tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291232.post2489183716698858442..comments2024-03-24T05:54:23.612-05:00Comments on Weedon's Blog: Funeral MusicWilliam Weedonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01383850332591975790noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291232.post-70419018233241649562012-07-31T12:26:42.416-05:002012-07-31T12:26:42.416-05:00You were at the SID conference, Will, where...was ...You were at the SID conference, Will, where...was it Voelz?...well, whomever it was, they said something like we focus too much on the rest and not enough on the resurrection. I wish I could remember the exact words. When I wrote my Easter/funeral hymn, I kept that in mind.<br /><br /><br />Alleluia! Christ Is Risen<br /><br />1. Alleluia! Christ is risen!<br />Jesus, firstborn from the dead,<br />Burst the gates to hell’s dark prison.<br />Christ has triumphed as He said.<br />To the cross He bore sin's burden.<br />There He suffered grief and shame.<br />Rose again to earn our pardon--<br />Rose our freedom to proclaim.<br /><br />2. Lo, His tomb now stands deserted.<br />Hark, the stone now rolled away.<br />Satan's power fails, diverted,<br />Hell's dark fury held at bay.<br />Now end's Satan's insurrection.<br />Hear the truth we claim by faith:<br />Through His mighty resurrection<br />Jesus bears the keys to death.<br /><br />3. Sinful Adam, die with Jesus<br />In the great baptismal flood.<br />Washed of all sin's dread diseases,<br />Cleansed, we rise, in Jesus blood.<br />Where, O Hades, is your vict'ry?<br />Where, O Death, is now your sting?<br />Death, now toothless, falls before me.<br />Hell bows, mute, before my King.<br /><br />4. Alleluia! Christ is risen,<br />And with Him the saints shall rise.<br />Death is nevermore our prison;<br />Now the gate to paradise.<br />Pow'r, dominion, glory, honor<br />To the Lamb who once was slain,<br />Who, with Spirit and the Father,<br />Now and evermore shall reign.<br /><br /><br />(c) Alan Kornacki, Jr.<br />87 87 D<br />Tune: HYFRYDOL (LSB 700)Rev. Alan Kornacki, Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07322307218829558622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291232.post-34899751468304907152012-07-31T12:05:47.065-05:002012-07-31T12:05:47.065-05:00Apropos of not much, I make a point of playing a p...Apropos of not much, I make a point of playing a prelude on "Mitten wir im Leben sind" at every funeral where I am the organist.RobbieFishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14112535005437118728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291232.post-63359006095296516832012-07-30T16:37:56.299-05:002012-07-30T16:37:56.299-05:00Since a funeral is a Divine Service, the pastor sh...Since a funeral is a Divine Service, the pastor should have the same responsibilities for content as the regularly scheduled Divine ServicesJayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08624922090605693585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291232.post-45227889399689267422012-07-29T17:05:21.687-05:002012-07-29T17:05:21.687-05:00My preference, for a death between the end of the ...My preference, for a death between the end of the church year and Trinity, is to have the first hymn be a seasonal hymn. That helps the people realize that, yes, this is church, and it is just like church every week, and we are here in the presence of God and the community of believers. For the same reason, I want the congregation's responses, standing up and sitting down, and so on to be the same as what they have been practicing every week.<br /><br />The needs of the congregation will depend to a certain extent on the circumstances of death. If the person has died unexpectedly or tragically, more people will still be in shock when they come into the church, and so a boisterous first hymn is not, I think, what will fit the moment.<br /><br />For me, the choice of hymns will also take into account the expected attendance at the service. I am not going to ask a dozen mostly elderly people to struggle through eight stanzas of a hymn that requires strong voices in top shape (no "For all the saints," whose stirring tune has carried a text that probably would otherwise have been forgotten decades ago).<br /><br />For these reasons, I urge people to be flexible when making plans for their own funerals. I have not requested anything in particular for mine; since I have no idea how I will die, I also don't know what will be most helpful to those I leave behind. I will trust the pastor and musician to figure that out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291232.post-35373566961253966572012-07-29T07:52:23.785-05:002012-07-29T07:52:23.785-05:00Oh, and I think my organist would be happy if we s...Oh, and I think my organist would be happy if we sang "God's Own Child" every time the congregation gathered for anything. Not that I'd argue, but I do like a little variety.Rev. Alan Kornacki, Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07322307218829558622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291232.post-54518058424078995472012-07-29T07:48:54.426-05:002012-07-29T07:48:54.426-05:00I've made available a brief guide for "Pl...I've made available a brief guide for "Planning Your Funeral." Included is a list of hymn suggestions. My list tends to use your criteria.<br /><br />To avoid the problem at my own funeral, I wrote my own hymn!Rev. Alan Kornacki, Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07322307218829558622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291232.post-18339852787152245572012-07-29T07:40:00.021-05:002012-07-29T07:40:00.021-05:00I was allowed to plan my grandfather's funeral...I was allowed to plan my grandfather's funeral a few years ago and used all ten stanzas of Paul Speratus' "Salvation Unto Us Has Come" as the Hymn of the Day, among several other old Lutheran hymns. It was interesting seeing all the non-Lutherans (90% of the guests) singing them.Timothy C. Schenkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11770741345144496175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291232.post-82386935721519271802012-07-28T15:51:15.978-05:002012-07-28T15:51:15.978-05:00Very good advice on the resurrection focus! I was...Very good advice on the resurrection focus! I was more than a little surprised when someone asked me to use a song by Madonna at a funeral.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com