October 5, 2025

The composer of the prelude is actually both Associate Pastor and Director of Music at Christ Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.  He is quite gifted, writing numerous good hymn tunes, but "our" tune for the day is "Thaxted", written by Gustav Holst, and, though used as a popular hymn tune, is from his "Planets" -- actually "Jupiter"!   I think everyone knows and loves the tune.  The intended hymn it represents is "O God Beyond All Praising".

Our processional hymn, though written in the late 17th or early 18th centuries, is still a favorite, I think; it's "O Worship the King" (388).  And it is obvious why people love the Gospel hymn, "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" (645).

Our anthem is the enduring and joyful "With a Voice of Singing", by Martin Shaw. The text is from Isaiah 48:20 and Psalm 66:1.   Martin Shaw was English (1875-1958) -- extremely prolific-- and from the same period as Gustav Holst.

Communion hymns are well known: "There's a wideness in God's mercy" (470), and "O for a closer walk with God" (683).

Closing, we will sing "Praise the Lord, rise up rejoicing" (334), a great hymn from the 18th century.

The postlude is by the German organ composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert (hyphenated last name because he added his mother's name), who lived from 1877-1933; it is his famous "choral improvisation" on "Now Thank We All Our God".