Tacky Hymns 114

Our critical sack of the hymnal supplement All Creation Sings continues with the "Healing, Wholeness" section ...

1013 is "Anointing fall on me," words and music by Donn Thomas (b. 1949). The music is a nice little piece of jazz harmony with rhythms that probably won't go smoothly with musical laymen; so, perhaps more likely to be sung at than by the congregation. The lyrics entirely consist of three repeats of the phrase above, plus "Let the power of the Holy Ghost fall on me." So, barring hypnotic repetition, there isn't much to it. Or rather, the congregation isn't going to get much from it, compared to what it could get from a well-thought-through, teaching, praying, worshiping hymn. 2 tacks.

1014 is "When we must bear persistent pain" by Ruth Duck (b. 1947), set to the Southern Harmony tune PROSPECT (cf. "Creating God, your fingers trace" in ELW). I respect the attempt to write a hymn to address aging and infirmity – a need that I recognize to the extent of taking a run at it myself. But I think it could hit the target better if it tied in the means of grace: especially where it calls on "Holy Presence" to bring peace, warmth and healing light (st. 1). Also, this hymn would sit much more comfortably in my gut if it put a more Personal name on the God it addresses. 2 tacks.

1015 is "As a mother comrforts her child," words and music by Brian Wentzel (b. 1979; pictured is an organist by that name). It's a Trinitarian blessing in which all three Persons are described using a feminine analogy (a hen gathering her brood, a wise one counseling her friend, etc.) After decades of viewing, from the sidelines, the ELCA's and its constituent church bodies' program of feminizing God and with Him, the ministry, I smell a rat. The music is harmless but, with it, rather banal. 2 tacks.

1016 is "Cast out, O Christ" by Mary Louise Bringle (b. 1953), set to the Kentucky Harmony tune CONSOLATION (cf. "The King has come when morning dawns" in both LSB and ELW; also "O Lord, throughout these forty days" in ELW). Bringle's hymn puts biblical accounts of demon possession to work in a prayer about our mental and emotional struggles. I'm ambivalent about this; not because I don't recognize the need for hymns addressing mental health issues (I've written one or two, myself), but because I worry about metaphorizing clean out of existence the gospels' literal accounts of real battles with the forces of darkness. However, what I take away I am obliged to give back with such a stanza 4 that it says "Your word breathes life and health and hope that break through evil's thrall," etc. For teetering dangerously on the brink of confusing mental illness and demon possession, through language that certain people may not understand to be figurative, 1 tack.

1017 is "Come to me, O weary traveler" by Sylvia G. Dunstan (†1993), set to the tune AUSTIN by William P. Rowan (b. 1951). The entirety of the hymn's four stanzas is enclosed in quotes, comprising a slow-paced, repetition-fraught paraphrase of Jesus' "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden" saying in Matthew 11:28-30. There's no harm in it, but it really doesn't add anything to its loose paraphrase of Jesus' words – no application or meditation, no proclamation or prayer. So, it could give us more. But I'll restrict myself to 1 tack, for omitting the accompaniment.

1018 is "Deep peace" (of the running waves), adapted by Ray Makeever (b. 1943) from something "Celtic traditional" and set to his own tune. I guess you could interpret its single, four-line stanza as a blessing (cf. "to you" in line 3). Otherwise, grammatically, it doesn't seem to complete a thought. Musically, it's very simple and yet, in my opinion, not particularly well written. The harmonic structure leaves me a bit cold, and there's a repeat sign at the end with a tonally inconclusive first ending and the alarming score text "to repeat" – alarming, I say, because it doesn't specify how many times we're supposed to repeat it, and nor does the second ending's score text "last time" enlighten us on that point. It does, at least, resolve at last to a tonic chord. For the creeping idea that we may be repeating this trite little ditty for a long time, and for offering a blessing that has nothing to do with God (all waves, air, stars and earth), I'm laying the full complement of 5 tacks on this number. I mean, really, as a minimum requirement to be in a Lutheran hymnal, shouldn't a song be specifically Christian?

1019 is "Lord Jesus Christ, lover of all", words and music by John L. Bell (b. 1949) – a piece so brief that its two systems, harmony and all, fill out the bottom of the page under the latter two-thirds of 1018. And that harmony includes little alto-line echo effects. The lyrics consist entirely of the above phrase and "trail wide the hem of your garment, bring healing, bring peace." Nevertheless I have to admit, this hymn has a bunch of things 1018 is missing. Like, for example, a meaningful chord structure and, you know, Jesus. My only quibble is that it's so darn short; it's like the precis of a proposed hymn that didn't get picked up by the publisher. Would that its author had taken his concept a bit further. As it is, I have to wonder what practical use it can have as a hymn, being over in less time than the introduction the organist will play to give the congregation time to find the page. 1 tack.

1020 is "Let my spirit always sing" by Shirley Erena Murray (†2020), set to the tune SPIRITSONG by Jane Marshall (†2019). Musically, it's a touching, richly harmonized piece that I loved at first play-through, though I'm a little concerned about what will happen to Mrs. Schmeckpepper's confidence when she spots the key signature in D-flat major (5 flats). I wonder how important that is when both C major (zero sharps or flats) and D major (two sharps) are just a half-step away. Meanwhile, Murray's text grabbed me right in stanza 1 with its phrase "though my heart be wintering," going on to pray for God to keep a song there even when he doesn't feel present. Moving from mental affliction to physical, st. 2 invites God's word to be at work within even a mind shut up inside a disabled body. St. 3 engages with aging, calling on God to "give me wit to welcome change," and to help me find joy in the knowledge I retain. The final stanza concludes with a prayer that the Spirit (capital ess) will answer my spirit's song, sustaining my trust through life and death. Being the twerp that I am, I never provided for the possibility of awarding negative tacks, so the best I can do is say 0 tacks for this one and admit that I got a little choked up reading it.

1021 is "O God, to You I cry in pain" by the same Murray, this time set to Marty Haugen's (b. 1950) tune SHANTI (cf. "We walk by faith and not by sight" in both ELW and LSB). Again, it calls on God for help in times of infirmity, "when mind and body out of tune bring fears I cannot speak" (st. 1). St. 2 calls for help accepting my illness and trusting the skill of my caregivers. Stanza 3 adds an odd sentiment about the comfort that a loving, human touch can give; maybe a reference to a laying on of hands? And finally, st. 4 asks for peace of mind and relief from fear. So, again, a very effective and understanding hymn about, and for, those who suffer in body and mind. Regretfully, I have to give it 1 tack for omitting the accompaniment.

A little surprised that a single topic carried me this far in today's installment, I guess I'll pause here. And I have to admit that I'm pleasantly surprised to find in Shirley Murray's two hymns, right at the end of the set, feats of "useful hymn" writing that I wouldn't mind seeing in a collection for home or church use over on my side of Lutheranism – maybe even something designed specifically for use in institutional chapels and visitation ministries. But on the whole, we're looking at 15 new tacks, making the running total 226 tacks in 121 hymns. That's currently a tackiness rate of about 187 percent.