Rev. Horton J. Scott,  Celebrant          

Frank Waiters Jr., Senior Warden,

Louise Meggett, Junior Warden

Forrest Drennen, Organist 

E-mail stbarnabas1.1@juno.com

  
February 12, Sixth Sunday after Epiphany: (Septuagesima Sunday, the third Sunday before Lent)

Psalm 42 ;2 Kings 5:1-15ab; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Mark 1:40-45

 It's the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (Septuagesima Sunday, the third Sunday before Lent and the ninth Sunday before Easter.) Today we celebrate the Feast of Absalom Jones (1746-1818) and Richard Allen (1760-1831). Absalom Jones and Richard Allen were lay preachers for the African American members of St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church preaching regularly at Sunday 5 A.M. services. Under their ministry, black attendance increased to an extent that alarmed the white clergy. They were asked to stand along walls as white membership increased and give up seats they normally occupied - which they did. One morning the sexton was standing at the door and directed them to the newly constructed gallery (they were told they could see and hear just as well). Absalom Jones, Richard Allen and William White arrived late together and were not directed to the gallery. The meeting had begun with singing. Just as they got to seats the elder said, "Let us pray". They knelt. One of the white trustees told them they "must not kneel here". Mr. Jones said "wait until prayer is over and we will not bother you any more". To use the venerable Richard Allen's words: 'One Sunday as the Africans, as they were called, knelt to pray outside of their segregated area they were actually pulled from their knees and told to go to a place which had been designated for them.” This added insult to injury and upon completing their prayer, All left and never returned. They decided they should have their own place of worship. Dr. Benjamin Rush helped them launch a building drive. With the financial help of friends (Quaker Philanthropists), the Saint Thomas African Episcopal Church was built. In 1794 Richard Allen rejected an offer to become the pastor of the church the Free African Society had built, a position ultimately accepted by Absalom Jones. To reconcile his (Methodist) faith and his African-American identity, Richard Allen formed "The Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church". Latter Became Bishop of the denomination, and published it's first hymnal (the first to include "Negro Spirituals") The preface to the AMEC 1984 hymnal says it was the first book of songs published by the Children of Oppression, and the very first to give expression in their own selected language telling of the Christian hope of the race (See Hymnal 1801 ).

Let us pray for: peace in our world. The members of Christian Peacemaker Teams who are being held hostage in Iraq The famine stricken African countries of Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso, the troubled lands of Africa (especially Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire [former : Ivory Coast ] and Sudan) and the people of Guyana. We also pray for The Archbishop of York John Sentamu, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, Diocesan Bishop John Croneberger, his wife, and assistant Bishop Carol Gallagher. We remember in prayer Hazel Carter, Francis Coleman, Carolyn Goodwin, Eula Jefferson, Louise Meggett, Janice Nugent, Rudolph Perry, Tony Pina, Victoria Sawyer, Amanda Scott, Rev. Mildred J. Solomon, and Aquinda Toppins. Finally, with the Church throughout the ages we pray: “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!”

MUSIC THIS WEEK

Blessed Absalom LEV 44

Jesus, lover of my soul LEV 79

My Lord, What a Morning LEV 13

My Jesus I love thee LEV 89

: Am I a soldier of the cross? (INSERT)

The Hymns today were chosen to honor Absalom  Jones and Richard Allen. Most of them are derived from hymns were popular among black Methodists and Episcopalians at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Sermon hymn:  “Jesus, lover of my soul”,  Although not in Richard Allen' s  1801 hymnal was undoubtedly known by the members of St George's, Saint Thomas' and Mother Bethel. It was first published in Charles Wesley's Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1740. Some have called this the finest hymn in the English language.

The offertory hymn: “My Lord what a Morning” owes it imagery to the following hymn that was popular among black slaves as far back as 1801, when it was published in Richard Allen's hymnal, and through the years of slavery it was cited several times as a favorite among black singers. "Behold the awful trumpet sounds, The sleeping dead to raise, And calls the nations underground: O how the saints will praise!"  The Africans used many of the hymns that were sung in church and integrated them into their songs. The result is an entirely new song with its own form and music. "My Lord, what a morning, My Lord, what a morning, My Lord, what a morning, When the stars begin to fall. You'll hear the trumpet sound, To wake the nations underground, Looking to my God's right hand, When the stars begin to fall."

 At the communion we Sing: “ My Jesus I love thee” .  These Words share the sentiment and even the meter with "O Jesus, my Savior, to thee I submit" Which is first found in Richard Allen's COLLECTION OF SPIRITUAL SONGS AND HYMNS SELECTED FROM VARIOUS AUTHORS (Philadelphia: 1801) which he compiled for his African Methodist Episcopal Church. where it is attributed to Mrs. Sarah Jones. Because of the variants of this hymn as published in the various collections, ranging from New Hampshire to Virginia, it is apparent that it circulated in oral tradition before it was published. (Dictionary of American Hymnology, Oberlin College Library.) It next appears as “O Jesus, my Savior, I know thou art mine”  Attributed to Caleb Jarvis Taylor, Sacred Harp 1803. The version we now sing, is attributed to  William R. Featherston, 1864; Featherston was only 16 years old at the time.

The final hymn: Am I a soldier of the cross?  Written by Isaac Watts in 1721-4, is the first hymn listed in the table of contents of Allen's hymnal. This version adds a stirring refrain to Watt’s original hymn an example of a “wandering” chorus. According to all evidence, Allen’s hymnal is apparently the earliest source in history that includes hymns to which “wandering” choruses or refrains are attached; that is, choruses that are freely added to any hymn rather than affixed permanently to specific hymns. Hymns we know such as “At the Cross” and “Jesus the Light of the World” are examples of hymns with “wandering” choruses.

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