Hymn Notes
Weekly Hymn Notes
Learn about the origin of hymns, lyrics, and melodies, and other music that will be used during Sunday worship service. Contact Don De Bruin, Director of Music Ministries for more information at 608.233.9751.
Hymn Notes for April 22, 2018
From The New Century Hymnal Companion, Copyright 1998, The Pilgrim Press.
#323 Little Children, Welcome
Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000) wrote this baptism text in 1973. The opening words can be adapted to “Little sister” or “Little brother,” for example, as the specific occasion warrants. The hymn might be sung in two parts – as the family comes forward and as they leave the baptismal area.
Fred Pratt Green was born in a suburb of Liverpool, England, and educated in English schools. He was ordained to the Wesleyan Methodist ministry in 1928 and served various congregations throughout England in his twenty-two year career as a parish pastor. He retired in 1969.
Roy Hopp (b. 1951) wrote this simple tune on April 21, 1988, so the even the youngest of singers could participate. It was composed for Fred Pratt Green’s text and named SAIPAN in honor of Hopp’s nephew, who had recently been born on that island near Guam and west of the Philippines.
Roy Hopp, a member of the Christian Reformed Church, serves that denomination through the work of the Board of Publications. Hopp is also director of music at Woodlawn Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
#248 Such Perfect Love My Shepherd Shows
Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877) paraphrased Psalm 23 for this text and, in the spirit of Watts, included several New Testament references. It appeared in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern (1868), the landmark English hymnal for which Baker chaired the committee.
Henry W. Baker, born in London, England, received his education at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was ordained a priest of the Church of England in 1844. Baker spent twenty years working on Hymns Ancient and Modern, which became the unofficial hymnal of the Anglican Church.
John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876) composed this melody in 1868 for Baker's text. The tune name, DOMINUS REGIT ME, is the Latin version of the opening phrase of Psalm 23, on which the hymn is based.
John B. Dykes was recognized as one of the great church musicians of the Victorian era, and in 1861 he received a doctorate in music from the University of Durham, England. Dykes composed only in his spare time when not occupied by his duties as precentor at Durham Cathedral.
#576 For the Healing of the Nations
Frederik Herman Kaan (b. 1929) wrote this text in 1965 for a Human Rights Day service at Pilgrim Church, Plymouth, England, where he was serving as pastor. His most widely sung hymn, it was also used at the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations.
Henry Purcell is believed to have been born in London, England, in 1659. He died at Dean’s Yard, Westminster, London, on November 21, 1695. Purcell had been organist at Westminster Abbey since 1679 and gained a reputation as one of England’s greatest composers.
Hymns by Title
Hymns by Date
| Service Date | |
|---|---|
| April 22, 2018 | |
| April 15, 2018 | |
| April 8, 2018 | |
| April 1, 2018 | |
| March 29, 2018 | |
| March 25, 2018 | |
| March 18, 2018 | |
| March 11, 2018 | |
| March 4, 2018 | |
| February 28, 2018 | |
| February 25, 2018 | |
| February 21, 2018 | |
| February 18, 2018 | |
| February 14, 2018 | |
| February 11, 2018 | |
| February 4, 2018 | |
| January 28, 2018 | |
| January 21, 2018 | |
| January 14, 2018 | |
| January 7, 2018 | |
| December 31, 2017 | |
| December 24, 2017 | |
| December 24, 2017 | |
| December 17, 2017 | |
| December 10, 2017 | |
| December 3, 2017 | Hymn #335: Come, Gather in This Special Place |
| December 3, 2017 | |
| November 26, 2017 | |
| November 19, 2017 | |
| November 12, 2017 | |
| November 5, 2017 | |
| October 29, 2017 | |
| October 22, 2017 | |
| October 15, 2017 | |
| October 8, 2017 | |
| October 1, 2017 | |
| September 24, 2017 | |
| September 17, 2017 | |
| September 10, 2017 | |
| September 3, 2017 | |
| August 27, 2017 | |
| August 20, 2017 | |
| August 13, 2017 | |
| August 6, 2017 | |
| July 23, 2017 | |
| July 16, 2017 | |
| July 9, 2017 | |
| July 2, 2017 | |
| June 25, 2017 | |
| June 18, 2017 | Hymn #569: Touch the Earth Lightly |
| June 11, 2017 | |
| June 4, 2017 |
