Sunday, May 01, 2005

Psalms, Hymns...II

Another very old hymn opened to Christians by Fernando Ortega (on Hymns of Worship)
is "Give Me Jesus". An African-American song, the lyrics poignantly say, "In the morning when I rise, When I am alone, and When I come to die, give me Jesus--You can have all this world, but give me Jesus."

Possible some of the most beautiful renditions of hymns can be found on John Catchings' Wayfaring Stranger. John is a premier cellist in Nashville and has played for many stars. This is his contribution to worship. One of the selections on his cd is While on the Sea. This is a Ukranian hymn which first came to my notice at Minter Lane when our missionary Stephen Bilak brought it to us from his home country. It has a very Russian sound. The words can be found in the ACU hymnal we all used before Howard and power-point. (Can't think of the name of the hymnal.)

Jack Boyd told me this week that he had done an arrangement of When We Meet in Sweet Communion for John Catchings and Jack's son Allen to play at communion. I would like to hear that. Come to think of it, wouldn't cello music be a wonderful accompaniment to most communions?

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