We are invited to worship — and service — through a jazz-inflected setting of the 19th century hymn "Jesus Calls Us; O'er the Tumult" by William Bolcom. Like other selections from the composer's "Gospel Preludes for Organ" collection, this setting carries forward the time-honored tradition of chorale prelude settings for organ but in the contemporary language of gospel, blues, and jazz.
 
"Jesus Calls Us, o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea. Day by day that voice still calls us, saying, "Christian, follow me."

The Chancel Choir sings of healing in Christ in a setting of the African-American spiritual "There Is a Balm in Gilead" by Steven Milloy, a former Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music colleague of mine. The text refers to the spiritual healing compound mentioned in Jeremiah 8.22: "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?" The spiritual text however views this balm through a New Testament lens as salvation and healing through Christ.

"There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul...Don't ever feel discouraged, for Jesus is your friend, and if you lack for knowledge he'll ne'er refuse to lend."

Worship concludes with a dynamic setting of the spiritual "Down By the Riverside" by Marianne Kim. The composer has arranged numerous characteristic settings for organ incorporating elements from the gospel, jazz and blues genres. The original text of this spiritual predates the Civil War and refers to becoming a new creation in Christ, leaving anger and all resentments behind.

"Gonna lay down my burden, down by the riverside, down by the riverside, down by the riverside..."

​A potpourri of sounds this Sunday as our music ensembles take leave for the summer.

Staff singer and soprano Blair Carpenter shares two spirituals, "Deep River" and "Ride On, King Jesus!" arranged by H.T. Burleigh and Hall Johnson, respectively. Both men were contemporaries and instrumental in combining the American spiritual to art music. The Chancel Choir offers Mark Miller's "God Has Work for Us to Do" at the 11:00 a.m. service. The modern and edgy text by Carl Daw speaks to the injustices of our world and calls us all to be the instrument of God to undo them. Mark Miller's setting is reminiscent of musical theater and evokes a hopeful and poignant backdrop to this amazing text. To close the morning services, I offer an exciting setting of our Doxology tune, "Lasst uns erfeuen" by my Cincinnati College-Conservatory former colleague, Brenda Portman. She currently is an organ professor at Xavier University and Resident Organist at Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church, both in Cincinnati, Ohio.