“Today with Ancient Bethlehem”
This month we continue our Hymn of the Month series in which one or more hymns drawn from collections published by The Leupold Foundation will be posted on the opening page of the website for consideration by pastors and musicians who may wish to introduce the hymn to their congregations the following month. The Hymn of the Month will often be thematically appropriate for a particular season of the church year or it may be related to a more general theme about the church’s mission in contemporary society. Thus, pastors and/or musicians may wish to have the choir introduce the hymn on the first Sunday of the month or season and then invite the congregation to join with the choir in singing the hymn on each of the remaining Sundays. Additional hymns will occasionally be suggested for a particular Sunday in the church year or for annual commemorations, such as the liturgies of Holy Week; such hymns may only be appropriate on the designated day, or they might be used as a Hymn of the Month in anticipation of or in response to the particular day observed on the church calendar.
ADDITIONAL HYMN FOR CHRISTMAS 2024:
Text: “Today with Ancient Bethlehem,” Daniel B. Merrick, New Honors for His Name, p. 58.
Tune: DANCE CAROL, Janis Dunson Wilson, Walking in the Light of Christ, p. 44.
A suggested hymn for Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/Christmas season in 2024 is “Today with Ancient Bethlehem“, a jubilant text by Daniel B. Merrick (1926-2004) accompanied by a playful tune by Janis Dunson Wilson (b. 1958). One may certainly question the wisdom of introducing a new hymn on Christmas Eve, especially since it will likely only be sung on two subsequent Sundays of Christmas. However, in this instance, the tune is so catchy and inviting that, upon hearing the first stanza sung by the choir (preferably a children’s choir) or a soloist, the congregation will eagerly join in singing the remainder of the hymn, especially with added percussion and/or the instrumental descant. Given that Stanza 4 is devoted to the Wise Men, the hymn could certainly be sung on the Feast of the Epiphany as well, or, for those of us who tend to be purists, Stanza 4 could be omitted on Christmas Eve and substituted for the shepherd Stanza 3 on Epiphany.
Daniel B. Merrick was an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), serving as pastor for congregations in Wisconsin, Illinois, and the Panama Canal Zone. Merrick also served as editor for his denomination’s 1995 Chalice Hymnal and for its subsequent Chalice Hymnal: Worship Leader’s Companion. A collection of over sixty of his hymn texts, entitled, New Honors for His Name, was published by The Leupold Foundation in 2002. Janis Dunson Wilson is a versatile composer of sacred and secular choral and instrumental works, with a primary focus has on theatrical composition, including musicals, operettas, and operas. Currently, she teaches in the Theater Department of the Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California, and works as a music therapist in Sonoma County. Her collection of thirty-two hymn tunes, Walking in the Light of Christ was published by The Leupold Foundation in 2007.
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