#286 Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness

          James Keith Manley (b. 1940) felt the urging of the Holy Spirit to write this hymn after he had completed the rough draft of his Doctor of Ministry thesis.  Manley added a fourth stanza at a later time.  The hymn was first sung at Waiokeola Congregational Church in Honolulu, Hawaii.

          James K. Manley was born in 1940 at Holyoke, Massachusetts, and received his education at Whittier College, Pacific School of Religion, and Claremont School of Theology, all in California.  He was ordained to the ministry of the United Church of Christ in 1966.

          James K. Manley wrote the tune SPIRIT for his text of 1978, and it appeared in his collection After Eden (1990) with an arrangement by Jim Strathdee.  A new arrangement was created for The New Century Hymnal.  Note that the refrain is to be sung over following each stanza.

          James Manley served as pastor of Congregational United Church of Christ in San Marino, California, from 1978 to 1988 and then moved to Foothills United Church of Christ in Los Altos, California.  This new congregation was gathered in 1960.

#282 Every Time I Feel the Spirit

          This spiritual was written by a slave-poet unknown to us today.  The first stanza of the text recalls Moses’ experience on the mountaintop when he received the Ten Commandments, and the second stanza alludes to baptism in the Jordan River and the “heavenly train.”

          This is one of a group of African American spirituals that capture the power of the Spirit to strengthen and invigorate each individual.  The theme may derive in part from African beliefs in spirit possession which were reinterpreted in a Christian context by the enslaved brought to North America.

          This spiritual was sung for President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War by a group under the direction of Aunt Mary Dines, a former White House employee.  Their singing of this song brought tears to the president’s eyes.  Reports say that on one occasion the president even sang along during a concert.

          Notice that each stanza in this tune has two lines, after which the refrain is sung again.  The arrangement is one of eight contributed to The New Century Hymnal by Joyce Finch Johnson, a member of the hymnal committee.

From The New Century Hymnal Companion

Copyright 1998, The Pilgrim Press

Donald J. DeBruin, Director of Music Ministries