Sunday Half Hour

...and it still continues to give much pleasure to many of us

Anniversary edition for Half Hour

by Bill Bowder

IT WAS first heard in the months before the Blitz, and will be recorded again in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London, this Sunday. BBC Radio 2’s popular hymn programme, Sunday Half Hour, will be broadcast in a special anni versary edition at 8.30 p.m. on 17 July, 70 years after it was first broad cast from St Mary Red cliffe, Bristol, on 14 July 1940. Sunday Half Hour was then described as a programme of commun ity hymn-singing, intended to boost the morale of troops serving abroad during the Second World War, the BBC said this week. The series, formerly hosted by Canon Roger Royle, is now presented by the Irish Passionist priest Fr Brian D’Arcy, who interweaves announce ments of listeners’ anni versaries and family events with well-known hymns, a reading, and a prayer. The director of music at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Andrew Earis, who conducts the 70th- anniversary event, said on Monday that the choir for the day would be composed of members from several choirs who had previously been on the pro gramme. “St Martin-in-the-Fields was where the first ever religious broad cast was made, back in the 1920s, and Sunday Half Hour is one of the longest-running programmes on the BBC; so this is a very appropriate venue. . . It will be a celebration, and it’s going to be great fun. The church will be packed, with 800 people. The choir will rehearse all afternoon, and then the congregation will be ad­mitted at 6.15 p.m., and we will run as live at 7 p.m., though it won’t be broadcast then. The Vicar, the Revd Nicholas Holtam will give the bless ing at the end.” The Choir of St Martin-in-the Fields will be joined by singers from St Andrew’s, West Tarring; Portsmouth High School; the Holy Redeemer, Billericay; St Martin’s, Dorking; and Bracknell Choral Society, Reading Phoenix Choir, and Thames Phil harmonic Choir. They will sing “Great is thy faithfulness”, “Love Divine”, “How great thou art” and “Dear Lord and Father of mankind”. Martin Ford will be the organist, and the show will be produced by Janet McLarty.

Fr James Quinn SJ

The 300-odd hymns that James Quinn composed in New Hymns for All Seasons (1969, Chapman) and Praise for all Seasons(1994, Chapman) appear in most modern hymn books whether used for Roman Catholic or Anglican congregations.

His aim, while composing, was to produce a “catechism in song”. “Hymns fundamentally declare the Christian faith,” said Quinn, a Jesuit. “They are our source book for teaching and for sermons.”

His inspiration came from the writings of the saints, the psalms and ancient texts that reflected on church teaching, Scripture or the Eucharist.

“Hymns form a rich scriptural quarry,” he said. “They are to convey the words of Christ memorably.” The language used should be “clear but not banal and above all simple”. He did not write “modern” hymns that relied only on current vocabulary, and encouraged people who did not understand the terminology to make the effort to learn.

He did not always use rhyme. Its absence “when you are setting out to capture words of Scripture, makes for greater fidelity to the text — providing that there compensating cadences”.

Quinn’s first experiments as a hymn writer began after the Second Vatican Council, which sat from 1962 until 1965. Commenting one day to the priest whom he assisted in a parish in Edinburgh that there would be a need for hymns in the vernacular to accompany the newly translated liturgy, the priest challenged him, saying: “You do it!” Though unsure he was equal to the task, Quinn consulted a headmaster whom he knew to be a musician. His best-known hymns include Forth in the Peace of Christ We Go, I Am the Holy Vine, The Bread That We Break and Christ Be Beside Me, a highly popular reworking of The Breastplate of St Patrick, inspired, said Quinn, by his family roots. “My own ancestry can be traced back to the 17th century in Northern Ireland,” he said. “That is really where I spiritually belong.”

James Quinn was born in Glasgow in 1919. He was educated at St Aloysius’ College and the University of Glasgow, and joined the Society of Jesus in 1939. He was ordained in 1950. He taught in Preston, Lancashire, and London and served as a parish priest in Edinburgh.

He was an observer at the 1964 assembly of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Frankfurt and later acted as consultant to the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order conference at Louvain, Belgium, in 1972. The following year he joined the Scottish Religious Advisory Committee of the BBC. From 1972-76 he was a consultant to the International Commission on English in the Liturgy and later served as Spiritual Director of the Beda College Rome. In 1980 he was appointed secretary to the Scottish Commission for Christian Unity. In 1987 he became Episcopal Vicar for Ecumenism in the Archdiocese of Edinburgh.

Father James Quinn, SJ, hymn writer, was born on April 21, 1919. He died on April 8, 2010, aged 90

St Thomas Aquinas

O salutaris Hostia, "O Saving Host", is a section of one of the Eucharistic hymns written by St Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi. He wrote it for the Hour of Lauds in the Divine Office. It is actually the last two stanzas of the hymn Verbum supernum prodiens, and is used for the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The other two hymns written by Aquinas for the Feast contain the famous sections Panis angelicus and Tantum ergo.

O saving Victim, opening wide

The gate of Heaven to man below;

Our foes press hard on every side;

Thine aid supply; Thy strength bestow.

All praise and thanks to thee ascend,

For ever more, blest one in three.

O grant us life that shall not end,

In our true native land with thee.

Amen.

Ralph Vaughan Williams

The Passions of Vaughan Williams

Fifty years after his death, a musical and psychological portrait of Ralph Vaughan Williams, exploring the passions that drove the giant of 20th century English music.This documentary tells the story of his long marriage to his increasingly disabled wife Adeline, and his affair with the woman who eventually became his second wife, Ursula. The film includes contributions from the late Ursula Vaughan Williams, who was interviewed shortly before her death in 2007, at the age of 96. The effect of his complicated relationships on his music is demonstrated in performances of orchestral and choral works by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Richard Hickox, and by the singers of Schola Cantorum of Oxford.

(Two hour film on BBC4 this evening)

English Hymnal

The English Hymnal was published in 1906 for the Church of England under the editorship of Percy Dearmer and Ralph Vaughan Williams. The preface to the hymnal began with the statement, "A collection of the best hymns in the English language." Much of the contents was used for the first time at St Mary's Primrose Hill in north London, and the book could be considered a musical companion to Dearmer's book on English ceremonial, 'The Parson's Handbook'.

The high quality of the music is due largely to the work of Vaughan Williams as musical editor. The standard of the arrangements and original compositions made it one of the most influential hymnals of the 20th century. The hymnal included the first printing of several arrangements and hymn settings by Vaughan Williams. Among the most famous is Sine Nomine, a tune to "For All the Saints". The hymnal also includes many original plainsong melodies (in plainsong notation).

The book is a characteristic green colour and is traditionally associated with the High Church or Anglo-Catholic movement within Anglicanism. When the book was published, High and Broad churches used Hymns Ancient and Modern, and Evangelical churches normally used the Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer. The hymnal has, however, been adopted in not only various movements of Anglicanism but in several other denominations in Britain, such as some Roman Catholic churches.

A new edition of the musical content of The English Hymnal was issued in 1933, and a supplement to the Hymnal, English Praise, in 1975.

The New English Hymnal appeared in 1986, and its supplement, New English Praise in 2006 - both under the imprint of the Canterbury Press, now SCM Canterbury Press.

Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols

About the service at King's College Chapel, Cambridge

The Christmas Eve Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is primarily intended for the City of Cambridge and members of the general public. Apart from those reserved for members of the College and their guests, seats are kept for those who are prepared to queue however, as a result of the increasing popularity of this service, the demand for seats always outstrips the number available. Normally, anyone joining the queue before 9.00am will gain admission, but it is not guaranteed that this will be so. The queue is admitted at 1.30pm and the service, which is broadcast live on BBC Radio 4, begins at 3.00pm. It concludes at around 4.30pm. Please note that this service is not suitable for young children.

History of the service

Our Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first held on Christmas Eve 1918. It was planned by Eric Milner-White, who at the age of thirty-four had just been appointed Dean of King's, after experience as an army chaplain which had convinced him that the Church of England needed more imaginative worship. A revision of the Order of Service was made in 1919, involving rearrangement of the lessons, and from that date the service has always begun with the hymn 'Once in royal David's city'.

The service was first broadcast in 1928 and, with the exception of 1930, has been broadcast annually, even during the Second World War, when the ancient glass (and also all heat) had been removed from the Chapel and the name of King's could not be broadcast for security reasons. Sometime in the early 1930's the BBC began broadcasting the service on overseas programmes. It is estimated that there are millions of listeners worldwide, including those to Radio Four in the United Kingdom. In recent years it has become the practice to broadcast a digital recording on Christmas Day on Radio Three, and since 1963 a shorter service has been filmed periodically for television.

Truth and Trust

Luke 17.5-10

5The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ 6The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.

7Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? 8Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? 9Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!”’

Dulverton Sermon

The apostles ask Jesus "Lord, increase our faith" as they begin to get the hang of his expectations of them regarding the spread of his message and they are not sure that they are up to it. He doesn't respond directly but assures them that if they have faith even as a mustard seed he can work with it and make it grow until it is adequate for any demands made upon them.

Each of us has faith but none of us has sufficient so that we can deny the need for growth. We too need to petition the Lord "Increase our faith".

There are two aspects to faith - one creedal and the other personal. We need as much truth and trust as we can get. There are two hymns by John Henry Newman that reflect these two aspects of faith - "Firmly I believe and truly" and "Lead kindly light". Newman was a 19th century Anglican priest who was a leader of the Oxford Movement before he became a Roman Catholic priest. Later he was made a cardinal and has recently been beatified.

In 1865 Newman wrote "The Dream of Gerontius" which included "Firmly I believe and truly".
The first aspect of faith is belief in revealed truth. It is summarised in the historic creeds of the Church. It is not for change or amendment. It is to be received, proclaimed, and passed on. If we have intellectual difficulties i.e. doubts about any of it is we who need to grow in faith and not the Church which needs to reduce the deposit of faith to accommodate us. Our prayer must be "Lord, increase our faith".

Newman wrote "Lead kindly light" at sea in June 1833. It was to become the marching hymn of the Oxford Movement. He was returning from a six month sabbatical in Italy which he had taken to try and shake off a mood of sadness brought on by his concerns about the state of the Church of England. He felt that it had lost its former glory and needed renewal. He was beginning to think that God wanted him to lead a revival movement to do something about it. His ship had a cargo of oranges and was fog bound and becalmed . He was lonely, home sick, and recovering from a viral attack which had brought him to the brink of death. He exclaimed "I shall not die; I shall not die, for I have not sinned against the light and God has a work for me to do in England". He was groping spiritually and unsure of the way ahead "led on by God's hand blindly, not knowing wither he was taking me". The second aspect of faith is personal trust in God's providence. We are not alone in this life. God has the whole world in his hands. He has you and me in his hands. In darkness, as well as in doubt, our prayer should be "Lord, increase our faith".

This simple and direct appeal to God for aid in need will always be answered positively. Like the apostles we too will be enabled to believe and to do whatever God wills best in our discipleship and apostleship.

We too should become grateful and humble because at the end " we shall have been only servants and done no more than our duty".

Priest and Hymn Writer

John Mason Neale was born in London in 1818, studied at Cambridge, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1842. He was offered a parish, but chronic ill health, which was to continue throughout his life, prevented him from taking it. In 1846 he was made warden of Sackville College, a position he held for the rest of his life. Sackville College was not an educational institution, but an almshouse, a charitable residence for the poor.

In 1854 Neale co-founded the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, an order of women in the Anglican Church dedicated to nursing the sick. Many Anglicans in his day, however, were very suspicious of anything suggestive of Roman Catholicism. Only nine years earlier, John H. Newman had encouraged Romish practices in the Anglican Church, and had ended up joining the Romanists himself. This encouraged the suspicion that anyone like Neale was an agent of the Vatican, assigned to destroy the Anglican Church by subverting it from within. Once Neale was attacked and mauled at a funeral of one of the Sisters. From time to time unruly crowds threatened to stone him or to burn his house. He received no honor or preferment in England, and his doctorate was bestowed by an American college (Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut). However, his basic goodness eventually won the confidence of many who had fiercely opposed him, and the Sisterhood of St. Margaret survived and prospered.

Neale translated the Eastern liturgies into English, and wrote a mystical and devotional commentary on the Psalms. However, he is best known as a hymn writer and translator, having enriched English hymnody with many ancient and mediaeval hymns translated from Latin and Greek, including the following:

A great and mighty wonder
All glory, laud and honor
Alleluia, song of gladness
Blessed city, heavenly Salem
Blessed feasts of blessed martyrs
Brief life is here our portion
Christ is made the sure foundation
Christian, dost thou see them
Come, Holy Ghost, with God the Son
Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
Creator of the stars of night
Draw nigh and take the Body of the Lord
For thee, O dear, dear country
Jerusalem the golden
Jesus, Name all names above
Let us now our voices raise
Light's abode, celestial Salem
Now that the daylight fills the sky
O blest Creator of the light
O God, creation's secret force
O God of truth, O Lord of might,O sons and daughters, let us sing
O Trinity of blessed light
O what their joy and their glory must be
O wondrous type! O vision fair
Of the Father's love begotten
Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle
Stars of the morning, so gloriously bright
The day is past and over
The day of resurrection
Those eternal bowers
Thou hallowed chosen morn of praise
To thee before the close of day
And many others.
More than anyone else, he made English-speaking congregations aware of the centuries-old tradition of Latin, Greek, Russian, and Syrian hymns.

Neale died on 6 August 1866 (age 48). Since 6 August is the Feast of the Transfiguration, he is remembered on 7 August.

O little town of Bethlehem

The heads of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in England have arrived in Bethlehem for a three-day Christmas pilgrimage to the West Bank town.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster and leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales, are leading prayers for the beleaguered town, which is separated from nearby Jerusalem by the Israeli "security barrier".
Dr Williams has warned in the past of an exodus of Christians from Bethlehem, which has evolved from a majority Christian to a majority Muslim town in the past 50 years. Its population is around 40,000.
Before leaving for Israel, Dr Williams said that the purpose of the trip was to "be alongside people, Christians, Jews and Muslims, whose lives have been wrecked in different ways by terrorism and by the sense that they're hated and feared by each other.
"We'll be with people who are really desperate to find some sort of hope, some way out of the cycle of violence and insecurity."
In his Christmas address last year, Cardinal O'Connor declared that the Christ child would be weeping for the town of his birth as it was "steadily strangled".
The two men will take part in an ecumenical service at the Grotto of the Nativity, which is believed by Christians to represent the place of the birth of the saviour, Jesus Christ.
They are accompanied by Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain, and the Rev David Coffey, Moderator of the Free Churches.
The leaders have called for prayers for the struggling town, where Christians have suffered economic hardship and anxiety about their homes and their security. The town's Roman Catholic mayor, Victor Batarseh, has described the security barrier as transforming Bethlehem into a "large prison", with visitors forced to pass through a 30ft wall and negotiate their way past armed soldiers and concrete barriers.
The visit comes after Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, announced that it was setting up a replica of the barrier instead of a traditional Nativity scene this year.
The church is twinned with a Catholic parish in the village of Aboud on the West Bank, and exchange trips have been made between the two communities.
The church has said it has put together an exhibition about the effects of the barrier on Palestinian people living nearby. It is also raising funds for the people of Bethlehem.
Israeli officials claim half of the suicide bombers which killed Israelis in 2004 have come from Bethlehem.
Dr Williams - who is recovering from having a cyst on his elbow removed earlier this month - spoke on Terry Wogan's Radio 2 programme about the trip before leaving.
He said: "Like most people, I guess, when I hear the name 'Bethlehem' I think warm and comforting thoughts. It's somehow a warm and comforting word.
"And most people, of my generation, anyway, think of 'Oh little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie'...
"And what will we see when we get there this week?
"We'll see what every visitor sees, what many who've never been there would love to see: a place made holy, made warm, you could say, by centuries of prayer and thanksgiving.
"And I know that we'll have kindness and welcome from the local people and a chance to worship in the great ancient church of the Nativity.
"Some of it's going to be a lot harder, though. We're visiting Christians who suffer terrible economic hardship and daily anxiety about their homes and their security."
Israel began to build its security barrier - which is a wall in some places, a fence in others - along its border with the West Bank in 2002, in order to deter Palestinian suicide bombers from entering Israel.
Palestinians and other critics claim that the barrier - which traps significant sections of Palestinian land on the Israeli side in many places - is also an attempt to gain territory and set de facto borders without negotiating an agreement.

So yesterday's Guardian reported.

My own memories of pilgrimage fortunately pre date this situation. When I went there our group first visited a souvenir store where we were aware that sales would boost the local economy. I came away with a Shalom wall plaque which now decorates the entrance to our flat , speaking peace to all who visit.

Then via Manger Square we visited the Church of the Nativity entering with humility the low door which all of whatever status can only enter by bending low. The highlight of the visit to go down into the crypt chapel hot and smoke blackened by the candles constantly burning there where our Lord is reputed to have been born. Like many others I could not stop myself lying prostrate in order to kiss the star on the floor engraved "Here of the Virgin Mary Christ was born". On leaving the church I remember a strong link with home from the mosaic of St George by the exit door.

The place is for ever graven on my memory and evokes afresh deep gratitude for the incarnation, particularly when when I return there via media broadcasts at this season of the year.

Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs

My title today is a scripture quote but it does not exhaust the range of church music.

Today is the Feast of St Cecilia, Patron Saint of musicians, especially church musicians.

Cultivated young patrician woman whose ancestors loomed large in Rome's history. She vowed her virginity to God, but her parents married her to Valerian of Trastevere. Cecilia told her new husband that she was accompanied by an angel, but in order to see it, he must be purified. He agreed to the purification, and was baptised; returning from the ceremony, he found her in prayer accompanied by a praying angel. The angel placed a crown on each of their heads, and offered Valerian a favor; the new convert asked that his brother be baptised. The two brothers developed a ministry of giving proper burial to martyred Christians. In their turn they were arrested and martyred for their faith. Cecilia buried them at her villa on the Apprian Way, and was arrested for the action. She was ordered to sacrifice to false gods; when she refused, she was martyred in her turn. The Acta of Cecilia includes the following: "While the profane music of her wedding was heard, Cecilia was singing in her heart a hymn of love for Jesus, her true spouse." It was this phrase that led to her association with music, singers, musicians, etc.
martyred c.117; suffocated for a while, and when that didn't kill her, she was beheaded; her grave was discovered in 817, and her body removed to the church of Saint Cecilia in Rome; the tomb was opened in 1599, and her body found to be incorrupt.

Brought up a Methodist with the tradition of John and Charles Wesley as hymn writers as well as preachers I appreciate the saying "Catholics have their missal, Anglicans their prayer book, and Methodists their hymn book". Music and hymnology etc for me are an important facilitator, stimulator, and proclaimer of spirituality even though I am no composer, musician, or singer. I thank God for revealing himself by these means and giving the gifts I do not possess to so many. I am also deeply grateful for the variety of ways which have been found to store and share this treasure house of the spirit. On the other hand I also experience the negative effect on my worship and prayer of "bad" music whether due to creator, vehicle, or performer and frequently cry "O Lord, give me your silence!"

For all the saints

Today we offer the Lamb and celebrate the victory of our God in the company of all the redeemed in the heavenly kingdom
God our Father,
source of all holiness,
the work of your hands is manifested in your saints,
the beauty of your truth is reflected in their faith.
May we who aspire to have part in their joy
be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives,
so that having shared their faith on earth
we may also know their peace in your kingdom.
(Weekday Missal)

The author of the hymn "For all the saints" was Bishop William Walsham How 1823-97. He became the first bishop of my home diocese of Wakefield and I have often stood by his memorial in the cathedral and thanked God for his life. He wrote some 60 hymns. He did a great work in the East End of London providing churches and preaching the gospel to the poor. As a friend is incumbent at St Mark's, Holland Park I have also stood by his statue there holding a model of a church in his hands commemorating the way in which he persuaded the rich to part with their money for the building of new churches as the population moved and the city expanded. When he died his son said: "He was happy because he was good. His simple, joyous life was a song of praise to his Creator, like that of a bright Spring day. He rejoiced in the Lord always."

Prayer is the soul's sincere desire

Sorry I wasn't able to contribute yesterday.

My mother has been in hospital(age 95) and was discharged yesterday so I needed to be with her.Had I been at the computer today's title would have been yesterday's because I wanted to declare early in the life of this blog that these ramblings only emerge out of a philosophy reflected in the words of the hymn from which this first line is taken.

James Montgomery 1771-1854 , who wrote the hymn, has been known to me since boyhood from his statue outside Sheffield Cathedral. Though born in Scotland, the son of a Moravian minister, most of his adult life was in Sheffield where he edited a local paper. He wrote almost 500 hymns. He died in the city.

At this stage all I wish to say about the life of prayer is that the internet can be a helpful aid.
I commend three sites that I use regularly:
1. gratefulness.org where you can start the day by lighting a candle and adding a prayer. My candle continue to burn on my opening page each time I log on.
2. sacred space.ie. a Jesuit site with daily Ignatian Bible meditation.
3. monks of adoration.org where you can visit the chapel to focus on Our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament.