My song is Love unknown- my Savior’s Love for me. Love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be. Oh who am I, that for my sake my Lord should take frail flesh and die?
Lyrics by Samuel Crossman c. 1624-83
I grew up with the 1941 Lutheran Hymnal we called “the Red Hymnal” (it also came in blue). As someone who loved to sing, I never grew tired of the hymns on those pages. My friends and I would sit together in church and sing loudly , and harmonize, and worship. It wasn’t long before I knew exactly what pages all of my favorite hymns were on! Open now Thy Gates of beauty- hymn #1- On What Has now been Sown hymn # 46 were just some of them.
During those same years of childhood I was introduced to a ‘new’ kind of music as well. We sang it accompanied by acoustic guitars during Sunday school, and vacation Bible School, and Church Camp. I loved it, not more or less then the hymns in our worn out hymnals, just loved it. The intimacy of just voices and guitar, and the more personal and vertical (directed from us to God) lyrics allowed a feeling of being, close to God, in a more personal relationship. Songs like; Sing Hallelujah to the Lord, For Those Tears I Died, Father I Adore You.
Today I have the blessing of being able to worship on an every week basis, at a service using solely hymns and traditional styles of liturgy, a service that is more ‘laid-back’ with a blended contemporary style with songs and more modern styles of liturgy, and a service that embraces the use of the old and new, freely moving from ancient liturgy and hymns to Taize, and modern songs of worship.
Each style of worship moves me in the same way. I leave church knowing that God loves me. My favorite part of worship? hearing about that love, proclaiming what I know about that love, and responding to that love in song. I love hearing the voices sing together as one, knowing our many different backgrounds and stories, but still singing… still singing together. A hymn, a Psalm, a spiritual song- it doesn’t matter as long as it proclaims the truth, and is sung and played in an authentic, honest, and passionate way.
Thank you to the volunteer musicians at Immanuel and Sanctuary for helping to proclaim God’s truth in song every week!
PS- share your favorite church songs and/or hymns from when your were growing up! I would love to hear about them!
