Brian Wren

Happy Birthday to hymnwriter Brian Wren, who is seventy-four years old today. He is certainly one on the best known contemporary writers of hymn texts; several appear in many modern hymnals. He was ordained in 1965 in the United Reformed Church in England but has now lived for many years in the US, currently in Georgia with "his partner in marriage and ministry," the Reverend Susan Heafield, a United Methodist minister. Their joint website, Praise Partners, contains much more information on their lives and works.

I would guess that Wren probably has written a greater number of texts that have never appeared in a denominational hymnal than those that have. It's true that hymnwriters generally write more texts than are ever accepted for publication, but it's also true that many of Brian Wren's texts are considered too radical by many. His commitment to writing in inclusive language has only strengthened over time (he first believed it to be an American fad when encountering the idea nearly forty years ago). He also believes that modern hymns should avoid much of the language of the past about militarism and even the kingship of God.

One of his hymns that some may know is Bring many names (which you can see and hear at the Cyber Hymnal). Written more than twenty years ago, it exemplifies everything that some people like about his texts as well as everything that other people don't. The text was considered for inclusion in the Methodist Hymnal of 1989, but lost the committee's recommendation by only one vote. Presumably the Methodists were not ready for a "strong Mother God" (among other things).

Anyway, the hymn did go on to be published in the Unitarians' Singing the Living Tradition (1993), the United Church of Christ's New Century Hymnal (1995), the Anglican Church of Canada's Common Praise (1998), and perhaps a few others I don't know about. It also appears in some supplemental collections that don't have the same wide usage as an official denominational hymnal, such as the Episcopalians' Voices Found (2003). And the Methodists finally included it in their supplement The Faith We Sing (2000).

Others of his texts seem unlikely to be widely used, such as All-Perceiving Lover or Against the clock (you can see these and several others by searching at the links in the first paragraph above). But it's always useful to remember that some of the most well-known hymns sung today were not immediately loved or widely sung at the time of their creation, or even in the lifetime of their writers.

I encourage you to read these two interviews with Wren, one from the Christian Century and one from Reformed Worship. Though they are not as current as I'd like, they do give a better understanding of the themes and ideas that he brings to modern hymnwriting-- he explains them so much better than I ever have.

Saint Mary Magdalene

Today is the feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene, a well-known figure in anyone's reading of the Bible, though perhaps not as well known as you might think.

Modern scholarship now rejects the idea that she was a former prostitute, which made its way into the story somewhere along the way though it is never stated in the New Testament. There is also some confusion about whether she is the "sinful woman" with the costly jar of perfume in Luke 7:36-38 (the page at the first link above attempts to sort it out, though without much success). In art, however, she is often depicted with the jar, as in this painting by Caravaggio (1596), which also includes a discarded strand of pearls to signify her former life as a prostitute. She deserves some new art.

In most accounts she was possessed by seven demons who were cast out by Jesus, and she then became one of his followers. Most importantly, she was the first witness to the resurrection, sometimes called the apostle to the apostles.

Mary Magdalene, to whom
Jesus Christ vouchsafed to appear!
Newly risen from the tomb,
Would he first be seen by her?
Her by sin and doubt possessed,
Till the Word her woes expelled;
Quenched the fear within her breast,
All her suffering sorrows healed.

Yes, to her the Savior came,
First his welcome voice she hears:
Jesus calls her by her name,
Thus the weeping woman cheers,
Who can now presume to fear?
Who despair of grace to see?
Jesus, wilt thou not appear,
Show thyself alive to me?

Highly favored soul! To her
Farther still his grace extends,
Making her the messenger,
Sends her to his sorr'wing friends;
Tidings of their living Lord
First in her report they hear:
She must spread the Gospel word,
Ere to them he will appear.

Charles Wesley, 1746; alt.
Tune: HONITON (7.7.7.7.D.)
Edwin Flood, 1845

I can think of at least three modern hymns (all under copyright) that explore this aspect of Mary Magdalene's story:

The first one ever (Linda Wilberger Egan)
A woman in a world of men (Brian Wren)
Woman, weeping in the garden (Dan Damon)

So it seems like a new idea, but here's Charles Wesley, more than 250 years ago, writing a hymn about it. I doubt this text appears in any hymnal published in the last 100 years or more. Some ideas seem to go underground for a while but they come back as "modern." Also, for purely practical reasons, there are a lot of Easter hymns out there that "have to" be sung every year, so this part of the story seems less important to include for some people (good reason for her feast day to be outside the Easter season).

Poking around for today's entry I came upon a story I hadn't heard before that continues the story of Mary as Gospel bearer. From Wikipedia:

One tradition concerning Mary Magdalene says that following the death and resurrection of Jesus, she used her position to gain an invitation to a banquet given by Emperor Tiberius. When she met him, she held a plain egg in her hand and exclaimed "Christ is risen!" Caesar laughed, and said that Christ rising from the dead was as likely as the egg in her hand turning red while she held it. Before he finished speaking, the egg in her hand turned a bright red, and she continued proclaiming the Gospel to the entire imperial house.

This is apparently why some traditions only produce red-colored Easter eggs, though I don't remember the rector telling this story when they passed out red eggs this year.



***UPDATE***  This hymn with words and music together is now posted to be shared on Facebook.  Go to "Conjubilant W. Song" and click on "Photos" then "Albums" -- it's in the Downloadable Hymns album.

Praying Twice

I don't usually link to other people's blog posts, though it is a particularly bloggy thing to do. This one is kind of a book review, but ends up bigger than that, and on a subject you're probably interested in if you're here at all: congregational song.

Choral Reef: Music under the surface

She likes Brian Wren a bit more than I do, but otherwise she's pretty spot on. Of course, when you link to another blog, you take the chance that your readers will like the new one better.

One Fold, One Faith, One Hope, One Joy

In memory of the Savior’s love

We keep the sacred feast,

Where every humble, contrite heart

Is made a welcome guest.

One fold, one faith, one hope, one joy,

One God alone we know;

As kindred all, let every heart

With kind affection glow.

In faith we take the bread of life,

Christ's presence is made known;

The cup in token of a love

For all God's people shown.

In faith and memory thus we sing
The wonders of that love,

And so anticipate by faith

The heav’nly feast above.

Thomas Cotterill, c. 1805; Isaac Watts v.2; adapt.

Tune: LAND OF REST (C.M.)

Traditional American melody

Another communion hymn, one we chose for our planned hymnal. I don't remember where we found it, but someone had gotten to it before us and made some changes from the original as well as adding the second verse, and calling it "anonymous." Years later, a Google search reveals that the verse is by Isaac Watts, taken from a different hymn (one not listed at the Cyber Hymnal), but the meter was changed with the addition of a few words. The Internet would have made a huge difference if we had had it back then.

The American folk tune LAND OF REST has also been used to set some parts of the communion liturgy, as well as for another modern hymn for the Eucharist, hymnwriter Brian Wren's I come with joy to meet my Lord. I think there's room for two hymns with the same theme and the same tune.