Servant

A phone conversation brought this subject up – maybe I’ll be doing a presentation at a retreat/conference.
A theme that runs through the Scriptures. Not surprising that quite a few songs carry it. I was pleased to get the ‘Servant of Christ’ award (is that an oxymoron?) back in 2001. I was able on that occasion to give credit to Dorothy, the ‘gift of God’ & a servant of so many, especially me.

But one stands head and shoulders above them all.
She thought the newly written baptism song I sang for her in Ashford hospital in July 1973 was pretty good. In May 1981 she asked if the song I was working on for a student service was for an approaching wedding. ‘May we be one’ became both.
She’s been the editor of countless songs, has sung so many of them much better than I could ever do. She’s had numerous suggestions to improve old songs, and ideas for new ones that I might write. She is sometimes sharp in her criticism, makes some good jokes at my expense, but she’s always constant in her encouragement.
When I feel that others don’t care for the songs,
I know that she loves them — and me too.
I met Dorothy Joy Stiller in Sunday School when we were both 7 years old. Dorothy means God’s Gift; and a gift with Joy thrown in as a bonus. It’s been hard to cope with.
I wrote a song for that day — ‘Hardly a Secret’. We recorded a wedding version of it for our ‘Intimate’ CD in 2003. The original is yet to be recorded or published.
2. It’s hardly a secret, that you were a friend,
to so many outsiders, women and men,
to lepers and taxmen, and kids on the street —
a servant will wash any feet.
Living relies upon dying each day;
love isn’t love till you give it away.
May Jesus’ love shine in what we do and say.
Help me be a servant today,
help me be your servant always.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve & to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45)

HEROES (1. 2)

The first recording for this new collection I did was in Melbourne in May 2010. In the house of Tomas Fitzgerald & Karen Heath. Our Thom works with them in a band called ‘Ennis Tola’.

Tom is a very good engineer as well a musician & composer. We laid some beds for 4 songs. 3 of them formed the basis for arrangements we finished in Adelaide: ‘Stay Awake’, ‘Thank God you’re here’ & ‘Brand New Day’.
‘Stay Awake’ got the punch it needs, with Tom’s excellent guitar work & Thom’s drumming. ‘Thank God you’re here’ was helped along by Thom’s drums (as always!) & Kaz’s clarinet. But I think ‘Brand New Day’ got a whole new lease of life from the arranging & playing the 2 Toms provided. It’s simpler, more a celebration. Kindekrist did it for the LP we put out in 1980 but I always felt it never quite got to the place it should have been. Now it feels right.

Debate in our household wondered about leaving the SAPS choir sing this one (in unison), with neither me nor Dorothy singing. ??? Feels like a good start to the CD.

It's another resurrection morning,
it's another resurrection day.
It's another resurrection morning
and the Devil's had his day.
They killed a man called Jesus but he's back to stay
sayin, "Come and see the brand new day!"

HEROES

16 songs for people to sing together.

For kids of all ages!

That's HEROES, a new collection of songs from Robin & Dorothy Mann.
Recorded in the 2nd half of 2010, it's been a bit slow getting out of the blocks. Taken for a bit of a test run in March (Geelong to Maitland NSW) delayed by Easter & general procrastination, CDs & books are available from the website & will soon be given a bit more public air.

Have I been slack on blogging? Oh, yes!! My last blog was in October 2010 (only 6 months ago). I hope to rectify this situation.

Songs in the new collection include some well-known pieces - For you deep stillness, You are invited - & quite a lot of newer ones. Robin & Dorothy lead the singing, but they're joined by a lot of others, mostly primary school children, on 11 of the tracks. From the Wagga Wagga Lutheran Primary School Choir of 1996 to the South Australian Primary School(SAPS)Choir of 2010 their voices sound the joy of 'Brand New Day', 'It's Christmas', 'Stay Awake' & 8 others.

Andy Voigt did his usual excellent recording & mixing job. Often heard musicians like Doug Petherick, Tom Belcher & Thom & Jon Mann were joined by Sam Leske & Holly Thomas.

A pleasure to listen to (from a totally unbiased pair of ears!!). You'll want to sing along.

His truth will make you free

1. Now the secret mystery is revealed;
now the broken universe is healed;
silence has been ended, God has spoken clear:
words of life and hope for you and me:
Learn the truth, his truth will make you free.

2. He was born like us, so weak and small;
real his hands and feet that learned to crawl,
real his love for strangers, real his love for friends,
real the pain upon his hanging tree.
Learn the truth, his truth will make you free.

3. Truth is not a dream in some dark night;
truth cannot be seen by human sight;
truth is in a poor man — one who worked with wood
— God with hands that heal so tenderly.
Learn the truth, his truth will make you free.

4. All the pieces fit round him as planned:
everything — the sky, the sea, the land.
And we find our freedom as we're bound in him:
free to live and love as much as he.
Learn the truth, his truth will make you free.

Robin Mann © 1981 (music: email me, I’ll send a pdf)

One of many songs I don’t actually remember writing! And it’s never made it into one of the All Together books. But, like most songwriters, I have an affection for most of my songs. This is one of those that’s not going to grab people straight away but maybe it’s not a bad piece for meditation. Not direct prayer or praise, but reflection on the meaning of God’s action in Jesus.
I certainly know that it’s based on a line from John 8 (v.32 ‘the truth will make you free). It’s the gospel set down for Reformation Day (Oct 31). No doubt there are connections with the epistle for the day (Romans 3) but stronger links to ideas from Ephesians & Colossians.
The first line sets the theme: ‘Now the secret mystery is revealed’. Verse 1 & 4 are ‘big picture’, v.2-3 are focused more on Jesus’ life. Typical of lots of songs, mine & others, v.4 has some of the action consequences for us – we’re ‘free to live & love’.
Learn the truth— his truth will make you free.

We walk beneath an open heaven

In 1984 I wrote a song under this title.The name & theme comes from a sermon by one of my favourite Christian writers, Helmut Thielicke. I felt privileged to meet him and hear him when he visited Australia in 1979, invited by the Lutheran Student Fellowship for its 25th Anniversary celebrations. His books of sermons were an inspiration for me, both for my daily life and for my songwriting. He, along with John Sabel, helped me to understand that Jesus sets us free, and that we have nothing to be afraid of.

I've added a bridge today, & taken out a verse

We walk beneath an open heaven,
step by step on holy ground.
Since God became a man among us,
earth is full of heaven's sound.

And he says, "Don't be afraid,
I am here, don't be afraid,
I am with you, I'll be with you forever."

We walk beneath an open heaven,
underneath a cross of stars.
For Christ has come to walk beside us:
in our chains, behind our bars. And he says...

I’ll be with you on the street at night
and in the midday sun.
I’ll be with you when you feel all right
and when your hope is gone.

We walk beneath an open heaven,
Christ has changed the life we're in.
For when we start to serve our neighbour,
we shall then be serving him.

And he says...

Multiple Sclerosis

All weekend we did music at Blackwood Uniting. Well, I did workshop sessions Friday night & Saturday morning, but then Dorothy joined me for 2 services on Sunday morning & a singing time after lunch. It all went pretty well, I think.
Tonight at 5.30 D & me were at the gym. I usually do 5 minutes of cycling & then weights, but tonight I decided to join Dorothy in a class of cycling, running & gym machines. 15 minutes of cycling went well, better than I thought it would. But then during running my eyes started to play funny tricks & my balance felt dodgy. Instead of doing the last part of the session, I left, walked home & started making tea.
MS strikes again! Maybe just the rising temperature, but possibly also the vigorous exercise causes some of the symptoms of MS to surface. While I was diagnosed with the disease only in 2006, I’ve probably had it since the mid-90’s. Primary Progressive MS strikes later, in the mid-40s, & as many men as women are likely to get it, unlike the more common forms which afflict far more women. It tends to be slower, less severe. But of course, it never goes away & you don’t recover from it. The nervous system continues to get more & more scars. (Multiple Sclerosis = Lots of Scars)
I’m hoping that as I start my 62nd year it will continue to make slow progress in me. Maybe I won’t be wheelchair-bound. And maybe I’ll learn to deal with it more gracefully & more graciously.

Let us pray

I like writing prayers for services. These were for last Sunday:

God of wealth & abundance, you give us everything we are, everything there is: all the colours & all the shapes, every breath & every heartbeat. Nothing exists apart from what you make possible. Fill our mind with constant wonder. God of wealth & abundance Hear our prayer

God of peace and order, thanks for Australia, for its beauty, stability & prosperity. We pray for our politicians, for all who are standing for election to our federal parliament. Thanks for the privilege of living in a country where we can choose our leaders. God of wealth & abundance Hear our prayer

God of life & love, thanks for your gift of baptism for Amelia today. May your love grow strong in her. Bless her parents & all who care for her. Be with all who are witnesses to your love in Australia. May every Christian grow to be more like you. God of wealth & abundance Hear our prayer

God of every mountain & every plain, every plant & every creature, may our appreciation be expressed in our lives. May we cherish your world through words & action. God of wealth & abundance Hear our prayer

God of health & healing, we ask you to heal those we love, to be with those who are dying, to change the hearts of those who destroy others. We know that dying is part of life, that there is scarcity & abundance. Still we ask you to make good where there’s evil, peace where there’s war. God of wealth & abundance Hear our prayer

Jesus, give us peace

I sang Sadako at Concordia yesterday. It works best for me on my acoustic guitar. The first time I’ve played my Maton Coolabah at Concordia for years. Usually it’s my pink electric Schechter. Some kids wondered where it was. Next time!
I also sang an older prayer-song. (Like Sadako, capo on 5th fret.) When I was preparing the day before, I noticed again that the words in AT For Good, word edition, first printing, have several errors. Just one remains in the second printing. In v.3, line 3, it should be ‘knowing everyone as a friend’. Instead of ‘knowing’ it has ‘picture’. That latter word is just not as personal. It’s a bit removed.
It’s a prayer song, with v.1 & 2 describing situations (we pray for peace but the war goes on … we make our vows & we break them too ..), before the chorus takes us into direct conversation (Jesus, give us peace, in our hearts & lives …). v.3 is also direct prayer (So touch our eyes so we see again … knowing everyone as a friend …). The song was written back in the ‘80’s but for one reason or another it wasn’t included in an earlier collection.
Enough of technicalities! Jesus promises to give us peace. We need to embrace it, pray for it, & be courageous enough to make it part of every aspect of our life. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ — let it also be true of our lives!