A Second Cantica Sacra

About the Book

As a minister in practice, hymns are a part of the whole scheme of things. And, doing the things that matter in ministry, dealing with hymns is a natural. Being by habit and development somewhat of a writer, I tried my hand at hymn texts as well. After some experimentation, I came to taking my idea - most often a passage of scripture I intended to use as a basis for preaching - and reflecting on it under the impress of a chosen hymn tune - I used one hymnal or another to discover the tunes. Of recent years, I have followed my way through Common Praise, the latest revision of Hymns Ancient and Modern, to provide the tunes. These 200 hymn texts all fit into that pattern; four of them were requests by a friend for a program on ‘Sing a New Song’ that he was to lead, the rest being aimed at the usual development. I found they served me as a first round reflection on the text. On occasion, when I was serving a congregation, I would use one for worship; now, of course, I do not, though they are shared through a liturgical materials web site another friend maintains and there is some evidence that some of them have been used by others. This book makes the texts available to anyone interested. Purchase of the book supplies the right to use them as well.

About the Author

I am a retired minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) living in the hills of the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. During the course of my ministry, I tested various ways of exercising my habit of writing. In addition to sermons and prayers, I indulged in more or less academic prose. I investigated poetry in a number of ways. I tried my hand - not very successfully - at drama. I developed a variety of devotional schemes. I evolved a way with short stories. And, in the middle of the 1980s, I investigated writing hymn texts. These hymn texts came to be verse reflections on a scripture lesson on which I would be preaching in the next few weeks, set to a more of less familiar hymn tune. I found the hymn texts, which I called Cantica Sacra, useful and helpful; as a result, they continue to invite my development regularly. This is all a part of my habit now as I live in retirement with my wife of fifty one years, a pair of dogs and several cats.