Cathedral vs. family Anglican worship

At most U.S. Anglican churches, today was the observance of All Saints Day. Upon reflection, it seems as though the two obvious hymns — “For all the saints” and “I sing a song of the saints of God” — represent conflicting worship goals.

I didn’t realize it when I woke up this morning, but this was also the conclusion of a 1994 article on “Episcopalians Celebrate All Saints” by Ruth Myers:

Distinct in style and content, these hymns express different theological aspects of the feast of All Saints. “For all the saints” celebrates the great communion of saints by acknowledging their earthly struggles and rejoicing in their eschatological triumph. In contrast, “I sing a song of the saints of God” was written for children “to impress the fact that sainthood is a living possibility today.”

However, I was focusing on a slightly different dichotomy: between high-church (cathedral-style) worship and reaching out to children.

Cathedral Hymnody

Although part of the American Hymnal 1892, what we know today as “For all the saints” is the version from The English Hymnal (1906), with a new tune by (TEH music editor) Ralph Vaughan Williams and eight of the 11 verses by Bishop How.

It has a bit of an ecumenical flavor. The (Missouri Synod) Lutheran talk show Issues Etc. last week ran a 54-minute interview with a Lutheran seminary professor, talking about the history of the hymn. It’s featured in the Presbyterian and Baptist hymnals, and last week my daughter sang it during the official freshman chapel at her Baptist university. In my (recently acquired) 1975 U.S. Catholic Hymnal, Worship II, it’s listed as Hymn #80 (although alas without four-part harmony on the middle verses).

As the clergy processed in this morning, I could tell who the cradle Anglicans (or Episcopalians) and long-time parishioners were, as they belted it out with great enthusiasm. Apparently I’m not the only one who looks forward to this day every year — for the words, for the music, and for the memories it evokes of my days as a choirboy at San Diego’s proto-cathedral. This is a hymn that cries out for the majesty of dozens (if not hundreds) of voices, a strong choir and a blaring organ.

Still, it’s not for everyone. After church, I went up to one of our newer parishioners, who (as it turns out) has a Pentecostal background but has been seeking a deeper liturgical experience. I asked him how he liked the hymn, and he said it was unfamiliar.

At the same time, except for the syncopated entry, it seems like a pretty straightforward hymn to sing. Yes, I’m not the most objective judge, having sung it in church 25+ times in my life. But objectively, it’s certainly a lot easier than Vaughan Williams’ second most famous hymn, the Easter/Ascension/Pentecost favorite “Hall thee, festival day?”

Children’s Hymnody

The other All Saints’ hymn seems at the other extreme: “I sing a song of the saints of God”. The text was published as a children’s hymn in the 1920s, while the version we sing was introduced to the world by Hymnal 1940 (#243) with a new tune written expressly for this purpose. It appears in Hymnal 1982 and some Presbyterian and Methodist hymnals. However — despite the British text (“at tea”) — the combined hymn has not crossed the pond to any Church of England hymnal. According to Hymnary.org, appears in only 22 hymnals (vs. 473 for the more famous Vaughan Williams cathedral hymn.)

Both my wife and I remember it vividly from our childhood in the proto-cathedral. Our sermon today called it out today as well, as the clergyman had similar memories. Afterwards, we told him it was one of three we scheduled for our daughter’s baptism. (In fact, she heard it today by the children’s choir at her parish, but at our church the children’s choir was on hiatus and so it wasn’t scheduled). Similar recollections were voiced at a Virginia Theological Seminary blog.

Children’s vs. Cathedral Music

While these two styles are very divergent, I see them as more orthogonal than contradictory. Many of us learned “For all the saints” as children, and have loved it ever since (as my teenager daughter does). At the same time, there are many of us in the second half of life who eagerly await hearing the Lesbia Scott every November.

So the former hymn provides an opportunity to model enthusiastic festal worship for parishioners young and old, while the latter reminds us the importance of teaching the faithful the meaning of these feast days.

References

Meyers, Ruth A. (1994). "Episcopalians Celebrate All Saints." In Journal of the Liturgical Conference, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 9-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0458063X.1994.10392275

Jesus loves me … The Bible tells me so!

This morning a friend shared a newsletter mailing from Larry Warner, a professional Christian spiritual director she follows. The article began:

What if I told you that the children’s song, “Jesus Loves Me”, is a propaganda tool promoting a rationalist stance toward the Bible and subtly communicating that the Bible is not living, not active, not in need of the agency of the Holy Spirit to understand it. Rather, this song conveys that the truths of the Bible are arrived at by the applications of certain prescribed principles (hermeneutics), and a working knowledge of the original languages (primarily Hebrew and Greek) that leads to an intellectual assent to said truths.
…
Now, I have sung that song, encouraged others to sing that song on countless occasions. But in hindsight I now see it as heretical and unorthodox, for it deviates from the simple truth found in Romans 8 where Paul pens these words: “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father! The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God…” It is not the Bible but the Spirit that declares it to be so – the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit!
…
The irony of the song … is that [it implies our] ability to have a personal relationship with Jesus who loves us … is a matter of doctrine, the Bible says it, so I believe it, rather than a truth that has been communicated to us in a personal way through the Holy Spirit that indwells us and in fact is the agent of that very love (Romans 5:5).

(Emphasis as in the original). I don’t have room to reprint and respond to the whole newsletter — nor would this be fair use — so I encourage those who are interested to read the argument in its original.

Visceral Reaction

My initial reaction was that this attack on the time-honored children’s hymn was exaggerated for effect. Fortunately, I was on the way to the gym and had an hour to mull it over.

And yes, this also upset me, because of my fond memories of the song, particularly upon the birth of our first child. After a sometimes anxiety-producing pregnancy, my wife and I were greatly relieved when she was born healthy. When I held her in my arms — only a few minutes in this world — all I could do was sing “Jesus loves me,“ both to let her know of God’s love, and also to acknowledge our gratitude to Him for making this possible. (It was totally spontaneous, and I was embarrassed that I could only recall one verse.)

About the Hymn

Ian Bradley in the Daily Telegraph Book of Hymns writes:

It was written by Anna Bartlett Warner (1820-1915). … [It] first appeared in Say and Seal (1859), a novel on which both [Warner and her sister Susan] collaborated. It rapidly achieved immense popularity as a Sunday School and missionary hymn.
…
[O]lder church members…remember from their youth the original rather surgery tune, written by William Batchelder Bradbury (1816-68). A native of Maine, Bradbury turned out a large number of Sunday School tunes including Woolworth which is still used for Charlotte Elliott’s hymn ‘Just as I am.’

The Cyberhymnal quotes several examples from Asian missionaries who used the song effectively in reaching children in the 19th century.

My copy of the Baptist Hymnal (1975) lists as written in 1860, with an 1862 tune. It lists four verses, as does The Cyberhymnal, although they disagree over the last two phrases of the fourth stanza. The three verses where they agree:

Jesus loves me—this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong—
They are weak, but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me—He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me—loves me still,
Though I’m very weak and ill;
From His shining throne on high
Comes to watch me where I lie.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Theological Defense

As I worked out at the gym, I wonder what this was due to some defect in the commentator’s view of the Bible. But on the website of the firm he founded, he states:

We believe the Bible to be the infallible, authoritative word of God, written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

We believe that there is one true God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The other possible explanation is that such a strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit is rooted in a Charismatic — IMHO excessively so — interpretation of faith.

I am not a theologian nor professionally trained, so rather than argue it point by point, let me offer two theological arguments.

First, per Sola scriptura (and Warner’s statement of faith), we Protestant Christians hold to the infallibility and completeness of Scripture. As Article VI of the 39 Articles states, “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation.” So relying on the Bible is something we are commanded to do, as both Paul (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and Peter (2 Peter 1:20-21) attest.

Second, some Reformed traditions emphasize that our personal response, our works or something else that we do is essential to our salvation. The Lutheran (nay, Christian) response to this is that because we are imperfect — all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) — we can never be sure whether or not we are “good enough.” What kind of loving God would put us through such torture? Instead, per Sola gratia we are saved by God’s perfect grace.

Pedagogical Defense

If we were in the same room, I suspect Warner and I would find some common ground — points where we overlap, even if we are not in complete agreement. And perhaps we could both agree that “The Bible tells us of God and His promises, but it also invites (even commands) us to have a relationship with Him through his Son and the work of the Holy Spirit.”

I am certainly willing to stipulate that the theology of this children’s hymn presents an oversimplified view of God. For example, it’s not at all Trinitarian but focuses on the one member of the Trinity who was witnessed (and personified) on this earth two millennia ago.

So what? We're talking about a song for preschoolers and elementary school age kids. Are we suggesting that once they learn this song, they can stop reading their children’s Bible and going to Sunday School? Of course not.

Any teacher — or parent - will tell you that you have to start somewhere. Oversimplification is inherent not only in dealing with small children, but also with any primer — a first exposure to a new concept.

So learning of the love of God the Son seems like a perfect place to start with preschoolers, but no, we don’t want to stop there. There are plenty of other hymns — not to mention Scripture, scriptural meditations and even fiction by Lewis, Tolkien or L’Engle — that can educate, train and nurture them on their path towards adult Christian formation.

One was a solider and one was a priest…

As a child, my favorite hymn of the fall season was the quintessential All Saints hymn, “For all the saints.” However, a close second was the other All Saints hymn “I sing a song of the saints of God,” which has a particular resonance with children ages 4-100.

The only hymnal I knew was Hymnal 1940, which lists a total of seven All Saints hymns (two with alternate tunes). In addition to these seven hymns (#126-130), H40 also recommends a list of 12 “also the following hymns.” In the latter list is “I sing a song of the saints of God” (H40 #243), which is officially listed among the “Hymns for Children”. In H82 (#293), it’s listed under multiple Holy Days (both saints’ days and All Saints).

As a child, I was captivated by the words that Lesbia Locket Scott (1898-1986) wrote in the 1920s. Decades later, the end of the 2nd stanza remains committed to heart:

And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
and there's not any reason, no, not the least,
why I shouldn't be one too.

In fact, it was such a vivid part of my childhood that this was one of the three hymns we (successfully) requested from H40 for the baptism of our first child.

The tune, Grand Isle, was written by John Henry Hopkins (1891-1945) to match Mrs. Scott’s words in 1940, so that the poem could become a hymn for Hymnal 1940. It’s a very easy tune to sing, and is particularly catchy in building up to the conclusion of each of the three stanzas.

Apparently I’m not the only one who found it catchy. In the COE, it’s mentioned by a calendar of the Diocese of Ely. The song has been blogged by Episcopalians like the Redhead Editor, and the God’s Friends newsletter. ECUSA has even turned it into a children’s book, to add to the profits of the Church Pension Fund.

However, I don’t want that to detract from the effectiveness of this song for children’s ministry. I don’t think Mrs. Scott (or Mr. Hopkins) could have anticipated what The Episcopal Church would become in the 21st century.

Holy, Holy, Holy

One of my favorite hymns in my favorite hymnal has always been “Holy, Holy, Holy,” with lyrics by Reginald Heber and a tune, Nicaea, by John Dykes.

The website, SongAndHymns.org, is profiling the hymn as part of its ongoing series on important hymns. The lyrics, MP3 (or Real) audio version, and the history of the hymn are provided in each profile.

The website is from the Center for Church Music, which promotes hymn education through a radio program and a kid’s summer camp to teach hymns. It‘s based in Grand Rapids, and the camp sounds like a great opportunity for kids (or grandkids) to learn about the hymns of the faith. Even though it’s a Reformed parish (adhering to the Heidelberg Confession and Belgic Confession), its interest in promoting hymnody seems consistent with a wide range of Protestant hymn-lovers.

Since I first saw it mentioned in a Catholic hymn site, perhaps I should say a wide range of Christian hymn-lovers.