Category: weddings

Random wedding hymn – On Ilkley Moor

church resources, hymns, marriage, weddings

I was asked to write a wedding hymn to the tune of ‘On Ilkley Moor’ and due to my complete inability to work out how to get a normal 8686 metre to fit to the tune, I wrote this instead. I now do understand how to get existing 8686 words to fit, but thought I might as well keep the words.

Jesus made water into wine
For joy and celebration,
Bless-ed abundance as a sign:
Foretaste of heaven, love divine!

In sickness or in health
In poverty or wealth
The greatest gift is love.

What God has joined we’ll not divide:
For love endures for ever.
Faith, hope and love will still abide,
Two lives entwined, lived side by side.

In sickness or in health
In poverty or wealth
The greatest gift is love.

Vows made this joyful, solemn day,
To honour, love and cherish.
This is love’s kind and patient way,
Living the wondrous words we say.

In sickness or in health
In poverty or wealth
The greatest gift is love.

New (first draft) wedding hymn

hymns, marriage, weddings

Well, here’s something. This time the challenge came through twitter (rather than facebook).  The challenge was for a wedding hymn to the tune of Jerusalem (so as to avoid actually singing Jerusalem – which, given the wedding that gave rise to the conversation was in Wales, didn’t seem all that appropriate!).  The most observant of you will spot that I’ve used the second verse tune for both verses (the difference is in the rhythm of the penultimate line).

Here’s my first stab at it, with various people’s suggestions for improvement incorporated (for which many thanks!) – further suggestions are very welcome!

Freely we give, and freely share
All that we have, and all we are,
Our pledge to cherish and embrace,
Made through this covenant of grace.
With soul and body intertwined,
We give ourselves, in heart and mind,
to deeper union day by day,
and walk in step along life’s way.

[Alternative less personal first verse:
Freely to give, and freely share All that we have, and all we are,
A pledge to cherish and embrace, Made through this covenant of grace.
With soul and body intertwined, two lives together, heart and mind,
in deeper union day by day, will walk in step along life’s way.]

Kindle a flame both bright and bold,
Out of the earth bring purest gold,
Turn all our water into wine,
Teach us new songs of joy divine!
Give us your patience, make us kind,
Increase our faith that we may find
that in true love, good Lord, we pray,
we’ll walk together all life’s way.