One hymn, two congregations

This past Sunday I got to attend church twice at two very different congregations. One located in a residential section of a New York City outer borough, the other smack-dab in the middle of Manhattan where Broadway and Fifth Avenue cross nestled nicely at the edge of a lovely city park.
One is a housed congregation, the other is in an open space that is subject to the various twists and turns of local weather in the Northeast United States. In one I read the Gospel, introduced the prayers, and dismissed the faithful in my role as deacon of that congregation.  In the other, although I was asked to read the reading from Jeremiah, I got to spend the rest of the time just being part of the congregation...a nice change for me.

Both groups shared prayers for peace and understanding.  Both groups prayed for a member of the congregation celebrating milestones, whether it was a child returning from a trip to visit relatives in Europe, or a member celebrating a milestone birthday. Each group recited the "Lord's Prayer" together, most from memory, and both groups partook of a shared communion of bread and either wine or grape juice. And...both groups got to sing the same rousing hymn at the service.

"God of Grace and God of Glory" was written in 1930 for the dedication of Riverside Church in Manhattan by its then pastor, Harry Emerson Fosdick, ordained Baptist minister and former World War I chaplain.  Fosdick was a strong supporter of the social gospel movement; the hymn was written while the nation, and indeed the world, was in the throws of the Great Depression. The repeated call :"Grant us wisdom; grant us courage..," definitely spoke to the members of his congregation, and soon the hymn, which is now sung to that classic Welsh tune "Cwe Rhodda"...don't ask me to pronounce it...I know it when I hear it...is now widely sung throughout mainline Protestant congregations . It is a real rouser with great high notes for tenors and sopranos to trill about, but baritones and altos...like me...can also join with joyful noise.

But just what are we asking for when we engage in this particular hymn? Well, the answer to that question lies at the end of every stanza: For the facing of these days; for the living of this hour; lest we miss they kingdom's goal; and serving thee whom we adore. Pretty straightforward, and it certainly still speaks to us today.

But in my study of this hymn, I discovered a stanza not in the hymnal:

"Set our feet on lofty places,
Gird our lives that they may be,
Armored with all Christ-like graces,
In the fight to set men free.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
That we fail not man nor Thee,
That we fail not man nor Thee."

I will admit that this stanza has some language that as a life long feminist, I find a bit,well, paternalistic, but the sentiment still holds true. In this season of electoral decision, I think we need to remember that our charge is to choose the person most qualified to  lead this nation into a future where our overarching responsibility will be to further the rights and responsibilities of all of those who live, move and have there being in our home nation.

Here is a rendition of the hymn:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=god+of+garac+eand+god+of+glory...you+tuebe&&view=detail&mid=07CCED045503B9C37E7A07CCED045503B9C37E7A&rvsmid=C8C75E2584C601F4BEC7C8C75E2584C601F4BEC7&fsscr=0&FORM=VDFSRV