June 14, 2026

The organ prelude is a set of variations on our closing hymn, "Oh, for a thousand
tongues", by one of the most prolific American composers living today, Robert A. Hobby, who is most active in the Lutheran Church.  For good reason, his music is widely used by organists. Our processional hymn is "The God of Abraham praise" (401), which is, as you may know, a Hebrew melody that became a hymn in the 19th century.  We sing it often.

The Gospel hymn, from the 18th century, is "In your mercy, Lord, you called me" (706). Note in the hymnal that the music is by William Boyce, whose organ music is often played today.  The text is a powerful one! During the offertory we will sing "God is Love, let Heaven adore Him" (379).  This I think is a well loved tune, and is used in our hymnal for 3 different texts. The communion hymn is equally well known, "Father, we thank Thee who hast planted Thy Holy Name in our hearts" (302); it is a very popular melody ("Rendez a Dieu") dating all the way back to the 16th century, as you may note. Obviously I am encouraging you to get in the habit of checking out the notes in our hymnal!

As I noted earlier, the closing hymn is "Oh, for a thousand tongues" (493), one of the
most popular hymns ever.  Note that the text is by Charles Wesley; we will be using
verses 1, 3, 5, & 6. The postlude is based on "Old Hundredth" (another tune used 3 times in our hymnal), and is by the American, Fred Bock (1939-1998), who was highly respected, well educated, and accomplished as a performer, clinician, and composer.

Philip Dettra, Director of Music