Let Us Break Bread Together: The Music and Celebration of the Lord’s Supper, Part 8

By Robin G. Jordan

Sermon.  The 1928 Prayer Book places the Nicene Creed before the Sermon in imitation of the earlier Prayer Books. In medieval times and earlier, the Sermon was preached after the Gospel, not after the Creed. More recent Anglican service books have either restored the Sermon to this position or permit the preaching of the Sermon before the Gospel or after the Creed.  As Massey J. Shepherd Jr. points out in his discussion of the Creed in the 1928 Order for the Administration of the Lord’s Supper in The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary, Cranmer placed the Creed before the Sermon because he considered the Creed to be “part of the first, or instructional, half of the service.” The sequence of Creed and Sermon “forms a logical and complete service of instruction in itself.” The singing of a hymn between the Creed and the Sermon disrupts this sequence.

The rubric permitting the singing of a hymn before and after the sermon was derived from a period when sermons were often preached apart from the Mass, and sermons within the Mass had become to be regarded as an addition to the Mass rather than as an integral part of it. This led to the development of a special preaching service known as the “prone” in which a sermon, preceded and followed by various devotions, was preached before, during, or after the Mass. At the Reformation the Continental Reformers made the prone the principal service on Sunday morning, replacing the Lord’s Prayer, Ave Maria, and other devotions before and after the sermon with metrical psalms.

For political reasons Queen Elizabeth I permitted the singing of a metrical psalm before and after Prayer Book services and before and after sermons in imitation of the Continental practice. The singing of metrical psalms had become extremely popular in England. The English people from all walks of life sung metrical psalms as they went about their daily occupations. During her reign the Puritans campaigned for a number of changes in the Book of Common Prayer as they did not consider the Prayer Book to be sufficiently reformed. Those who wished to further reform the Prayer Book were not only found in Parliament but also on the Privy Council. Elizabeth made these concessions to the Puritans while at the same time limiting the preaching of a sermon to one Sunday a month and requiring the reading of a part of a homily from the Book of Homilies on all other occasions.

Omitting the so-called sermon hymn is more consistent with Cranmer’s intentions. The rubric is permissive. It does not require the singing of a hymn before a sermon. Good practice strongly favors its omission.

It is noteworthy that the indices of Hymns Ancient & Modern New Standard (1983) in listing suitable hymns for the different parts of the service of Holy Communion do not list any for before the Sermon. Hymns Ancient & Modern New Standard (1983) was compiled for use with the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as well as the then new Alternative Service Book 1980.

At the Offertory. The rubrics state that while the Alms and Oblations are received and presented, a hymn or anthem may be sung. Even if no collection is made, a hymn or an anthem is appropriate at this particular place in the service when Holy Communion is the chief Sunday morning service. In Choosing-and Using—Hymns Lionel Dakers points out that Offertory is the place for “longer and more spacious hymns.”

In The Ceremonies of the Eucharist: A Guide to Celebration Howard F. Galley offers this helpful advice.

“During the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, on holy days, it is desirable that the texts of offertory hymns, psalms, and anthems relate directly to the season or the occasion. It is also suitable that they relate to the proper of the day—though this is not always possible or necessary.

Historically, offertory texts used on ‘green’ Sundays have been of a general nature, and this is a tradition worthy of respect. Some hymns included under ‘Holy Eucharist’ are also appropriate for occasional use at the Offertory on these Sundays.”

Galley goes on to note that the singing of a doxology or the playing of a fanfare at the presentation of the gifts is not recommended. He points out that the offertory is a “preparatory action,” and not an “event in itself.” Due to the liturgical clutter that tends to accumulate at this point in the service, it is not unusual to lose sight of the ancillary nature of the Offertory.

Among the hymns listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index and suitable for use as offertory hymns are:

Be thou my vision SLANE

Blest be the King whose coming VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN (ST. THEODULPH)

Christ Beside Me BUNESSAN

The Church's One Foundation AURELIA

Come, All Christians, Be Committed BEACH SPRING

Eternal Lord of love, behold your Church OLD 124TH

Fairest Lord Jesus CRUSADERS' HYMN (ST. ELIZABETH), SCHONSTER HERR JESU

Fight the Good Fight DUKE STREET, PENTECOST

For All Your Saints, O Lord FESTAL SONG

The original first line of this hymn was “For all thy saints.” It was first published in The Hymnal Revised and Enlarged (1892) of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA.

For Beauty of Meadows ST. DENIO

Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive DETROIT

DETROIT may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

For The Fruit of All Creation AR HYD Y NOS, EAST ACKLAM, SANTA BARBARA

For the Fruits of This Creation EAST ACKLAM

For the Healing of the Nations WESTMINSTER ABBEY, CWM RHONDDA, REGENT SQUARE (Smart), ST. THOMAS (Wade)

For Your Gift of God the Spirit BLAENWERN

Give Thanks, O Christian People ES FLOG EIN KLEINS WALDVOGEL/WOODBIRD

God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending NETTLETON, BEACH SPRING, RUSTINGTON

God, Whose Purpose Is to Kindle HOLY MANNA

HOLY MANNA may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

How firm a foundation FOUNDATION

FOUNDATION may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds ST. PETER (Reinagle), NEW BRITAIN/AMAZING GRACE [ORTONVILLE, DOVE OF PEACE,]

This hymn is set to the tune TAPESTRY in Songs for Celebration: Church Hymnal Series IV. It has a beautiful piano accompaniment. Stanzas 4 and 5 may be omitted and a piano interlude played between stanzas 3 and 6. I have sung “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds” to this tune as a solo.

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say KINGSFOLD

I want to walk as a child of the light HOUSTON (Thomerson)

Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love CHERAPONI

Jesus, Love of My Soul ABERYSTWYTH, MARTYN, REFUGE

ABERYSTWYTH may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

Lord, make us servants of your peace DICKINSON COLLEGE [O WALY WALY/THE WATER IS WIDE]

Lord of the Church, We Pray for Our Renewing LONDONERRY AIR #109

Lord, You Give the Great Commission ABBOT'S LEIGH

Many and Great, O God Are Thy Works LACQUIPARLE

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need RESIGNATION

RESIGNATION may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

My Song Is Love Unknown RHOSYMEDRE

O Jesus I Have Promised NYLAND, MUNICH,ANGEL’S STORY

Shepherd of souls, refresh and bless ST. AGNES

Spread, O spread, thou mighty word GOTT SEI DANK

Take Up Your Cross, the Savior Said BOURBON, NUN LASST UNS DEN LEIB, QUEBEC, O JESU, MI DULCISSIME

BOURBON may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

Tell His Praise in Song and Story HOLY MANNA

This hymn is based on Psalm 34 and may be used as an introit hymn and a communion hymn as well as an offertory hymn.

HOLY MANNA may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

There Is a Balm in Gilead BALM IN GILEAD

A cantor may sing the verses and the congregation the refrain
.

We praise you with our minds CLONMEL

When Christ was lifted from the earth ST. BOTOLPH, HAYES

This list is by no means exhaustive.

It may come as a surprise but the singing of a doxology or presentation hymn or sentence during the presentation of the Alms and Oblations is not actually a practice sanctioned by the rubrics of the 1928 Communion Service. The practice is a hangover from the 1892 Communion Office whose rubrics did make provision for the singing of a doxology or presentation hymn or presentation sentence sentence during the presentation of the Alms and Oblations. The rubrics of the 1892 Communion Office also provided for the recitation or singing of Offertory Sentences during the ingathering of the Alms and Oblations. The 1928 revision changed these rubrics, permitting the singing of a hymn or anthem when the Alms and Oblations are received and presented. It withdrew permission to sing a doxology or presentation hymn or presentation sentence during the presentation of the Alms and Oblations.

The Joint Commission on the Revision of the Hymnal would drop the doxology section from The Hymnal, 1940. The commission did, however, add a brief Presentation of the Alms and Oblations section near the very end of the service music. It contains the first stanza of “All things are thine; no gift have we,” set to GARDINER and a chant setting for the presentation sentence, “All things come of thee, O God.” It lists three alternatives to these two songs—“We give thee but thine own,” in the General Hymns section, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow: in the Thanksgiving Day section, and “Father we thank thee who hast planted” in the Holy Communion section.

The addition of this brief section points to the haphazard way the commission went about putting the hymnal together—an observation that The Companion to The Hymnal, 1940 confirms in a number of places. The section’s addition also shows that a number of Episcopal parishes were not paying attention to the rubrics of the 1928 Prayer Book. With its addition the commission gives tacit recognition to the continuance of a practice that the rubrics of the 1928 Prayer Book no longer countenanced.

The brevity of the section, its placement near the end of the service music, and the omission of a doxology section, however, suggests that the commission did not entirely support the practice.  The listing of “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” second to last in the list of three alternatives to “All things are thine; no gift have we” and “All things come of thee, O God” and its listing as an alternative to the Gloria in excelsis in the Liturgical Indices of the 1940 hymnal shows that the commission did not envision the use of the doxology in the inflexible manner that it is used in a number of churches. The commission did not imagine that it would become the fixture at the Offertory that it has become in these churches. The commission envisioned a much more flexible use of the doxology.

The evidence suggests that the particular use to which these churches put the doxology in celebrations of Holy Communion is regional. On the West Coast the doxology is sung in place of the Gloria in excelsis in a number of churches.

Based upon what Lionel Dakers wrote in Choosing-and Using—Hymns, the practice of singing a doxology at the presentations of the Alms and Oblations was virtually unknown in the Church of England in the 1980s. It was an American practice. Doxologies were printed in English hymnals for use at the end of services and parts of services.

The Offertory Sentences in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer do not include any presentation sentences. As Percy Dearmer points out in The Parson’s Handbook, the use of any special prayer before or during the presenting and placing of the basin on the Holy Table “robs the Liturgy of its meaning…when a suitable prayer is appointed to be said publically at the appointed time.” He is referring to the Prayer for Whole State of Christ’s Church which includes the petition, “We humbly beseech thee most mercifully to accept our alms and oblations….”

In An American Prayer Book: Its Origin and Principles Edward Lambe Parsons and Bayard Hale Jones make a similar point.

“The intercalation in the Intercession is reduced to ‘accept our [alms and] oblations.’  This makes it clear that the elements themselves are oblations, and constitutes the Intercession as a corporate offertory prayer.”

An additional offertory prayer is superfluous.

The rubrics of the 1928 Communion Service do not require the singing of a doxology, presentation hymn, or presentation sentence during the presentations of the Alms and Oblations. Even the 1892 rubrics were permissive. As has been already noted, the 1928 rubrics permit the singing of a hymn or anthem when the Alms and Oblations are received and presented. The rubrics do not envision any more than one song at this particular juncture in the service.

The singing of a doxology, presentation hymn, or presentation sentence during the presentations of the Alms and Oblations is purely a local custom. It is one of those customs that should be carefully evaluated for its usefulness. It should not be followed simply on the basis of “we have always done it that way.”

If after careful evaluation of the practice it is decided to retain it for pastoral reasons, consideration should be given to the use of “All things are thine; no gift have we” or “We give thee but thine own” as the presentation hymn. This would free the Thomas Ken doxology, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” for use elsewhere in the service such as in place of the Gloria in excelsis.

As noted below, two of the hymn stanzas suggested for use as substitutes for the Gloria in excelsis in the hymn list after the last setting of the Gloria in excelsis in the first service music section of The Hymnal, 1940 are doxologies at the end of a hymn. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” and “From all that dwells below the skies” whose third stanza is “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” are suggested as substitutes for the Gloria in excelsis in the second Liturgical Index of The Hymnal, 1940.

Limiting the use of the Thomas Ken doxology to the presentation of the Alms and Oblations at the Offertory is not good stewardship of the use of that particular hymn stanza or of the hymn tune to which it is invariably sung.

The first stanza “All things are thine; no gift have we” is printed in Presentation of the Alms and Oblations section of The Hymnal, 1940. The complete hymn is printed in the Consecration of a Church section of the same hymnal. GARDINER, also known as GERMANY, is in the digital hymnal’s Master Index. The tune is Long Meter (8.8.8.8.). The tempo of GARDINER is fairly slow. A hymn tune with a faster tempo would be a better choice for a presentation hymn.

ERHALT UNS, HERR has the right tempo and is listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index. Another possibility is CANONBURY, which is also in the Master Index.

Only the first stanza of Bishop William Walsham Howe’s hymn, “We give thee but thine own,” is printed in the General Hymns section of The Hymnal, 1940.  A longer version of the hymn is in Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (2013).

1 We give thee but thine own,
whate'er the gift may be;
all that we have is thine alone,
a trust, O Lord, from thee.

2 May we thy bounties thus
as stewards true receive,
and gladly, as thou blessest us,
to thee our firstfruits give.

3 The captive to release,
to God the lost to bring,
to teach the way of life and peace:
it is a Christ-like thing.

4 And we believe thy word,
though dim our faith may be;
whate'er we do for thine, O Lord,
we do it unto thee.

This version is the version printed in a number of the hymnals listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Manual. It is suitable for use as an offertory hymn. The six stanzas of the original hymn are found in the Oremus Hymnal. This is the version that was printed in the 1889 hymnal.

“We give thee but thine own” is printed in 285 hymnals. The hymn is written in Short Meter. The most common tune to which it is sung is SCHUMANN, which is is in the digital hymnal’s Master Index. It is not a difficult tune to sing. ST. ANDREW (Barnby) is another common setting for the hymn. ST. ANDREW (Barnby) is also in the Master Index.

Other possibilities are ST. MICHAEL/OLD 134TH*, TRENTHAM—a little too slow, ST. THOMAS (Williams), CARISLE (Lockhart), FRANCONIA (Konig)*, and FESTAL SONG*which are also in the Master Index.

If the Thomas Ken doxology is used at the presentations of the Alms and Oblations, consideration should be given to varying the tune of the doxology. One of the dangers of this practice is that the singing of the doxology can become perfunctory and even lackluster when the same tune is always used. Varying the tune should be given consideration wherever the Thomas Ken doxology is used in a service.

The Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index contains a number of tunes that can be sung with the Thomas Ken doxology. LASST UNS ERFREUEN (VIGILES ET SANCTI) is the perfect tune for Easter through Whitsunday, permitting the congregation to adorn the doxology with alleluias.

Jimmie Owen’s FAIRFIELD, also known as DOXOLOGY, is a delightful tune that I first learned in the early1980s here in western Kentucky at St. Peter’s of the Lakes, then a relatively young church, having been launched in 1980, one of the last of the new Episcopal churches planted in the region and the diocese. One attractive way to sing the doxology to this tune in parts is to singing the doxology three times, each time adding parts. The first time the doxology is sung, the sopranos begin and the altos are added at midpoint; the second time, the tenors begin and the basses are added at midpoint; the third time, all sing.

The doxology may be sung as a round, using THE EIGHT TUNE, also known as TALLIS’ CANON. THE EIGHT TUNE is the tune for metrical setting of Psalm 67 in Archbishop Parker’s Psalter. It is one of nine tunes that Thomas Tallis contributed to the Psalter. THE EIGHTH TUNE may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

If the Thomas Ken doxology cannot be sung, it should be omitted. It should never—and I emphasize NEVER—be recited! This also holds true for “All things are thine; no gift have we,” “We give thee but thine own,” and “Father, thou has planted.” These texts are printed in The Hymnal, 1940 to be sung. If a presentation sentence is needed, the 1928 Prayer Book provides two—“Thine, O Lord, is the greatness…” (1 Chronicles 29:11) and “All things come of thee, O Lord…” (1 Chronicles 29:14). They are printed at the end of the Offertory Sentences.

The 1928 rubrics do not require the use of a presentation sentence. The use of one of these two presentation sentences is left to the discretion of the priest.

A doxology or a presentation hymn and a presentation sentence should not be used together. This kind of redundancy is not edifying and borders on the “vain repetitions” of Matthew 6:7. If a doxology or presentation hymn is sung, the presentation sentence should be omitted and visa versa.

An offertory hymn or anthem in which the Thomas Ken doxology or another doxology form the last stanza of the song, however, may be sung while the Alms and Oblations are received and brought forward to the priest and the priest may say one of the two presentation sentences when he humbly present and place the basin containing the alms for the poor and the other offerings of the people upon the Holy Table. This practice involves separate liturgical actions and is consistent with the rubrics. It does not entail the needless duplication which occurs when the congregation sings a doxology or presentation hymn and the priest says a presentation sentence as he presents and places the basin on the table.

The Offertory is one of those places in the communion service that attracts liturgical clutter. Doxologies, presentation hymns, presentation sentences, offertory prayers, and trumpet fanfares are extraneous. They give the Offertory a Pelagian cast. All that is required is that the priest should receive the basin directly from whoever brought it to the chancel steps and that he should without elaborate ceremonial or exaggerated gesture present and place the basin on the Holy Table. This may be done in silence as was the ancient practice of the Church. Both Habakkuk 2:20 and Zephaniah 1:7 emphasize the appropriateness of silence when we draw near to God. “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” Habakkuk 2:20. “Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests” Zephaniah 1:7. The priest should not wave the basin before the Holy Table as if it was an Old Testament wave offering.

The Offertory is a good place to apply the liturgical principle that less is more and to keep the music and the ceremonial fairly simple. While the priest is preparing the bread and wine and the designated person or persons are taking the collection, a hymn can be sung or instrumental music played. During the final stanza of the hymn or toward the end of the instrumental music the appointed person brings the collection forward to the chancel steps where the priest is waiting. At the conclusion of the hymn or instrumental music, the priest takes the basin from that person and presents and places it on the Holy Table. The priest may say a presentation sentence from the Prayer Book when he does that or he may do it in silence. In light of the observations of Dearmer, Parson and Jones the latter would be the preferred practice. The priest then offers up the bread and wine as directed by the rubrics.

On occasion a hymn with a doxological ending might be used as the offertory hymn; on occasion the four stanza version of “We give thee but thine own” might be sung. A good practice is to vary the  music at the Offertory from week to week—a hymn one week; instrumental music, the next; a small group vocal or a solo, the following week, and so on. In this way no hymn tune would be used too much like OLD HUNDRETH has been overused.

Timothy Dudley Smith’s hymn, “The God of grace is ours,” deserves mention at this point. It is based on 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 and is particularly suitable for use at the Offertory. It may be sung to CARLISLE, ST. BRIDE, or FESTAL SONG. It is a hymn of praise and is doxological from beginning to end. It also contains the text of the first presentation sentence printed with the Offertory Sentences in the 1928 Prayer Book. Singing a doxology or presentation hymn or saying a presentation sentence would be decidedly redundant when this hymn is used. ST. BRIDE may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

“For the life that you have given” also deserves mention. Carl P. Daw Jr. wrote the text as an offertory response for the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

For the life that you have given,
for the love in Christ made known,
with these fruits of time and labor,
with these gifts that are your own:
here we offer, Lord, our praises;
heart and mind and strength we bring;
give us grace to love and serve you,
living what we pray and sing.

It is listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index with the 87.87.D tune PLEADING SAVIOR.

If the congregation felt a compelling need for a presentation hymn, “For the life that you have given” would be a good choice. As in the case of “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” the tune should be varied so that no tune was overused. If this offertory response is used at the presentation of the Alms and Oblations, saying a presentation sentence is redundant.