Be Still My Soul
We have done a number of hymns representative of the Pietist movement. They tend to be more timeless than many other schools of hymn writing, with theology and imagery that is still applicable today, with a few caveats here and there – far less need for re-writing or editing for modern times, let alone more progressive theology! It was a movement that emphasized personal faith over ecclesiastical doctrine, and living out ones faith over the appearance of godliness. Pietism pushed back on the Lutheran Church specifically, which it saw as a theological and doctrinal rebuke on Catholicism, but too doctrinaire and not spiritually nourishing. Puritanism and to some extent Wesleyan though (ultimately Methodism) are outgrowths of the pietist movement.
Ernest Edwin Ryden writes: “Spiritual revivals in the Christian Church have always been accompanied by an outburst of song. This was true of the Reformation, which witnessed the birth of the Lutheran Church, and it was also characteristic of the Pietistic movement, which infused new life and fervor into that communion. The Pietistic revival, which in many respects was similar to the Puritan and Wesleyan movements in England, had its inception in Germany in the latter part of the 17th century and continued during the first half of the 18th century. It quickly spread to other Lutheran countries, particularly Scandinavia, and its influence has been felt even to the present time.”
Katharina von Schlegel, a notable woman of the Pietist movement, wrote the hymn in the 17th century. It was set to a tune derived from a piece of music written by Jean Sibellius (the conclusion of the Symphonic/Choral tone poem “Finlandia”).
Be still, my soul: for God is on your side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Trust in your God, your savior and your guide,
who through all changes faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: your best, your heavenly friend
through thorny ways leads to a peaceful end.
Be still, my soul: for God will undertake
to guide the future surely as the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing show;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
the voice that calmed them in this world below.
This is a Day of New Beginnings
This is a day of new beginnings, time to remember, and move on,
time to believe what love is bringing, laying to rest the pain that’s gone.
For by the life and death of Jesus, love’s mighty Spirit, now as then,
can make for us a world of difference as faith and hope are born again.
Then let us, with the Spirit’s daring, step from the past, and leave behind
our disappointment, guilt and grieving,seeking new paths, and sure to find.
Christ is alive, and goes before us to show and share what love can do.
This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.