141

Somos pueblo que camina (We Are People on a Journey)

Scripture References

Further Reflections on Scripture References

The metaphor of journeying people is found in the Old Testament story of the Exodus, for example, in Exodus 12:1-42 et. al., with references in Hebrews 11:13-16 and I Peter 2:11.

Stanza 3 – the bread is referenced in Exodus 16:13-36, John 6:35-40, 51, and at the Lord’s Supper institution in Matthew 26:26-29 and I Corinthians 11:23-26.

Stanza 4 – the presence of Christ is found promised in Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5-6.

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Both stanza 3 and the refrain speak of the Lord’s Table with “the bread that God provides…at the holy feast of God.” This reminder leads us to focus on the truth of Belgic Confession, Article 35, which professes Christ as the “living bread,” and Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 29, Question and Answer 79, which professes that to believe this truth is “the true food and drink of our souls for eternal life.”

 

Stanza 5 speaks of “those who truly seek for justice”; similarly, the Belhar Confession, Section 4 reveals God as the one who “wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people.”

 

Stanza 3 speaks not only of nourishment for the body but also of nourishment for our unity. There are similar echoes in Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 38 when it notes that the Holy Spirit not only feeds us but ”binds us to each other as we share one loaf and cup.” In addition, Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 28, Question and Answer 76 professes that when God’s children eat and drink “we are united more and more to Christ’s blessed body.”

141

Somos pueblo que camina (We Are People on a Journey)

Confession

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
we are your covenant people—one church, drawn from all nations.
Our citizenship is in heaven.
Yet we confess, O Lord, that we sometimes lose sight
of your kingdom and its ways.
We confess that we sometimes live more as citizens of our own land
than as citizens of your kingdom.
By your truth you call all peoples to account.
Forgive us for losing our distinctiveness.
Focus us on the cross and on the salvation
you give through him
who is the Lord and King and Judge of us all,
Jesus, the Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
[Reformed Worship 34:17]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

Blessing/Benediction

Optional sending and blessing
Walk, people of God! Camina, pueblo de Dios!*
With those who are persecuted and oppressed, camina, pueblo de Dios.
With those whom the world shuns, camina, pueblo de Dios.
With those who hunger and thirst, camina, pueblo de Dios.
With those whose hearts are breaking, camina, pueblo de Dios.
[With those . . . . . . , camina, pueblo de Dios.]
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be upon you and remain with you forever. Amen.
 
*Alternate response in English could be: Walk, people of God
— Lift Up Your Hearts (http://www.liftupyourheartshymnal.org)

The God of peace himself sanctify you entirely;
and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. Amen.
—from 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, NRSV
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

May God, who by his power
raised from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ,
hold you in his love,
surround you with his presence,
give you grace for every need,
and present you whole and holy
in the day of Jesus Christ. Amen.
[The Worship Sourcebook]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

May the Lord of all compassion
satisfy you in the morning with his steadfast love,
so that you may rejoice and be glad all your days.
May the favor of the Lord our God be upon you,
and may the work of your hands prosper. Amen.
—from Psalm 90:13-17
[The Worship Sourcebook]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

Additional Prayers

On a journey long and often painful,
God’s people do not despair.
We still gather at God’s feast, and gather joyfully –
for we find at the table our hope, our unity, our peace, and our justice. 
141

Somos pueblo que camina (We Are People on a Journey)

Tune Information

Name
SOMOS PUEBLOS
Key
E Major
Meter
irregular

Recordings

Musical Suggestion

Feel free to “get off the page” for this song. Strummed nylon string guitar, maracas and even trumpets in thirds give this song a Latin American sound. Try to find a tempo that is quick enough to be lively without being so fast that you can’t spit out all the words. While some Anglo congregations may have trouble singing the whole song in Spanish, they can certainly sing the first repeat of the refrain in Spanish!

 
— Greg Scheer

On Epiphany we remember the long journey of the Magi who came looking for the king of the Jews. All of us are on a journey, and the journey for some is long and hard. Yet for those in Christ, that journey is headed toward the table of the Lord, where we are fed and nourished. Consider singing this simple folk hymn during a communion service this Epiphany.
 
On a journey long and often painful, God’s people do not despair. We still gather at God’s feast, and gather joyfully—for we find at the table our hope, our unity, our peace, and our justice.
 
This is a wonderful song to sing in Spanish; at least sing both Spanish and English on the short repeated refrain. Given its origins, it is appropriate for congregational leaders to compose their own stanzas to sing following those offered here.
 
The playful Nicaraguan folk rhythms—especially the play of 3/4 against 6/8—give this piece its vitality. Accompany with piano, guitars, and lots of hand percussion (see below). A marimba sound is fitting, as well as woodwinds. Avoid strings. Keep up a brisk tempo (♩ = 104-116), and remember to repeat the refrain each time. You might thin the accompaniment significantly during the stanzas and have them sung by a soloist or small group, and then pull out all the stops for each refrain. An improvised keyboard accompaniment could use the right hand to emphasize the 6/8 time while the left hand emphasizes 3/4.
Think about using this song:
  • As an entrance song, even a processional.
  • In preparation for communion.

 

The playful Nicaraguan folk rhythms—especially the play of 3/4 against 6/8—give this piece its vitality. Accompany with piano, guitars, and lots of hand percussion. A marimba sound is fitting, as well as woodwinds. Avoid strings. Keep up a brisk tempo, and remember to repeat the refrain each time. You might thin the accompaniment significantly during the stanzas, and have them sung by a soloist or small group, and then pull out all the stops for each refrain. An improvised keyboard accompaniment could use the right hand to emphasize the 6/8 time while the left hand emphasizes 3/4. 
141

Somos pueblo que camina (We Are People on a Journey)

Hymn Story/Background

This is a wonderful song to sing in Spanish; at least sing both Spanish and English on the short repeated refrain. It is appropriate for congregational leaders to compose their own stanzas to sing following those offered here.
 
This is an entrance song for the Misa Popular Nicaragünse (Popular Nicaraguan Mass). In the wake of the Vatican II reforms, this mass was written both for and by laypeople, an articulation of a particular, local faith community that has spread to many other Latin American nations and churches.

Author Information

Carolyn Jennings is a Professor Emerita of Music at St. Olaf College where she taught for many years and also served in administrative roles, including being Chair of the Music Department and Associate Dean for the Fine Arts. She also recently retired as Music Coordinator and Director of the Senior Choir at St. John's Lutheran Church, Northfield, Minnesota, where she served as a church musician for over thirty years.

Carolyn Jennings is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music magna cum laude and the University of Michigan where she received her Master of Music degree as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow.

Over many years she has served on arts advisory panels, as a workshop presenter, and in leadership roles in several professional organizations. She has been active in promoting the use of inclusive language in texts for singing, and has worked to heighten awareness of how language shapes as well as expresses thought.

Her compositions and arrangements include works for voices, orchestra, and piano. She particularly enjoys composing for voices. Among her many commissioned works are children's musical, a choral song cycle, a composition for the Minnesota Aids Quilt Songbook, and many compositions for church, school and community choirs. She has received several major grants from the Composers Commissioning Program through the Minnesota Composers Forum. Choral compositions and arrangements by Carolyn Jennings are widely sung by church, community, college and school choirs. Her publications include over a hundred choral compositions and arrangements, a number of text translations, contributions to several hymnals, and articles for professional journals.

She is active in the American Choral Directors Association, the Music Teachers National Association, the Minnesota Composers Forum, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and as a guest conductor and workshop leader.
— GIA Publications, Inc. (http://www.giamusic.com)

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