This morning’s post-Communion hymn at St Timothy’s Anglican Church, Diocese of Edmonton. (Hymn #431 in the Anglican Church of Canada's hymn book, Common Praise.)

Take up thy cross, the Savior said,
if thou wouldst my disciple be;
deny thyself, the world forsake,
and humbly follow after me.

Take up thy cross, let not its weight
fill thy weak spirit with alarm;
his strength shall bear thy spirit up,
and brace thy heart and nerve thine arm.

Take up thy cross, nor heed the shame,
nor let thy foolish pride rebel;
thy Lord for thee the cross endured,
to save thy soul from death and hell.

Take up thy cross then in his strength,
and calmly sin's wild deluge brave,
'twill guide thee to a better home,
it points to glory o'er the grave.

Take up thy cross and follow Christ,
nor think til death to lay it down;
for only those who bear the cross
may hope to wear the glorious crown.

To thee, great Lord, the One in Three,
all praise forevermore ascend:
O grant us in our home to see
the heavenly life that knows no end.

Words: Charles William Everest, 1833
Music: Breslau

Charles William Everest (1814-1877) was an American poet and priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church.  He served as rector at Hamden, Connecticut, for thirty-one years, and taught in the rectory school there.

(The Anglican Church of Canada’s hymn book has modernised the words by changing “thy” to “your”, etc.)

This morning, the StatDaughter and I dropped in at St Timothy’s, Edmonton, where The Rev Joseph Walker became rector a few months ago.  We were very warmly welcomed, and it was great to see Joe again.  He preached an excellent sermon based on the gospel reading from St Luke.  His topic was an especially appropriate one for this season of Lent—repentance.

Joe runs the fine blog felix hominum, but that doesn’t seem to be general knowledge in the congregation.  At coffee time after the service, I spoke to a parishioner who was quite surprised to find out that his rector is also a blogger.

St Timothy's, EdmontonI was in town because I have to go to Ottawa on a business trip and decided to spend the weekend in Edmonton on my way to the centre of the universe the nation’s capital.

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