Hymn of the Week: I Come with Joy to Meet My Lord

Aug 26

Written By Church of the Epiphany, E.Providence, RI

Hymn of the Week: I Come with Joy to Meet My Lord (I have provided this link because it struck me as a lovely example of a traditional processional, one that might have seemed commonplace before the last six months.)

Text: Brian Wren (b. 1936) & Tune: Land of Rest (Appalachian Folk Tune)

Hymns, like liturgies, are living expressions of faith. While many of the hymns from our 1982 Hymnal have been sung in the church for generations, other beloved hymns have been revised and adapted to better suit the needs of our current society.

“I Come With Joy to Meet My Lord” (Hymn 304) is one such hymn that has been updated with a text by the esteemed hymn writer Brian Wren. Indeed, Wren’s poetic lines express beliefs that we, at Epiphany, surely espouse as a community: ideas of unity, equality, service and praise.

Mr. Wren, a Professor Emeritus of Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia, who was born and educated in England, has stated that his vocation is "to write poems of faith which people will pick up and sing," and also to "speak truth by stepping beyond the church's limits of comfort and convention." He frequently revises hymns, his own or others, in particular with a goal of using “inclusive language” as a gesture of welcome to all in the church.

Your own music director regularly revises some hymn texts printed in our bulletin, not only keeping in mind inclusive language, but also honoring special moments in the life of our parish, and always hoping to provide strength, solace and joy in these challenging times. (See the bulletin from last Sunday, August 23, as an example.)

A few words about the Land of Rest tune. We know this tune also as the hymn “Jerusalem, My Happy Home,” and as Eucharistic Acclamations arranged by Richard Proulx (we most often sing the “Sanctus”). Its lilting and elegant melody has Scottish origins, but gained widespread popularity in Appalachia and then beyond, first appearing in print in The Sacred Harp (1844), and later in Folk Hymns of America (1938).

As I was researching the Land of Rest tune, I was fascinated by discussions of the roots of Appalachian folk music, and by one item in particular: the banjo, an iconic instrument associated with folk and country music, was brought to this continent by African slaves. Its form and use evolved (it was probably originally a gourd with goat skin and gut strings) but it is documented that slaves excelled on this versatile and joyous instrument, and (a fact that boggles the mind) even taught their masters and children of their masters how to play.

If you are interested in hearing the tale of one man’s quest to understand the link between the banjo and his father’s traditional instrument from Gambia, NPR produced a wonderful story in 2011.