Abide With Me: Hymn # 1

I'm sure that many would think that this is a semi-odd choice for all-time favorite hymn.

My dad was a Congregational (now United Church of Christ) minister so I was pretty regular in church attendance in my younger years.

Some Sunday evenings, he would preach on a circuit and I'd go with him to some of these tiny churches.  The people there, mostly older folks, liked the old hymns best - Fanny Crosby and so on.

So, some of my "favorite hymns" are going to be those that I sang when I was out with my Dad.  Fond memories from long ago.

In 1986 I was finally diagnosed with Cushing's after struggling with doctors and trying to get them to test for about 5 years.  I was going to go into the NIH (National Institutes of Health) in Bethesda, MD for final testing and then-experimental pituitary surgery.

I was terrified and sure that I wouldn't survive the surgery.

Somehow, I found a 3-tape set of Readers Digest Hymns and songs of Inspiration and ordered that. The set came just before I went to NIH and I had it with me.

At NIH I set up a daily "routine" of sorts and listening to these tapes was a very important part of my day and helped me get through the ordeal of more testing, surgery, post-op and more.

When I had my kidney cancer surgery, the tapes were long broken, but I had replaced all the songs - this time on my iPod.

Abide With Me was on this tape set and it remains a favorite to this day.  Whenever we have an opportunity in church to pick a favorite, my hand always shoots up and I request page 700.  When someone in one of my handbell groups moves away, we always sign a hymnbook and give it to them.  I sign page 700.

I think that many people would probably think that this hymn is depressing.  Maybe it is but to me it signifies times in my life when I thought I might die and I was so comforted by the sentiments here.
This hymn is often associated with funeral services and has given hope and comfort to so many over the years - me included.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
~John 15:7


Abide With Me
Words: Henry F. Lyte, 1847.
Music: Eventide, William H. Monk, 1861. Mrs. Monk described the setting:
    This tune was written at a time of great sorrow—when together we watched, as we did daily, the glories of the setting sun. As the last golden ray faded, he took some paper and penciled that tune which has gone all over the earth.
Lyte was inspired to write this hymn as he was dying of tuberculosis; he finished it the Sunday he gave his farewell sermon in the parish he served so many years. The next day, he left for Italy to regain his health. He didn’t make it, though—he died in Nice, France, three weeks after writing these words. Here is an excerpt from his farewell sermon:
    O brethren, I stand here among you today, as alive from the dead, if I may hope to impress it upon you, and induce you to prepare for that solemn hour which must come to all, by a timely acquaintance with the death of Christ.
For over a century, the bells of his church at All Saints in Lower Brixham, Devonshire, have rung out “Abide with Me” daily. The hymn was sung at the wedding of King George VI, at the wedding of his daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II, and at the funeral of Nobel peace prize winner Mother Teresa of Calcutta in1997.


Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Upcoming Series on Hymns

A while ago, when I was still playing at being Interim Assistant Director of Music - whew, that's a mouthful! - I was asked about possibly writing a monthly blog post about something musical.

I thought for a while about what I could write about and came up with a few ideas.

I'm no longer in that position but I figured I could still write about my ideas, at least some of them.

The first topic I'm going to hit is hymns.

At the beginning, they're probably going to be posted in 3 places, depending on their meaning to me.

Hymns that have a lot of meaning to me will get posted on O'Connor O'Riginals and O'Connor Music Studio

Hymns that I used to help me through Cushing's and/or kidney cancer surgery will be posted also on Cushing's and Cancer.

Hymns that are just historical in nature will only be on O'Connor Music Studio

My first post, helpful to me in all areas of my life will be posted on all three blogs.  Sorry about the cross-posting!

Stay tuned later today for Abide With Me.

Music Camp is done!

I posted last week about my energy levels and music camp teaching. I came out of it better than I thought I would but I ended up having a headache from Friday until Sunday. And, I'm not supposed to take any meds without approval from my kidney surgeon. So, I toughed out the headache.

The first day was a nightmare - one of the 6th graders started crying during the first handbell rehearsal. I don't blame her, either. She was the only one in the group who had never rung before. Her class had also come directly from Orff class and I guess that some experience would have helped there, too.

The second day our church's assistant music director got sick with a high fever and didn't come in. Actually, she didn't make it for the whole rest of the week. So, there was a lot of shuffling around of classes and some students were moved from one class to another. Somehow, we got through the day. I had to take a bit of extra Cortef to make it until naptime.

By Wednesday I figured that I could have 2 groups ready to play something on Friday, both with a water theme. So, the second graders would play Lightly Row and the sixth (even the cryer!) would play The Water is Wide, both by that famous composer - Traditional.

Thursday I was finally getting the hang of all these different classes. There was virtually no time to set up between class which made it a little tough since every class had different pieces and some had chimes instead of bells, some doubled different parts, some had TAs filling in. But it worked out!

Friday was mostly spent on the dress rehearsal and show. My kids did great playing their pieces before the show. My mom even came to see!

I left Friday with such a headache. It started in the right side of the back of my neck, then worked its way up to the left side of my forehead by Sunday afternoon.

Sunday, the kids performed a couple songs from the musical at all 3 church services. My husband even came to the first service. Even rarer than my mom coming to the performance. Since the assistant director was still out sick, I stayed for all 3 services as a second director in case the kids looked my way.

All in all, a success!

Things must be getting better. When I first started music camp about 5 years ago I would sleep until about 11:30am, go to camp, get home about 4:30 and sleep and sleep. I think I was on growth hormone by then, too.

I was definitely on cortef again at that point. I had been off for something like 15 years after my pituitary surgery, then the scar tissue caused the pituitary to not work so well so my endo had me go back on the cortisone. He wanted me to take a lot more but when I did, the Cushing's symptoms - including weight gain and that hump - started coming back.

So, I'm on the smallest possible dose. It's not enough to help me feel better but not enough to bring on Cushing's. When I'm "stressed" I'm supposed to up the dose. The growth hormone was supposed to help with my energy and weight issues but it did neither.

Then 2 years ago I had just had my kidney cancer surgery and I was still tired from that experience - and newly off the growth hormone. (Because of the cancer, I can't take growth hormone) I got through camp, just barely.

So, maybe next year, if I still get "volunteered" I'll be able to do this without any extra cortisone and no headaches.

Summer Music Camp

Last week I posted this in another of my blogs...

My church is doing music camp again this summer as it has for the last 4 or 5 years. And once again, I was "volunteered" to help out. Every year, for the whole week, I have come home exhausted, bone-tired.

This year is no different but I found out last week that I was in charge of the handbell classes. EEEK! There are 5 classes each day from second to sixth grade. Each group is a mix of kids, some have rung for a few years, some have never rung at all. Getting these kids organized and capable of playing something at the end of this week will take a miracle! Except for the sixth grade, at the end of the first day none of the other classes could ring any actual music other than left hand, right hand, left hand...

I don't know if I could have handled (no pun intended!) this pre-Cushing's when I was younger or not but the stress and the long afternoons are really sapping my energy levels to next-to nothing.