May’s Note

Last summer, our choir combined with the choir from Emmanuel Baptist Church here in Athens, and presented a joint summer musical titled, “Heaven Is.” This year, we will again combine our choirs and present another musical together called, “Joy Every Day.” The dates for this musical will be August 18th and August 25th. We are still in the planning process for the musical, but one Sunday it will be presented at Elkton Road and the other Sunday will be at Emmanuel. The musical tells of Christian joy and tells how everyone can obtain it!

This month’s hymn history tells of a great song about joy, “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”.  The song was written by Henry Van Dyke in 1907. Van Dyke, in his lifetime, was a pastor, ambassador to the Netherlands, commander in the Navy, professor of English, president of the National Institute of the Arts, author, poet, novelist, essayist, and hymnist. After waking early one morning and gazing at the beautiful scenery of the surrounding Berkshire Mountains at Williams College in Massachusetts; he wrote the words to this song before breakfast. He handed the college president a piece of paper – this hymn – at breakfast that same morning. “It must be sung to the music of Beethoven’s ‘Hymn of Joy,’” he said.

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

“Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love; 

Hearts unfold like flowers, like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;

Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!”

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You. 

Psalm 71:23

Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8: 10 (b)