The sun keeps rising, brightening another morning and encouraging us forward. That’s what a processional does, too: it nudges us into worship, it stirs our hopes. To put it another way: WHO GETS TO CARRY THE CROSS? WHO GETS TO CARRY THE BIBLE ??
Our Children’s Chapel processional is always the same. (We’ll tell you why after the video.) In the Summer of 2018 – when we had a “summer symphony” of visiting instruments – the BarHop String Quartet played our processional hymn – Franz Joseph Haydn’s “The Spacious Firmament on High.”
The BarHop String Quartet is a group of classically-trained musicians, with Rob Rempher & Laura Thomas playing violins, Katie Wyatt playing the viola and Lindsay Wilson-Stipe playing the cello.
Jones Bell is Boykin and Greg’s son. You’ve seen him play some songs here. When he was little (let’s say, four or five years old), he loved “The Spacious Firmament on High.” We liked it, too, but he really loved it. That’s the song he wanted for the processional. Four-year-olds can be very bossy and parents can be very tired, especially after waking kids up for church (even virtual church). So that’s what was played, every Sunday. Twenty years later, we see no reason to stop.
The music for Hymn 409 (https://hymnary.org/hymn/EH1982/409) was written by Haydn but the words were written by Joseph Addison. “The unwearied sun” will keep rising. Parents, grandparents and caretakers, you will too. You are bright and astounding. We are all warmed by your “shining frame.”
Thank you so much!
Thank you for a Children’s Chapel and DUSS two-fer!