Singing Together
Ben Keseley
A week that will change us

We have all been given a special and profound gift in our Holy Week & Easter liturgies and its music. It is a gift that will change us. It is a gift that will help us to know God’s love more fully and spread that love throughout the world. I hope you and your loved ones will take advantage of this gift – all of it – so that we might give thanks to our God and allow ourselves to truly experience the profound love that is made present in our time of worship together during this incredible, beautiful, and most holy week.

A week that will change us
Our Sacred Music
Ben Keseley
The Cross as a Musical Figure

Music of the Baroque (roughly 1600-1750) is known for its use of rhetorical musical figures, figures used to express the mood (affect) or text of a piece. These are used to bring the listener into deeper understanding and conversation with the music.

Singing Together
Ben Keseley
There's a wideness in God's mercy
Singing Together
Ben Keseley
Plainchant: the Sanctus and Agnus Dei

In this Lent, we seek to reconnect with God and deepen our faith through self-examination and intentional reading of scripture and prayer. At Saint George’s, our music of Lent also allows us to reconnect with the ancient music of the church through plainsong, or plainchant.

Plainchant: the Sanctus and Agnus Dei
Singing Together
Ben Keseley
The Kyrie

During penitential times, such as the season of Lent, we often pray the Kyrie in place of a hymn of praise (Gloria). The Kyrie is a prayer not just for ourselves, but for the church and the whole world. It is more than just a plea for God’s mercy, it is a call for God’s favor and an expression of praise to a merciful God who loves and cares for all things.

The Kyrie

A New Hymn for Saint Georges - Part III

Frank Boles, composer

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The tune for Susan Palo Cherwien's exquisite text, All-embracing God,was written by Frank Boles, former Director of Music at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Indianapolis.  Over his 37 year tenure at St. Paul's, Frank not only cultivated one of the top music ministries in the country, but crafted many beautiful compositions for choir, congregation, and festival occasions,  He is a well-respected composer in the American Anglican music tradition, and one that has a gift for facilitating through music that holy dialogue which allows all to respond in worship to their creator.

The tune of our new hymn is most wonderful. I love many things about our new tune, which we have aptly named VIRGINIA SQUARE, to celebrate the place that is the center of our ministry, the home where we are renewed and nurtured for God's service in this world.

I love:
- That this tune can be sung in different settings to capture different elements and interpretations of the text.
- That it works to sing it quietly and reverently in a prayerful manner.  
- That it can also be sung in a celebratory and festive manner that truly celebrates the amazing, All-embracing love of God and the work we do for justice and peace.
- That the festival version is incredible - wait for its debut Jan. 22.  
     (and that it will make a certain organist practice his B-flat major scale!)
- That the first two phrases of the melody ascends and draws our eyes upward to the glories of the heavens, and outward in praise of God.
- That the melody moves downward (inward) when we sing "signed and marked and sealed" as if we are bowing our heads in prayer as we make the sign of the cross upon our selves.
- that in fact, the phrases of the tune generally ascend when talking about God images, and descend when the text is about those things in this world.
     (A subtle form of text painting!)
- That this tune has beautifully shaped phrases that allow all of us to sing well with good breath, as evidenced by its first use this past Sunday.
- That it has a descant written especially for our choristers in mind.  
     (Let the who-can-sing-the-high-notes-the-most-artistically competition begin)
- That there is now a hymn tune named VIRGINIA SQUARE!
- That this tune is memorable, and sticks in my ears all week long, helping me to again and again pray and recall this wonderful text that reminds me of God's love for all, and a guide for my actions in this world.

Soli Deo Gloria!
Ben Keseley, Minister of Music

 

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A new hymn for Saint George's - Part II

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Susan Palo Cherwien, Poet  

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For a wonderful article on Susan and her creative process and bio, please view this article: 
Master of the artfully-turned phrase, Susan Cherwien, Poet.  Michael L. Sherer. Metro Lutheran.

I love this text!

I love SO many things about this text.  

I love:
- that it was created for our parish, based on our ministries and life together
- that it was created for the world-wide church and its ministry to all people.
- that it is based on so many wonderful and beautiful images.
- the idea that our church (nave) be as beautiful as that within us
- that it juxtaposes this idea of the church as God's house, but also our hearts.
- the word - All-embracing - yes - this is what we are called to be and do!
- that it celebrates what we strive to do in this place
- that it challenges us - "prodding us to evolve" & "May we in fair lives God's grace proclaim"
- that it motivates us to action in many ways- to serve as Jesus did
- that it continually reminds us that we are "signed and marked and sealed" in the waters of  baptism, claimed as Christ's own.
- that it is a prayer - of praise - of thanksgiving - of hope - of action
- that it reminds us we are created in the image of God.
- that it is Trinitarian - God, Christ, Fire (spirit)
- the last phrase of stanza 5 - "in the now that does not pass away" - referring to God's time, not ours, and that God has, is and always will be with us, loving, serving, and prodding us.
- that it reminds me why I'm a follower of Christ, and why I'm thankful to be a part of this community.

This Sunday we sing our new hymn for the first time together.  I hope for you it is a most meaningful experience, and that these words become words on your heart and inspire you to love and serve God.

Dr. Ben Keseley
Minister of Music

*** (11/23/2016) - We have learned this hymn will be published in a collection of new hymns due out in 2017 by Augsburg Fortress.  We couldn't be happier that this hymn will no be more easily accessible to the greater church.

All-embracing God,
Builder of all worlds,
In your house your people rise to praise;
By your Holy Name
Signed and marked and sealed,
May our hearts become your dwelling place.
 
All-embracing Christ,
Servant of all worlds,
Humbly seeking out the last and least,
By your Holy Love
Signed and marked and sealed,
May we strive for justice and for peace.
 
All-embracing Fire,
Spirit of all worlds,
Prodding all God's people to evolve,
By your Holy Gifts
Signed and marked and sealed,
May we seek and serve all that you love.
 
All-embracing Church,
Gathered from all worlds,
Temple of the Fire, the Love, the Name,
By the font and meal
Signed and marked and sealed,
May we in fair lives God's grace proclaim.
 
All-embracing God,
Trinity of Love,
Dwell within us now, do not delay;
Make your church alive
With your very Life
In the Now that does not pass away.
 
Susan Palo Cherwien
March 3, 2016
5.5.9.5.5.9. trochaic
Copyright©2016 Susan Palo Cherwien
Commissioned by St. George's Episcopal Church, Arlington, Virginia
for the rededication of the church sanctuary 2016

Sources/Imagery for the creation of
All-Embracing God

•2 Corinthians 5

•Ezra 3

•The Baptismal Covenant in the Book of Common Prayer

•The 5th century prayer of Balai, Chorepiscopose of Aleppo: 
May the temples built within ourselves be as beautiful as the temple built of stone.  May your kindness impel you to live in both kinds of temple, for our hearts, no less than these stones, bear the mark of your Name.

•The word katholikos meaning "all-embracing"

•Augustine's unc stans  "the Now that does not pass away"

Read Part 3 - Tune

Read Part 1

A new hymn for Saint Georges

In the summer of 2015 a generous gift was given to Saint George’s by a parishioner to commission a new hymn text and tune to celebrate the rededication of our Nave and the ministry of the people in this place.
 
Through several conversations with the donor and our Rector, the Reverend Shearon Williams, we determined it would be appropriate to commission a text based on the Baptismal Covenant found in our Book of Common Prayer.  After making a list of several excellent hymn writers and studying their work, we commissioned Minneapolis-based poet Susan Cherwien to write a text for Saint George’s.  Likewise, we selected a composer to write a new hymn tune for Susan’s text.  Frank Boles, former Minister of Music at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Indianpolis was selected to write a tune to our new text as well as a festival arrangement for use at our rededication and other festive times.
 
The following, All Embracing God, with its tune, Virginia Square, were written for you, the people of Saint George's.  This Sunday you will hear the choir sing our new hymn during Communion, and the following Sunday you will get to sing it for the first time.  In commissioning a new hymn, we wanted a text and tune that would become part of us and be something that we used regularly, throughout the life of this congregation.  We also wanted to commission something by an excellent poet/hymnwriter and composer.  We hope this new hymn will not be just a gift to this community at St. George’s, but one to the greater church.
 
Over the next few weeks you will hear about poet Susan Cherwien and her creation of this hymn text, as well as from Frank Boles about the writing of this hymn tune and festival arrangement.
 
Our hope and prayer for St. George’s is that this hymn becomes a symbol of who we are and what we do.  That in 20 – 50 - 100 years we -  and many others -  still sing it to boldly proclaim God's all-embracing love. 

All-Embracing God


All-embracing God,
Builder of all worlds,
In your house your people rise to praise;
By your Holy Name
Signed and marked and sealed,
May our hearts become your dwelling place.
 
All-embracing Christ,
Servant of all worlds,
Humbly seeking out the last and least,
By your Holy Love
Signed and marked and sealed,
May we strive for justice and for peace.
 
All-embracing Fire,
Spirit of all worlds,
Prodding all God's people to evolve,
By your Holy Gifts
Signed and marked and sealed,
May we seek and serve all that you love.
 
All-embracing Church,
Gathered from all worlds,
Temple of the Fire, the Love, the Name,
By the font and meal
Signed and marked and sealed,
May we in fair lives God's grace proclaim.
 
All-embracing God,
Trinity of Love,
Dwell within us now, do not delay;
Make your church alive
With your very Life
In the Now that does not pass away.
 
Susan Palo Cherwien
March 3, 2016
5.5.9.5.5.9. trochaic
Copyright©2016 Susan Palo Cherwien
Commissioned by St. George's Episcopal Church, Arlington, Virginia
for the rededication of the church sanctuary 2016

READ PART 2 (Text)

READ PART 3 (Tune)

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What is the purpose of a Choir?

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I ran across this little excerpt from a sermon that was preached by Rev. John Andrew, Rector Emeritus at St. Thomas Church in New York at the beginning of August.  I think it speaks precisely to the heart of why we do what we do, and why our singing, rehearsing and leading worship together in community is an important, holy, and powerful responsibility not to be taken lightly.  I’m so thankful to be a part of this with you all who make music together at St. George's.