Music to End the Day Sunday, 23 August 2020

Dear Friends,

We begin our evening sequence tonight with a reflective Sonata in G minor by Domenico Scarlatti.
Born in 1685 – the same year as both Bach and Handel –
Scarlatti wrote move than 550 keyboard sonatas, many of them highly original in style,
looking forward to the classical era of Haydn and Mozart.

When Ernesto came to Cornerstone in 2005,
he introduced me to one of his favourite songs, ‘Pues si vivimos, para El vivimos’,
and I made a special arrangement for the choir, which we offered as part of his Induction Service.
The song has its origins as a Mexican folk hymn.
The first verse was recorded and transcribed by Gertrude Suppe,
during a meeting with a Mexican woman in Los Angeles following a worship service.
Suppe was serving on the editorial committee of MARCHA –
Methodists Associated Representing Concerns of Hispanic Americas –
which at the time was recommending that more Spanish indigenous music be collected
for use in Spanish speaking churches.
The song was presented for inclusion in the ‘Celebremos’ series
for which editor Roberto Escamilla created three additional verses in Spanish.
(Escamilla is himself a native of Mexico, and he served many United Methodist churches
in Texas and Oklahoma, both Spanish and English-speaking).
The words were translated into English by George Lockwood,
thereby creating the beautiful hymn as we know it today:

Pues si vivimos,
para El vivimos,
y si morimos;
para El morimos;
sea que vivamos
a que moramos
somos del Señor,
somos del Señor.

When we are living,
we are in the Lord;
for in our living
and in our dying
we belong to God,
we belong to God.

Each day allows us
to decide for good,
loving and serving
as we know we should;
in thankful giving,
in hopeful living,
we belong to God,
we belong to God.

Sometimes we sorrow,
other times, embrace,
sometimes we question
everything we face;
yet in our yearning
is deeper learning:
we belong to God,
we belong to God.

Till earth is over
may we always know
love never fails us;
we belong to God,
we belong to God.

And now to end our evening I will share with you a simple Coronavirus Prayer,
found on the altar in St Non’s Chapel on the Pembrokeshire coast,
where Jill and I have been spending the last few days.
By tradition, the Chapel marks the birthplace of St David, patron saint of Wales, around AD 475:

A Coronavirus Prayer

Dear God,
I pray for the healing of all affected by this deadly virus.
Only you can move in a mighty way, and do the impossible for them.
We pray that all negative outcomes may be resolved by your healing hands.
Bless and cover each and every person.
Bring wholeness to their bodies, from the top of their head to the soles of their feet.

Amen

Goodnight, everyone!

Adrian Boynton