Prelude — Rondo Vivo
Michael Mazzatenta · Ringers on the Square
Introit — Gospel Roundup
Joel Raney · Ringers on the Square
Medley of “Blessed Assurance,” “Since Jesus Came into My Heart,” “In My Heart There Rings a Melody,” and “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.”
Hymn of Praise — There Is a Balm in Gilead
African American spiritual · HPP #379, vv. 1 & 3
Indeed, there is a time for healing. This spiritual is an answer to Jeremiah 8:22, where the prophet asks, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” The question is transformed into an exclamation: “There is a balm in Gilead!” While the world may harm the “sin-sick soul,” the Divine makes the wounded whole.
Interlude for Reflection — O vis aeternitatis
Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) · organ
Hildegard von Bingen centered her theology on viriditas — “greening power,” the divine vitality that heals the withered soul. However, to access this healing, the noise of the ego and the world must be stilled. In this short presentation, her stark melody is harmonically ornamented, making space for us to reflect and allow healing to enter.
Anthem — Turn! Turn! Turn!
Pete Seeger (1959) · choir
Seeger adapted and set this text to music in 1959, amidst the escalating tensions of the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement — a time when the choice between killing and healing was more than just a metaphor. If it moves you, feel free to sing along, and allow the words to frame our Lenten journey as a season in divine rotation.
Hymn of Reflection — Now the Green Blade Riseth
J. M. C. Crum (1928), tune: NOËL NOUVELET (French Carol) · HPP #210, vv. 1, 3, & 4
The text by J. M. C. Crum (1928) uses the metaphor of agriculture: the grain must be “buried” in the dark earth (a time to kill/die) in order for the “green blade” to rise (a time to heal/live). The tune, NOËL NOUVELET, is a French carol that freely shifts between minor and major modalities. This ambiguity reinforces today’s message: the boundary between the “killing” of the winter earth and the “healing” of the spring shoot is porous.
Response — What Remains
organ improvisation
Inspired by our interlude from Hildegard von Bingen, this simple, melodic ostinato is reframed by an ambiguous harmonic context — a metaphor for our shifting perspective as we enter the Lenten period. Allow this brief improvisation to provide a space for introspection as we consider the challenge of living in a world filled with difficult contradictions.
Offertory — Pie Jesu
Andrew Lloyd Webber (1985) · organ · Jamie Hammer, soprano
This is a fragment of Lloyd Webber’s Requiem (1985), a work that searches for healing in times of loss. The power of “Pie Jesu” (merciful Jesus) lies in its melodic vulnerability. It combines the traditional “Pie Jesu” text with the “Agnus Dei” (Lamb of God), creating a hybrid prayer for healing and rest. As you listen, bring your offering to the altar and ask for the healing that passes understanding.
Closing Hymn — World Peace Prayer
HPP #310, all
This hymn directly maps today’s message onto our ethical lives. The text asks God to lead us “from death to life” and “from despair to hope.” We are asking for the grace to stop the cycles of “killing” — hatred, falsehood, war — and begin the cycles of “healing” — love, truth, peace. Let it send you into the world with a marching order: to be an agent of healing in a world addicted to killing.
Postlude — Bridge Over Troubled Water
Paul Simon (1970) · piano · Jamie Hammer, soprano
We conclude with a section of Paul Simon’s secular gospel masterpiece. The lyrics describe a radical act of self-sacrifice: “I will lay me down” to create a bridge that makes healing possible. By ending here, we suggest that the ultimate answer to the “time to kill” is the sacrificial love that heals the divides between all people.