Prelude: Music For 100 Years

This year in Gathering, we are pleased to be celebrating the milestone 100th anniversary of The United Church of Canada with many special articles, prayers, pieces of music, and texts! The United Church of Canada has been on the cutting edge of many things over its lifetime—including wonderful hymn writing. United Church writers and composers were some of the first in Canada to really examine images of God, the language we use, and ways to be thoroughly inclusive in liturgy and hymnody. The United Church also has much to apologize for over our 100 years. But in the words of common wisdom: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” I think we can celebrate knowing better and doing better as we continue in our faith journey as a denomination. For a deeper exploration of this topic, we have an article by the Rev. Dr. Lisa Waites reflecting on the rich history of United Church congregational song and celebrating the forthcoming Then Let Us Sing!

During this milestone year, we continue to celebrate hymn writers who have led the way as the United Church lives out our call for Deep Spirituality, Bold Discipleship, and Daring Justice. In this issue, we have a wonderful hymn text celebrating our 100th anniversary penned by former Moderator Richard Bott, and two pieces of music: one from a team of hymn writers and one from Linnea Good.

We also have a few items for special days in the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany that don’t always get a lot of attention, including a text for the Baptism of Jesus and a hymn for the Transfiguration.

We hope that you find ways to celebrate the 100th anniversary that fit your context!

Tammy-Jo Mortensen, Gathering Music Editor