Believers, Do Not Grow Weary

By Erin Craig

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This unusual piece was given to us three days prior, and I think we did reasonably well considering that, and the small number of tenors and basses. The composer played with varying choral tones, which I very much enjoyed. Our pianist attempted to give a quick lesson in intonation, and it might have helped a little, but having more time to practice the piece together would have been more helpful.

I didn’t at first recognize the scripture, 2 Thessalonians 3:13, having grown up with “But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.” The closest I found in my translations collections was in the Amplified Bible, “…brethren, do not become weary or lose heart in doing right…“. The word given as “believers” is, in the Greek, ἀδελφοί (adelphoi), “brothers”, understood to include both men and women.

“Believers” would be represented by a different word such as the adjective πιστός (pistos), which is sometimes translated “believer” or “believing”. Given that the anthem was dedicated to a United Church congregation in Canada, I suspect that the motivation for this choice of words was gender neutrality more than musicality.

When we are given an anthem to learn a few days before we perform it, it is usually due to “higher up” goings on in the church, for any number of good reasons (I’m sure). We do the best we can with it. Barring any such surprises this week, our next anthem will be “Breathe” (Derek K. Hakes arrangement), a favorite of mine, one that I don’t often hear. This is arranged with handbells accompanimant, and I don’t see the handbells in the service plan, so we’ll see how that works out. But we have rehearsed it already, and I’m looking forward to singing it.

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Lyrics:

Believers, do not grow weary.
Do not lose heart in doing what is right.

—2 Thessalonians 3:13

Publisher’s Page

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Recorded at Christ Community Church, Carmichael, California
October 15, 2023
Excerpted from: youtu.be/y3mNcqg2LjU