Why are we singing a Thanksgiving hymn in the middle of summer? Because it’s not really a hymn about the American holiday called Thanksgiving. “We Gather Together” is an anonymous Dutch hymn first published in the Netherlands in 1626 and then forgotten for 250 years until being rediscovered by a Viennese musician, Edward Kremser, in 1877. The hymn draws on Dutch history. Toward the end of the 16th century, the Dutch were praying for freedom from Spanish oppression. Philip II had become sovereign of Spain and the Netherlands and hoped to unify his dominion under the banner of Catholicism. He failed to take into account the Protestant Reformation. William the Silent, prince of Orange, led a revolt of the Netherlands against Philip, resulting in a 1609 truce that brought political freedom from Spain and religious freedom from Rome. The hymn notes that the Dutch were “gathered together to ask the Lord’s blessing” for their newfound freedoms. They were to “sing praise to his name” because “he forgets not his own.”

07-22-12
Pastoral Resident: Annette Thornburg
Sermon Title: Peace Be You
Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22