Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#516

516. God Is Here

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Hope Publishing: one copy

In order to use resources from the Hope Publishing Company, you must reside in the United States or Canada. Hope Publishing Company owns or administers the contents in these territories.
You may download one copy of this selection for your own personal use. To make any further copies or to perform the work you must get permission from Hope Publishing Company or belong to and report the copying activity to CCLI, LicenSing or OneLicense.net. By selecting "I Agree" you are verifying that you reside in the U.S. or Canada and will only legally use this selection.

Text Information

• First Line: God is here! As we your people
• Title: God Is Here
• Author: Fred Pratt Green (1977)
• Meter: 87 87 D
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Topic: Praise & Adoration; Shepherd, God/Christ as; Church and Mission; Church; Holy Spirit; Lord's Supper; Opening of Worship; Word of God
• Copyright: Text © 1979, Hope Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Used by permission
• ONE LICENSE: 00059

Tune Information

• Name: ST. JOHN'S QUADRA
• Composer: Peter Janson (1982)
• Meter: 87 87 D
• Key: C Major
• Copyright: © PJ Janson

Text Information:

Scripture References:
st. 1 = 1 Cor. 12:27-31
st. 2 = 2 Cor. 4:5
st. 3 = 2 Thess. 2:15
st. 4 = Titus 2:14

Fred Pratt Green (PHH 455) wrote this text early in 1978 in Norwich, England. Russell Schulz-Widmar had requested that Pratt Green write a hymn text to be sung at the closing service of an eight-month festival on worship, music, and the arts, held at the University United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas. In that service on April 30, 1978, the church dedicated its new chancel furniture (thus st. 2), and the people rededicated themselves to God. The text was first published in the British/Methodist supplementary volume Partners in Praise (1979).

"God Is Here" helps us celebrate what it means to be a church: to offer praise and prayer to God with "all our varied skills and arts" (st. 1), to preach the Word and participate in the sacraments (st. 2), to foster faith and service (st. 3), and to live lives ill "church and kingdom" that bring glory to our Lord (st. 4). This text presents a catalog of the central tasks of the church (see also 515) and emphasizes the relationship between Sunday worship and daily living.

Liturgical Use:
Regular Sunday worship; festivals, dedications, anniversaries of the church; worship conferences and missions.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

Peter [PJ] Janson (b. Aalst-Waalre, Noord Brabant, the Netherlands, 1957 [1967, according to email from composer to Hymnary]) composed ST. JOHN'S QUADRA in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, in 1982 as a setting for "Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens Adore Him" (148). The tune was the winner in a hymn-writing contest held by the Royal Canadian College of Organists in 1983. First published in the 1987 Psalter Hymnal, the tune is named for St. John's Anglican Church on Quadra Street, Victoria, British Columbia, where it was first performed.

A well-crafted, modern tune, ST. JOHN'S QUADRA is built with variations of one melodic and rhythmic motive, which gives a majestic and joyful sense to the text. Sing in unison throughout. If there are confident harmony singers in your group, sing the outer stanzas in unison and the inner ones in harmony.

Janson came to Canada as a child and received his musical education at the University of Victoria. He has served as organist and choirmaster at the Church of St. Aidan in Victoria, British Columbia, since 1985. Mainly a composer of church music, he has also written some articles on music history.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook