Above:  Houses of Parliament, London, England, United Kingdom

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

Words (1856), by John R. Wreford (1800-1881)

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1.  Lord, while for all mankind we pray,

Of ev’ry clime and coast,

Oh, hear us for our native land,

The land we love the most.

2.  Oh, guard our shores from ev’ry foe;

With peace our borders bless,

Our cities with prosperity,

Our fields with plenteousness.

3.  Unite us in the sacred love

Of knowledge, truth, and thee;

And let our hills and valleys shout

The songs of liberty.

Above:  Ordination of Deacons, Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia, December 11, 2012

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

(https://picasaweb.google.com/114749828757741527421/OrdinationOfDeacons#5687237381415195666)

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

Words (1843) by the Reverend Samuel Francis Smith (1808-1895)

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1.  The solemn service now is doen;

The vow is pledged, the toil begun;

Seal thou, O God! the oath above,

And ratify the pledge of love.

2.  The shepherd of thy people bless;

Gird him with thine own holiness;

In duty may hes pleasure be,

His glory in his zeal for thee.

3.  Here let the ardent pray’r arise,

Faith fix its grasp beyond the skies,

The tear of penitence be shed,

And myriads to the Savior led.

4.  Come, Spirit! here consent to dwell;

The mists of earth and sin dispel:

Blest Savior! thine own rights maintain;

Supreme in ev’ry bosom reign.

Above:  Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia, April 29, 2012

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

(https://picasaweb.google.com/114749828757741527421/TheEpiscopalDioceseOfAtlantaConfirmationAtTheCathedralOfStPhilip#5736970344353072658)

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

Original German words (1716) by Benjamin Schmolck (1672-1737)

English translation (1854) by Jane Laurie Borthwick (1813-1897)

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1.  My Jesus, as thou wilt!

Oh, may thy will be mine;

Into thy hands of love I would my all resign,

Through sorrow, or through joy,

Conduct me as thine own,

And help me still to say,

My Lord, thy will be done.

2.  My Jesus, as thou wilt!

Though seen through many a tear,

Let not my star of hope

Grow dim or disappeer;

Since thou on earth hast wept,

And sorrowed oft alone,

If I must weep with thee,

My Lord, thy will be done.

3.  My Jesus, as thou wilt!

All shall be well for me;

Each charging future scene

I gladly trust with thee;

Straight to my home above

I travel calmly on,

And sing, in life or death,

My Lord, thy will be done.

Above:  A Dirt Road

Image Source = Amilton Reis

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DirtRoadByAmiltonReis.jpg)

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, a predecessor body of The United Methodist Church

Words (1862) by Adelaide Anne Procter (1825-1864)

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1.  I do not ask, O Lord, that my life may be

A pleasant road;

I do not ask that thou wouldst take from me

Aught of its load.

2.  For one thing only, Lord, dear Lord, I plead,–

Lead me aright,

Tho’ strength should falter and though heart should bleed,

Thro’ peace to light.

3.  I not ask my cross to understand,

My way to see;

Better in darkness just to feel thy hand,

And follow thee.

4.  Joy is like restless day, but peace divine

Like quite night;

Lead me, O Lord, till perfect day shall shine,

Thro’ peace to light.

Above:  Diocesan Confirmation, Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia, April 29, 2012

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

(https://picasaweb.google.com/114749828757741527421/DiocesanConfirmation03#5736962718221610242)

Words (1862) by Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863)

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

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1.  O Paradise, O Paradise,

Who doth not crave for rest?

Who would not seek the happy land

Where they that love are blest?

Chorus

Where loyal hearts and true

Stand ever in the light,

All rapture, thro’ and thro’,

In God’s most holy sight.

2.  O Paradise, O Paradise,

‘Tis weary waiting here;

I long to be where Jesus is,

To feel, to see him near;

Chorus

3.  O Paradise, O Paradise,

I want to sin no more,

I want be as pure on earth

As on thy spotless shore;

Chorus

4.  O Paradise, O Paradise,

I greatly long to see

The special place my dearest Lord

Is destining for me,

Chorus

5.  Lord Jesus, King of Paradise,

Oh, keep me in thy love,

And guide me to that happy land

Of perfect rest above;

Chorus

Above:  Church of the Common Ground, Atlanta, Georgia, April 5, 2012

(The Church of the Common Ground is a ministry to homeless people.)

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

(https://picasaweb.google.com/114749828757741527421/CommonGroundFootwashingAndEucharist#5728362228570780674)

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren, a predecessor body of The United Methodist Church (1968-)

Words (1768) by the Reverend Joseph Hart (1712-1768)

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1.  That solemn night before his death,

The Lamb, for sinners slain,

Did, almost with his dying breath,

This solemn feast ordain.

2.  To keep the feast, Lord, we have met,

And to remember thee;

Help each each poor trembler to repeat,

For me, he died, for me.

3.  Thy suff’rings, Lord, each sacred sign

To our remembrance brings;

We eat the bread and drink the wine,

But think on nobler things.

4.  Oh, tune our tongues, and set in frame

Each heart that pants for thee,

To sing, Hosanna to the Lamb,

The Lamb that died for me.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Carrollton, Georgia, July 17, 2011

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

(https://picasaweb.google.com/atldiophotos/BishopWhitmoreSVisitToStMargaretSCarrollton#5630376095097358722)

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

Words (1719) by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

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1.  Arise, O King of grace, arise,

And enter to thy rest;

Lo! thy church waits, with longing eyes,

Thus to be own’d and blest.

2.  Here, mighty God, accept our vows,

Here let thy praise be spread:

Bless the provisions of thy house,

And fill thy poor with bread.

3.  Here let the Son of David reign,

Let God’s Anointed shine;

Justice and truth his court maintain,

With love and pow’r divine.

4.  Here let him hold a lasting throne,

And as his kingdom grows,

Fresh honors shall adorn his crown,

And shame confound his foes.

Pentecost Icon

Image Source = Wikipedia

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

Words (1707) by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

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1.  Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly Dove,

With all thy quick’ning pow’rs;

Kindle a flame of sacred love

In these cold hearts of ours.

2.  In vain we tune our formal songs,

In vain strive to rise;

Hosannas languish on our tongues,

And our devotion dies.

3.  Dear Lord, and shall we ever live

At this poor dying rate?

Our love so faint, so cold to thee,

And thine to us so great!

4.  Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly Dove,

With all thy quick’ning pow’rs;

Come, shed abroad a Savior’s love,

And that shall kindle ours.

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/fiftieth-day-of-easter-day-of-pentecost-year-c/

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/fiftieth-day-of-easter-day-of-pentecost-year-b/

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/fiftieth-day-of-easter-day-of-pentecost-year-a/

Communion of Saints

Image Source = Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

Words by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), in 1719

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1.  Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

2.  Under the shadow of thy throne

Thy saints have dwelt secure;

Sufficient is thine arm alone,

And our defence is sure.

3.  Before the hills in order stood,

Or Earth received her frame,

From everlasting thou art God,

To endless years the same.

4.  A thousand ages in thy sight

Are like an evening gone,

Short as the watch that ends the night

Before the rising sun.

5.  Time, like an ever-rolling stream,

Bears all its sons away:

They fly forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the op’ning day.

Rays of Sunlight

Image Source = Wikipedia

Hymn Source = The Church Hymnal (1935), of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

Words (1719) by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), author of a plethora of hymns

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1.  From all that dwell below the skies,

Let the Creator’s praise arise;

Let the Redeemer’s name be sung,

Thro’ ev’ry land, by ev’ry tongue.

2.  Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;

Eternal truth attends thy word;

Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,

Till suns shall rise and set no more.

3.  In ev’ry land begin the song;

To ev’ry land the strains belong;

In cheerful sounds all voices raise,

And fill the world with loudest praise.