Jesus, today we celebrate your transfiguration.

You remind us that you are powerful and holy.

We cannot completely understand you,

but you do teach us that you are our God and you love us.

We praise you, holy Lord!

We glorify you, almighty King!

We exalt you, Son of God!

Thank you for showing us who you are.

In your name we pray. Amen.

Holy God,

you revealed to the disciples

the everlasting glory of Jesus Christ.

Grant us, who have not seen and yet believe,

the gift of your Holy Spirit,

that we may boldly live the gospel

and shine with your transforming glory

as people changed and changing

through the redeeming presence of our Savior. Amen.

In splendor and majesty

your Word was revealed,

the hope of Israel,

transfigured in glory.

In splendor and majesty

he set his face toward Jerusalem,

choosing the way of suffering and death

that would be majestically transfigured

into the way of life and hope.

Jesus Christ,

glorified and risen Lord,

though you could have stayed on the mountain,

you chose to descend, knowing the agony that lay ahead to bring our salvation.

We thank you for your redemption, that can be seen even now in

creation . . .

the nations of the world . . .

world leaders . . .

our nation . . .

our community . . .

the church universal . . .

our church . . .

the life of . . .

our own lives . . .

Yet knowing that many in this world

are not willing to acknowledge you as God and Savior,

or are unable to pray,

we offer these prayers on their behalf:

for creation and its care . . .

for the nations of the world . . .

for our nation and its leaders . . .

for our community and those who govern . . .

for the church universal, its mission, and those who minister . . .

for this local congregation and its ministry . . .

for persons with particular needs . . .

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ,

our glorified and risen Lord. Amen.

IN BABILONE is a traditional Dutch melody that appeared in Oude en Nieuwe Hollantse Boerenlities en Contradansen (Old and New Dutch Peasant Songs and Country Dances), c. 1710. Ralph Vaughan Williams discovered this tune as arranged by Julius Rontgen and included it in The English Hymnal (1906), from which it gained widespread use. 

Through his composing, conducting, collecting, editing, and teaching, Ralph Vaughan Williams (b. Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England, October 12, 1872; d. Westminster, London, England, August 26, 1958) became the chief figure in the realm of English music and church music in the first half of the twentieth century. His education included instruction at the Royal College of Music in London and Trinity College, Cambridge, as well as additional studies in Berlin and Paris. During World War I he served in the army medical corps in France. Vaughan Williams taught music at the Royal College of Music (1920-1940), conducted the Bach Choir in London (1920-1927), and directed the Leith Hill Music Festival in Dorking (1905-1953). A major influence in his life was the English folk song. A knowledgeable collector of folk songs, he was also a member of the Folksong Society and a supporter of the English Folk Dance Society. Vaughan Williams wrote various articles and books, including National Music (1935), and composed numerous arrange­ments of folk songs; many of his compositions show the impact of folk rhythms and melodic modes. His original compositions cover nearly all musical genres, from orchestral symphonies and concertos to choral works, from songs to operas, and from chamber music to music for films. Vaughan Williams's church music includes anthems; choral-orchestral works, such as Magnificat (1932), Dona Nobis Pacem (1936), and Hodie (1953); and hymn tune settings for organ. But most important to the history of hymnody, he was music editor of the most influential British hymnal at the beginning of the twentieth century, The English Hymnal (1906), and coeditor (with Martin Shaw) of Songs of Praise (1925, 1931) and the Oxford Book of Carols (1928).