It was after 2007, when a new minister at South Norfolk Baptist came to town and then…..the Minister of Music was shown the door, the hymnal was replaced with jumpy-type “7-11 hymns” with a kind of follow-the-bouncing-ball words on a screen, the pipe organ replaced by a praise band, the choir replaced with praise singers on a stage…..a myself/me-centered performance; it was after 2007, that I was truly shaken by the emphasis of worship replaced with a 35-40 minute, pre-sermon emphasis on what Mother used to call “aerobics in the aisles” plus the “7-11 hymns”…all done while the congregation stood.  Then a sermon would begin at 11:45.

It was after that, and several private conversations with two men who had been ordained in South Norfolk Church, Eddie Boyd and Horace Twine, (who both agreed that Worship at South Norfolk Baptist Church had gone off the rails), that I added two additional webpages to this website: “Worship in the 21^st Century.”  In fact, one of these men had been in town for a visit and had decided to visit the church on a Sunday morning….and told me that after 10 minutes of observing that which I have previously described above, that he walked out of the auditorium….and did not return.

Thus, it was and is, that I have decided to keep the webpage mentioned above on this website, on the advice of both men, who have now passed into heaven.  They, and I, both agreed that the Worship of God should never be compromised with worldly influence.

During my seminary years, I had the opportunity to experience worship, not only in the Wake Forest Baptist Church where my Father had also attended while in college at Wake Forest, but also over at Duke Chapel in Durham, N.C., which is a Methodist school.  It was not only the excellent training at the Seminary, but also in observing and worshiping in other-than South Norfolk churches, that I was convinced that true Worship should not have a self-help, seeker-sensitive agenda; it should not be what the world wants or a pastor who panders to such, but what God wants from the Worship of Him.

Therefore, I have put on this “Worship” webpage several sermons that speak to this specific need: the true Worship of God.

“I was glad”

written by

Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry

Based on the Scripture:

(Psalm 122:1-3, 6-7)

A track from a 1977 LP entitled “Coronation Anthems”, recorded by the choir of St Paul’s Cathedral under the direction of Barry Rose, with Christopher Dearnley (organ) and trumpeters of the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, conducted by Lt. Col. Trevor Sharpe. The Parry anthem is here preceded by Arthur Bliss’ “Jubilant Fanfare”.

The composer Charles Hubert Hastings Parry wrote “I was glad” in 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VI in Westminster Abbey. Its first performance was not entirely free from mishap because the director of music, Frank Bridge, misjudged the timing and finished the anthem before King arrived, which meant that the organist, Walter Alcock, was obliged to improvise for a while until the correct moment arrived, at which point “I was glad” was performed all over again.

The music sets verses 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 of Psalm 122 and includes the acclamations of “Vivat!” traditionally made by the King’s Scholars of Westminster School on the entrance of the sovereign. The royal acclamations are not performed liturgically unless the sovereign is present.

"I was glad when they said unto me : We will go into the house of the Lord.

Our feet shall stand in thy gates : O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built as a city : that is at unity in itself.

O pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that love thee.

Peace be within thy walls : and plenteousness within thy palaces."

"Psalm 150" by Cesar Franck, with words taken directly from the Bible, was often sung by the South Norfolk Baptist Church Choir. Here it is sung by the Duke University Chapel Choir.