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On the campus of Calvin University
© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Choral Introit: “Christ Hath a Garden”
Text: Isaac Watts
Music (O WALY WALY 8.8.8.8): English folk melody; arr. Gerald Near © 1973 Belwin-Mills Publishing
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Call to Worship
Opening Hymn: “Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song”
Text: Carl P. Daw, Jr. © 1982 Hope Publishing
Music (BRIDEGROOM 8.7.8.7.6): Peter Cutts; desc. Emily Brink © 1969 Hope Publishing
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Evening Psalm: Psalm 141:1–4a, 8
Words: Psalm 141
Music: Gerald Cartford © 1998 Augsburg Fortress Publishers; arr. Bethany Vrieland © 2011 Augsburg Fortress
Psalm Text: from Evangelical Lutheran Worship © 2006 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, admin. Augsburg Fortress
Tone: © 1996 Augsburg Fortress Publishers
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Prayers of the People
Anthem: “Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree”
Text: Anonymous, 18th century, based on Song of Solomon 2:3
Music: Elizabeth Poston © 1967 Elizabeth Poston
Used by permission.
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 55:6–13
Hymn: “Light Dawns on the Weary World”
Text: Mary Louise Bringle © 2002 GIA Publications, Inc.
Music (TEMPLE OF PEACE 7.6.6.7.8 and refrain): William P. Rowan © 2000 GIA Publications, Inc.; arr. David Cherwien © 2021 GIA Publications, Inc.
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New Testament Reading: John 15:4–17
Hymn: “O Blessed Spring”
Text: Susan Palo Cherwien © 1993 Susan Palo Cherwien, admin. Augsburg Fortress
Music (BERGLUND 8.8.8.8): Robert Buckley Farlee © 1993 Robert Buckley Farlee, admin. Augsburg Fortress; arr. David Cherwien © 2011 Augsburg Fortress
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Charge and Blessing
Closing Hymn: “Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen”
Text: Herbert F. Brokering © 1995 Augsburg Fortress
Music (EARTH AND ALL STARS 4.5.10 D refrain 10.5.4): David N. Johnson © 1968 Augsburg Fortress
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Sister Kathleen Harmon of the community of the Ohio province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Dayton, invites us to be transformed by the psalms and experience them as the whole story God is revealing to us. As we keep praying and singing them, the psalms interpret us, and that’s when the transformation comes.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
John Goldingay, an Anglican priest and the senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, posits the psalms are the densest material in the entire Old Testament. They expound the nature of God as the compassionate, faithful, and committed one, but also as the one who makes demands upon us. The psalms help us talk to God, even about difficult things—and when we do, we are talking to someone who is in a position to do something about it.
Sister Kathleen Harmon of the community of the Ohio province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Dayton, invites us to be transformed by the psalms and experience them as the whole story God is revealing to us. As we keep praying and singing them, the psalms interpret us, and that’s when the transformation comes.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
John Goldingay, an Anglican priest and the senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, posits the psalms are the densest material in the entire Old Testament. They expound the nature of God as the compassionate, faithful, and committed one, but also as the one who makes demands upon us. The psalms help us talk to God, even about difficult things—and when we do, we are talking to someone who is in a position to do something about it.
The last few minutes of corporate worship are critical because they frame the entire purpose of worship and its connection to our lives in the world.
