William C. Powell, Guest Lectionary Liturgist
Associate Professor of Music, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
Lectionary Scripture - Psalm 137 (New Revised Standard Version)
Worship Planning Notes
Audio/Visual Suggestions:
If possible, display images of enslaved Africans as drawn by seventeenth and
eighteenth century artists. Incorporate these images into a slide show or
display them in print form, depending upon availability. As worshippers enter,
play recordings of African American spirituals as sung by choral groups at
historically black colleges and universities (see 4(a) in the Cites and
Additional Information section).
Images of slave ships
(perhaps a picture of the hull of a slave ship could be inserted in the bulletin)
Images of lynchings or of a noose in light of the recent occurrences in Jena,
Louisiana
An audio-visual clip of Mamie Till Mobley Bradley speaking about her son’s
death1, or clips from the 2006 film Eyes on the Prize: The Story of Emmett
Till2
Audio story of the Emmett Till murder3
Excerpts from The Murder and the Movement that explain how Emmett Till’s
murder inspired the NAACP and the Civil Right’s Movement4
As worshipers enter, the version of the song “A Change Is Gonna Come,” as
sung in the 2006 film The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till5, can play softly so that it echoes throughout the sanctuary. This song can also be found on YouTube as sung by various artists.
Use the image of a fount of water to remind worshippers that our baptism waters define us more than the waters of our "exile."
Quotations from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed
(30th Anniversary Edition) (New York, NY: Continuum, 2000) can be read or quotes
from the book can be used in bulletins or orders of worship.
1. Invocation
Years of pain, suffering, oppression!… Lord, help us to remember the high cost our forefathers and foremothers paid for the freedom we enjoy today. May we always honor the memories of the millions of our ancestors who died on our behalf. May we glorify you and never forget the pain and suffering you endured for us in exchange for our freedom from the sting of sin and death.
2. Hymn or Anthem
Anthem
(a) Lift Every Voice and Sing. By James Weldon Johnson. Tune by J. Rosamund Johnson
Hymns
(b) We’ve Come This Far by Faith. By Albert A. Goodson
(c) The Storm Is Passing Over. By Charles A. Tindley. Arr. By Donald Vails
(d) In Remembrance. By Jeffery Ames
3. Spirituals
(a) Go Down, Moses.
(b) I’ve Been ‘Buked (and I’ve Been Scorned).
(c) Soon-a Will Be Done.
4. Liturgical Dance Music
(a) Listen to the Lambs. By Robert Nathaniel Dett
(b) Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. Traditional
5. Offering Song or Instrumental
(a) We’ll Understand It Better By and By. By Charles A. Tindley
(b) I Want Jesus to Walk with Me. Traditional
6. Song or Instrumental for the Period of Prayer
Instrumental
(a) Sweet Hour of Prayer. By William W. Walford
Songs
(b) Deep River. Traditional Spiritual
(c) I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired. By Curtis Burrell
7. Congregational Songs
(a) Oh Freedom. Traditional
(b) Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around. Traditional
8. Invitational Song or Instrumental
Song
(a) Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone. By Thomas Shepherd
Instrumental
(b) Come, Ye Disconsolate. By Thomas Moore and Thomas Hastings
9. Benediction Song or Instrumental
Till We Meet Again. By Kirk Franklin
Cites and Additional Information for Music and Material Listed
1. Invocation written by William C. Powell, Auburn, AL. Used with permission.
2. Hymn or Anthem
Anthem
(a) Lift Every Voice and Sing. By James Weldon Johnson. Tune by J. Rosamund Johnson
Location:
African American Heritage Hymnal. Chicago, IL: GIA Publications, 2001. #540
African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal. Nashville, TN: The African Methodist Episcopal Church, (2000) sixth printing 2004. #571
Lead Me, Guide Me: The African American Catholic Hymnal. Chicago, IL: GIA Publications, 1987. #291
The New National Baptist Hymnal 21st Century Edition. Nashville, TN: Triad Publications, 2001. #457
Hymns
(b) We’ve Come This Far by Faith. By Albert A. Goodson
Location:
African American Heritage Hymnal. #412
Lead Me, Guide Me: The African American Catholic Hymnal. #225
The New National Baptist Hymnal 21st Century Edition. #412
(c) The Storm Is Passing Over. By Charles A. Tindley. Arr. By Donald Vails
Location:
African American Heritage Hymnal. #427
(d) In Remembrance. By Jeffery Ames. SATB divisi, Horn in F and Piano
Location:
Walton Music, distributed by Hal Leonard Corporation
Available from J. W. Pepper & Sons Incorporated
2480 Industrial Boulevard
Paoli, PA 19301
Phone: 1-800-345-6296
Lead Me, Guide Me: The African American Catholic Hymnal. #292
The New National Baptist Hymnal 21st Century Edition. #490
(b) I’ve Been ‘Buked (and I’ve Been Scorned).
Location:
African American Heritage Hymnal. #386
Lead Me, Guide Me: The African American Catholic Hymnal. #53
(c) Soon-a Will Be Done.
Location:
African American Heritage Hymnal. #587
The New National Baptist Hymnal 21st Century Edition. #492
4. Liturgical Dance Music
(a) Listen to the Lambs. By Robert Nathaniel Dett
Location:
Howard University Chamber Choir. “Listen to the Lambs.” Eichelberger, Kehembe,
and Bernice Johnson Reagon. African American Spirituals The Concert
Tradition. V. 1. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Folkways, 1994.
Smithsonian Global Sound
600 Maryland Ave. SW, Suite 2001
Washington, DC 20024
Phone: 202-633-6460
The PBS clip of Mamie Till Mobley. Vecchione, Judith, et al.
Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years. Awakenings 1954-1956.
Alexandria, VA: PBS Video, 1986. www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/01_till.html; and Nelson, Stanley, Marcia Smith, Andre Braugher, Robert Shepard, Lewis Erskine, Tom Phillips, Laurens Grant, Amilca Palmer, and Rena C. Kosersky. The Murder of Emmett Till. [S.l.]:
WGBH Educational Foundation, 2003. PBS www.pbs.org
Samuels, Rich. "The Murder and the Movement.” The Story of the Murder of
Emmett Till, Expanded version of the original aired on WMAQ-TV in July of 1985. Online video at
www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/till/till.html accessed 25 January, 2008.
Beauchamp, Keith A. The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till. New York:
Thinkfilm, 2005. It’s Been a Long Time Coming. Audio at:
www.Emmetttillstory.com
