“We Honor Harriet Tubman”
Mark Alan Filbert, Hymnology Consultant2024-11-13T14:51:35-05:00This 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 website for consideration by pastors and musicians who may wish to introduce the hymn to their congregations the following month, perhaps by having the choir introduce the hymn on the first Sunday of the month or season and then inviting the congregation to join with the choir in singing the hymn on each remaining Sunday. Additional hymns will occasionally be suggested for a particular Sunday or festival in the church year; 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 on the church calendar.


HYMN OF THE MONTH FOR FEBRUARY 2025:
Text: “We Honor Harriet Tubman,” Edith Sinclair Downing, Sing Praise for Faithful Women, p. 35
Tune: HARRIET TUBMAN, Iteke Prins, Hold God’s Lifeline, p. 64
Alternate Tune: MUNICH
Since 1976, every US president has officially designated the month of February as African-American History Month. In observance of that commemoration, the Hymn of the Month for February 2025 is “We Honor Harriet Tubman” by Edith Sinclair Downing (1922-2016), which chronicles the life, work, and legacy of the best-known “conductor” of the Underground Railroad. As such, after escaping from slavery herself in 1849, Tubman (1822-1913) was responsible for leading at least seventy slaves to freedom. During the Civil War, she was a Union Army scout and spy, and in her later years, she became an activist in the women’s suffrage movement. If sung throughout the month of February, the brand-new tune composed for this text just last year by Iteke Prins (b. 1937) could be introduced by the choir on the first Sunday of the month and sung by the congregation on each subsequent Sunday, thus ensuring familiarity for repetition in the future. For one-time use, however, the alternate familiar tune, MUNICH, should be readily singable by most congregations.
Edith Sinclair Downing was a remarkable woman, holding degrees in cello performance, religious education, and theological studies with a concentration on worship. She began writing hymns in her late sixties and ultimately completed four collections of hymn texts, three of which were published by The Leupold Foundation, two in 2009, namely, Through Joy and Sorrow and Sing Praise for Faithful Women, followed by For Us, God’s People Now in 2011. Iteke Prins was born in Holland and immigrated to the United States in 1949. After achieving her career goal as a registered nurse, Iteke Prins later served as organist and music director for Blooming Grove Reformed Church in Rensselaer, New York, from 1969 until 2005. Iteke Prins has published nine volumes of hymn tunes through The Leupold Foundation.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.