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Table of Contents
Intention and Design
There are twelve classes. Intentions for the series:
- Fill twelve weeks
- Hold singing in the space and time where choir practice would be
- Increase participation in choir when it starts back up
- Get David proficient enough with keyboards to play nice music in the sanctuary before service starts. (This is part of a larger conversation.)
To these ends, I want to move Sunday School downstairs to the Wesley Chapel where there is a better-maintained piano.
Intentions for every week:
- Make “a few minutes late” still work
- Begin and end with a prayer
- Sing and discuss at least one hymn
- Conclude promptly by 11:00 so people can do what they need to before worship service starts
The first will be introductory and maybe we just do one hymn in order to make extra time to explain the intention and design of the series.
Hymns
Here are the 18 hymns we've selected for the class. For a complete list of hymns Charles and John have in the blue book, consult the page history, or the author's index in the hymnal.
| Number | Title | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 57 | O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing | * Ready to play |
| 60 | I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath | * I need to hear this. |
| 129 | Give to the Winds Thy Fears | * About 90% ready. |
| 173 | Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies | * |
| 196 | Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus | * Hyfrydol; only 2 verses. |
| 240 | Hark! The Herald Angels Sing | * about half ready |
| 302 | Christ the Lord Is Risen Today | * about half ready |
| 339 | Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast | * 90% ready |
| 384 | Love Divine, All Loves Excelling | * more than half ready |
| 385 | Let Us Plead For Faith Alone | * |
| 413 | A Charge to Keep I Have | * super easy; about half ready |
| 417 | O For a Heart to Praise My God | * |
| 553 | And Are We Yet Alive | * Denis; about 90% ready |
| 562 | Jesus, Lord, We Look to Thee | * |
| 616 | Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast | * (Duplicate of 339) |
| 627 | O the Depth of Love Divine | * I need to hear this. |
| 709 | Come, Let Us Join Our Friends Above | * I like this one. It's less than half ready. |
| 715 | Rejoice, the Lord Is King | * I like this one but I really like the LDS version… |
Calendar
I want to have one or two hymns per week to sing and discuss.
I probably need help choosing which hymns to put on which weeks, what questions to ask, etc.
June 7
Pride Weekend; we won't be having Sunday School.
June 14
O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing
(Potential) questions:
- If you had a thousand tongues, what song would you sing?
- What is Charles Wesley singing about?
Points I want to get to:
- John and Charles Wesley's most enduring writings are in the hymns
- The first page of the hymnal–the instructions on singing
June 21
June 28
July 5
Definitions of words from the hymn (from Oxford English Dictionary):
- Panoply
- a complete or impressive collection of things.
- a splendid display
- a complete set of arms or suit of armor
- Endued
- endowed or provided with a quality or ability.
513: Soldiers of Christ, Arise
First, note that this is in the Sanctifying and Perfecting Grace section of the hymnal.
- The Armor of God: Ephesians 6:10-20, Romans 8:28-38
From the text, it is explicit that our fight is metaphorical and not literal.
Attach the UMC document about Christian Nationalism
July 12
July 19
July 26
August 2
August 9
August 16
August 23
August 30
This is the last class of the series. Some points that can't be left out:
- Plug the next Sunday School series and note if the time is changing
- Suggest joining the chancel choir