He was one of the authors of “Lord of lords, King of kings.” The  hymn “Sanctuary” is asking God to make us “pure in our devotion to his love and holy in our commitment to obey his call.”

                                       [Image: – singing in our PUMC sanctuary]

If you’re looking for inspiration: Come worship with us at PUMC.  If you suffer or grieve, you will find healing here. If you are burdened with sin, you will find forgiveness here. If you are exhausted, you will find rest here. There is a place for you here in our beloved PUMC community, where you will have the love and support of others.

Click here to join us as we share in songs, prayer, music, scripture, and listen to Pastor Skitch’s Sermon.

 [Video Source: YouTube]

Written by Isabella Dougan

WORSHIP MUSIC | FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

🎼🎵♬“Bind us together, Lord, bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind us together, Lord, bind us together, Lord, bind us together in love. .🎼🎵♬

On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, we will have a special music performance featuring our Youth Choir singing “Your Servant I Will Be” by Mark Patterson. Our hymns today bring the message that we need to be united in love as the body of Christ.

The scripture this week comes from Mark 8:31-38 and Colossians 3:1-4.  As we journey with Jesus during Lent and witness his suffering, Jesus predicts his death and explains to us the way of the cross, saying, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” To appear with Christ in Glory, we must set our minds on things above and not on earthly things.   Rev. Jenny Smith Waltz will preach a sermon on the topic:  “Broken From Self.”


VideoBind Us Together” 

Bob Gillman wrote the text and composed the tune to “Bind Us Together” in 1974. This hymn’s theme is that love binds us all together in unity, as reflected in Colossians 3:14 and Ephesians 4:1-6. Gillman started writing songs at the age of 13 when he became a Christian. His interest in music included guitar and banjo playing. He also wrote children’s books, “Tales of Upchurch Station,” being one of them.

Video: “When We Are CalledTo Sing Your Praise”

Mary Nelson Keithahn, a retired UMC ordained pastor, wrote the hymn “When We Are Called To Sing Your Praise” in 2000. Ralph Vaughan set it to the tune KINGSFOLD. In 2016 Keithahn published a chapter book for children entitled “Elfie: Adventures on the Midwest Frontier.”


If you’re looking for inspiration: Come worship with us at PUMC and enjoy our hymns and music. They will give you hope with renewed faith. If you suffer or grieve, you will find healing here. If you are burdened with sin, you will find forgiveness here. If you are exhausted, you will find rest here. Remember, Jesus died for you. There is a place for you here.

Click here to join us as we share in songs, prayer, music, scripture, and listen to Pastor Jenny’s Sermon.

[Images courtesy of Google Images, and PUMC] [Videos Source: YouTube]

Written by Isabella Dougan

WORSHIP MUSIC | THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

🎼🎶“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea.
There’s a kindness in God’s justice, which is more than liberty.”🎼🎶

On this Third Sunday of Lent, which is also Communion Sunday, we will have a special music performance featuring our Chancel Choir singing “Come Find Forgiveness and Love” by Don Besig.

Our hymns today draw on the theme that Jesus, the good shepherd, will always look after his sheep, even bringing back the lost ones. They also remind us of God’s love, justice, and mercy for all. As we reflect on God’s love and pardon for lost sinners in Bible times, we are filled with hope and joy that if we repent when we sin, God can forgive us too. The scripture this week comes from Luke 15:11-32 and tells the story of the Prodigal Son. Intern Hyelim Yoon will preach a sermon on the topic: “Broken Things: Broken From God.”

As we journey with Jesus during Lent and witness his suffering, we learn to manage our fear and anxiety and the difficulties we encounter and trust our Lord and Savior.

Video “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” 

“Sir Henry W. Baker,  editor-in-chief of Hymns Ancient and Modern, wrote the text of “The King Of Love My Shepherd Is” in 1868 based on the Welsh version of  Psalm 23. He draws connection between this well-known psalm and other New Testament images on the theme of the Good Shepherd saying that even though we do not always deserve his kindness, and we sometimes act foolishly, God loves us and his goodness towards us never fails. The hymn reflects on Jesus as a shepherd leading his followers from evil and despair towards salvation.” {Wiki}  Sir Henry  is said to have spoken  stanza three of this hymn as his last words before dying. This hymn is sung to four different tunes including  DOMINUS REGIT ME (Dykes)

Video “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” 

“The author of “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” is Frederick William Faber. He wrote this hymn in 1862 to the tune of WELLESLEY  by Lizzie Tourjee. Tourjee wrote this tune for her school’s graduation ceremony. Influenced by the rituals and traditions of Rome, Faber, an English clergy,  converted from the Anglican Church to Roman Catholicism in the 19th century. The theme of this hymn is based on the premise and paradox that a sovereign ruler, unlike earthly rulers demonstrates welcome, kindness, grace and mercy. All we need to do is have a simple faith that “rest[s] upon God’s word.” Faber wrote many widely known hymns such as “My God, how wonderful thou art,” and “Hark, hark, my soul, angelic songs are swelling.” {Wiki}

Are you sick, struggling with sin, exhausted, anxious about anything? Come worship with us, and you will find healing, forgiveness, rest, and peace here at PUMC. If you feel broken, remember, God loves you regardless of how you feel. Let us, therefore, lift our voices together in song to our God and King.

Click here  to join us as we share in songs, prayer, music, scripture, and listen to Hyelim Yoon’s Sermon.

[Images Source: Google Images] [Videos Source: YouTube]

 

 

Hymns & Music for Fifth Sunday After Epiphany

🎼🎶”Welcome to this place. You’re invited to come and know God’s grace. All are welcome the love of God to share because all of us are welcome here; all are welcome in this place.🎼🎶 

Worship With Us and Experience the Peace of God Here!

This Communion Sunday, our Virtual Handbell Choir will perform “Bind Us Together and Open Our Eyes, Lord,” arranged by Sharon Rogers. We will also sing the hymns “Welcome” and “We Are One in Christ Jesus” in English and Spanish. These songs relate to our scripture passage Colossians 3:8-17 and correspond to Pastor Jenny Smith Walz’s sermon, “Weave Us Together With Trust.” 

Are you sick, struggling with sin, exhausted, anxious about anything? You will find healing, forgiveness, rest, peace here. If you feel broken, remember, God loves you regardless of how you feel. Let us therefore lift up our voices in praise and glory to God.

 Laurie Zelman and Mark A. Miller wrote the Hymn “Welcome.” The music is by Miller.

“Welcome!

Let’s walk together for a while and ask where we begin;

To build a world where love can grow.

And hope can enter in, to be the hands of healing;

And to plant the seed of peace, singing.”

                       Video We Are One In Christ

The author of “We Are One in Christ/ Somos Uno En Cristo” is anonymous. The translators are Alice Parker and Frank Colon.

“We are one in Christ Jesus, all one body, all one spirit, All together.

 We share one God, One mighty Lord,

 one abiding faith, one binding love, 

one single baptism, one Holy Comforter, the Holy Spirit, uniting all.” 

Click here to join us as we share in songs, prayer, music,  scripture, children’s story time, and listen to Pastor Jenny’s sermon. 

(2 Images Source: Google Images)

Written by Isabella Dougan

Hymns & Music for Fourth Sunday After Epiphany

🎼🎶“Help us accept each other as Christ accepted us; teach us as sister, brother, each person to embrace. Be present, Lord, among us and Bring us to believe: we are ourselves accepted and meant to love and live.”🎼🎶

ENJOYING FELLOWSHIP THROUGH WORSHIP

Experience the Peace of God!

During worship, we at PUMC play or sing:

  • Classical music 
  • Sacred music. 
  • New and well-known hymns 
  • Gospel and Folk songs

Our music ministry includes: 

  • Handbell choir
  • Children’s choir
  • Youth choir  
  • Adult choir 

We use our music to spread the Gospel, praise God, give Him thanks, proclaim the truth, encourage and impact one another. When we praise God,  we get rid of worry, concern, and fear. We receive His peace. Thanking God opens the doors of blessings.  We pray that singing and performing will inspire us and help us find faith and hope.

Our hymns today relate to our scripture passages “Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16, 25-32, 5:1.” They also correspond to Pastor Jenny Smith Walz’s sermon, “Weave Us Together In Promise.” Pastor Jenny’s message is about the promise or covenant – the agreed-upon guidelines for our behavior in our community. Let us therefore listen to Pastor Jenny explain how God is inviting us to become a more beloved community. And let us sing together these two hymns among others:

                            Video “Help Us Accept Each Other”

The writer of the hymn “Help Us Accept Each Other” (1994) is Fred Kaan, born in Haarlem, Netherlands, who sought to address peace and justice issues. This hymn addresses reconciliation, forgiveness, and the healing power of laughter. It also asks God to give us grace to accept all people unconditionally. This song, which is also a prayer, reflects on Romans 15:7 and Ephesians 4:15. We, therefore, implore everyone to care for all God’s people as they are. Philippians 2:12-13 admonishes us to use Christ’s love to work out our salvation. We can do this by replacing the hate in the world with unconditional love.

                       Video “Blest Be the Tie That Binds”

British-born Baptist theologian, pastor, and hymn writer, John Fawcett, wrote the hymn “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” in 1782 to the tune DENNIS (Nägeli). It became a favorite hymn for Christians facing separation, affirming that friendship and community are real wealth assets. This song states that love binds the body of Christ together and that we love and suffer together. It refers to the unity and diversity of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 and love in 1 Corinthians 13. Pastor Fawcett was always full of praise for the beauty of the beloved community in the church.

If you want to share in a more beloved community, invite someone to church this Sunday. Click here to watch the PUMC worship service, listen to the beautiful music, the children’s story time, the scripture readings, the sermon, the prayers, and the story sharing.

Images Source: Google Images

Written by Isabella Dougan