O Hear Us When We Cry to Thee

I was looking at the leaflet for the memorial service for John McCain, which will be held tomorrow at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.  I was not at all surprised to see that Eternal Father, strong to save (#608 in our hymnal) is one of the hymns to be sung during the service. This hymn is also known as "The Navy Hymn" and has long been sung at the US Naval Academy.  McCain attended the Academy and served in the US Navy for over 20 years.  It is a hymn he would have heard and sung many times.

The lyrics were written as a poem by English choirmaster William Whiting in 1860.  Several sources I read say Whiting had survived a shipwreck and was moved to write the poem in thanks for his deliverance. In any case, it makes a good story.  The hymn's tune Melita was written by the Reverend John B. Dykes in 1861. Melita is the ancient name for Malta where the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked as reported in the Book of Acts. This hymn was sung at the funerals for John F. Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt, and was said to have been one of the hymns played as the Titanic sank.

In 1940 three verses were added to the hymn to include travel on the land and in the air.  This hymn with the additions is listed separately as hymn #579. The 1982 Hymnal added a verse asking protection for those who travel in space--something probably not even dreamed of by Whiting. And even more verses have been written over the years honoring Marines, the Coast Guard, submariners and even loved ones left at home.

Eternal Father, strong to save, whose arm hath bound the 

restless wave, who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep its

own appointed limits keep:  O hear us when we 

cry to thee for those in peril on the sea.

O Christ, whose voice the waters heard and hushed their raging

at they word, who walkedst on the foaming deep, and

calm amid its rage didst sleep:  O hear us when we 

cry to thee for those in peril on the sea.

Most Holy Spirit, who didst brood upon the chaos

dark and rude, and bid its angry tumult cease, and

give, for wild confusion, peace: O hear us when we

cry to thee for those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and power, thy children shield in

danger's hour, from rock and tempest, fire and foe, pro-

tect them where-so e'er they go; thus evermore shall

rise to thee glad hymns of praise from land and sea.  

--Amy Phillips Witzke

First Church of the Internet

Here are some of my favorite Episcopal websites--most of which are also linked to the right--------->

I love Anglicans Online. Completely independent, the site is the world's largest online Anglican resource. Updated every Sunday night, the site's cover page is an essay, sometimes humorous, sometimes serious, but always thought-provoking. The site collects links from newspapers and websites from around the globe with articles of interest to Anglicans. I scan the News Centre section each week. (You can also find links to the Book of Common Prayer in languages ranging from Afrikaans to Zulu.) This site often sends readers to Thinking Anglicans, which has many similar news resources but includes more analysis.  I find this site harder to navigate to find what I'm looking for.

I rarely look at the website for The Episcopal Church except sometimes to use it to find a specific church if Google hasn't helped. You can sign up for press releases from the Episcopal News Service.  I know I have.  Because I can never get enough news about various new job hires at The Episcopal Church offices headquartered in New York.

Closer to home is the website for our  Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real. The site has links to all the churches within the diocese as well as information and minutes for the Standing Committee and Board of Trustees.  Lots of information about the recent General Convention.  Access this site to sign up for the weekly email newsletter from the diocese "Along the King's Highway." This newsletter will keep the diocese up-to-date regarding the bishop search process over the next year or so.

Even closer to home is the website for St. Timothy's. Here you can find info on our various ministries as well as contacts for Stephen Ministry, the vestry and the preschool. You can also sign up for the Wednesday Weekly newsletter. (If you're a woman and Facebook is one of your guilty pleasures, request to be added to the Women of St. Timothy's page.)

Episcopal Cafe is a site for essays about living within our faith as Christians. My essay "Why Not?" from this blog was published on the site a few weeks ago. I enjoy the stories from Episcopalians lay and clergy, scholars and learners from across the country.

Started right here in Silicon Valley in the early 1990s,  The Mission of St. Clare posts the complete Morning and Evening Prayer services (including hymns!) from the Book of Common Prayer for each day plus links to noonday prayer and compline in both English and Spanish. (It was named for St. Clare because, according to the website "at the time, no one had designated a patron of the Internet and...she represented the idea of prayer available anytime and anywhere the best...she was already the patron of television.")

For me, the best site that can search various translations of the Bible is here. You can also enter keywords to locate a particular Bible verse.

I've written before about the Revised Common Lectionary, the three-year cycle of scripture readings.  Vanderbilt University has a great site that explains more about the lectionary and links to each week's readings here.

And just for fun is Lent Madness. This often irreverent site, sponsored by Forward Movement, runs through Lent (which surprise, surprise overlaps with college basketball's March Madness) and pits men and women of the Communion of Saints against each other to see who will take home the Golden Halo. Winners in the past have included Florence Nightingale and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Bios of the saints are posted and readers vote for the most worthy among them. The comments and campaigns for candidates can be quite lively. (Ballot box stuffing has occurred, though no Russian involvement has been verified.) You can sign up for daily reminders to read and vote throughout Lent.

Of course most of these sites also have Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. But, really, there aren't enough hours in the day. Happy reading. --Amy Phillips Witzke

Episcopally Speaking

Around the time of the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, I heard many references to Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry. And then this summer during General Convention, I heard announcers say, "Episcopals debated same-sex marriage rites." Episcopalian. Episcopal. What's going on here? (Other than making this word-lover's ears bleed?)

People who belong to the Methodist Church are called Methodists. People who belong to the Presbyterian Church are called Presbyterians. But people who belong to the Episcopal Church are called Episcopalians. Why? I did a considerable amount of research trying to get to the bottom of this question, and finally decided that "because that's the way it's always been done" is probably the easiest and most efficient answer. (The phrase "The Protestant Episcopal Church" has been in use since 1780.)

In any case, episcopal comes from the Latin word for bishop. We are a Church that is governed by bishops. Episcopal is the adjective. The Episcopal Hymnal, the Episcopal Diocese, Episcopal Church Women, etc. Episcopalian is the noun. I am an Episcopalian. Episcopalians debated same-sex marriage rites. Episcopalians go to an Episcopal Church. She is an Episcopalian and she is also an Episcopal priest.

These are all upper-case usages of episcopal. There are some examples of lower-case episcopal that all relate back to its Latin origins. "Under the episcopal form of governing, the churches are guided by a bishop."

We'll leave episcopacy and episcopate for another time. --Amy Phillips Witzke