Tag: hymn

A Hymn for Candlemas

church resources, hymns

A Hymn for Candlemas (aka the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple)  Tune: Repton. 

Dear Father God, we gather here
In this great house of prayer.
We come just as we are to you
as one who knows us through and through,
and keeps us in your care,
in love beyond compare.

Dear Father God, we praise the name
of Jesus Christ your Son,
The light for all the nations shines,
we see how your salvation binds
all people into one,
and brings your children home.

Dear Father God, we sing your praise
for promises come true.
As young and old our voices raise
and joyfully proclaim, “God’s ways
are heaven breaking through
to make the earth anew.

So Father God, may each of us
go out into the night
to share the joy you give to us,
to praise, to sing, to teach, to bless
all people with your light,
and make the darkness bright.

We praise you, Father, for you own
our future and our past.
Your promised kingdom soon shall come,
and then, when earthly life is done
your love will hold us fast,
in heaven’s peace at last.

Hymn for Sunday?

church resources, hymns

Posted this on my hymns page ages ago, but it seemed to go well with this Sunday’s gospel, so here it is. As always, help yourself, no CCLI required.  The tune is Tyrolean melody (A man there lived in Galilee).

There came a shepherd from the hillside
searching all alone.
He came to seek and save the lost,
And welcome us back home.
‘O come to me, beloved child’,
The shepherd spoke his plea:
‘Your heart will never find its rest
Until you rest in me.’

We hoped to prove our worthiness
in duty and in care;
We sought you, Lord, in rules and laws,
And thought to find you there.
In all our searching, we forgot
What deep inside we knew:
Our hearts could never find their rest
Unless it was in you.

O search us out and know our ways
In waking and in sleep;
Protect us through the day and night
And in your presence keep.
We travel on in life and faith
And find that it is true:
Our hearts will never find their rest
Until we rest in you.

New hymn – loosely based on Luke 13.10-17

church resources, hymns

Really struggled to find plenty of hymns for this Sunday’s gospel (the woman bent double, whom Jesus healed on the Sabbath).  So I tried to write one. Not sure if it’s pants or useful or a bit of both!  If you like it, you can have it!  It goes to the tune ‘Slane’ (Be thou my vision / Lord of all hopefulness), which I think most people in most churches probably know. 

Jesus, our Saviour, your life-giving breath
brought order from chaos, and life out of death;
You give us your Spirit, now help us impart
that gift to our neighbour­ as a gift from the heart.

Jesus, our healer, the touch of your hand
fills us with new confidence, helps us to stand;
Your strength in our weakness is power indeed
to stand up for others whatever their need.

Jesus, our brother, your love never ends:
makes slaves into children, helps strangers make friends,
may love be the lesson we learn and we teach,
may love be the motive for our actions and speech.

Jesus, inspirer and source of all good,
we stand here on earth as of old you once stood;
The Church is your body,  the task you begun
is ours to continue till the work here is done.

Hymns for Mothering Sunday

church resources, hymns

I wrote these a while back, but I thought I’d post them again since it’s Mothering Sunday this week – they’re free to use if you’d find them helpful. 

All our blessings
Tune: All things bright and beautiful

All our blessings, all our joys
With thankful hearts we sing,
True, compassionate, loving God
Accept the praise we bring.

For parents and for children,
For husbands, wives, and friends,
For those whose care enfolds us
With love that never ends.

For fellowship and friendship
We both receive and give,
For those who’ve shared our journey
And taught us how to live.

For all who’ve shared our sorrow,
Walked with us in our pain,
Who’ve held our hand through darkness
And showed us light again.

In sacrifice and service
Your love is clearly shown,
Your outstretched arms embrace us
to bring us safely home.

For those who give us life and breath
Tune: O Waly Waly

For those who gave us life and breath,
For love that’s stronger far than death,
Today we bring our thankful hearts,
For all a mothering love imparts.

For kindness, patience, warmth and care,
For each embrace, each smile, each tear,
Each word of peace, each healing touch,
These simple gifts which mean so much.

We look to you, our mothering Lord,
Who shows love’s cost, and love’s reward,
Your passion fiercer than the grave,
Nailed to the world you came to save.

So teach your people how to live,
How to endure, how to forgive,
Teach us to trust, to sacrifice,
To share the love that has no price.

The Hope of our Calling

hymns

A friend said today that singing this hymn of mine spoke to them of where we find ourselves, as women priests, after ‘the vote’. Thank you, Emma, for choosing this hymn, and for sharing what it means to you. Thank you, too, for sharing your vocational journey with me, and for being willing to share mine. Here’s the hymn, which I wrote ages ago, but Emma’s right, it does sound fresh and different this week:

Hope of our calling: hope through courage won;
By those who dared to share all Christ had done.
Saints of today, Christ’s banner now unfurled,
We bring his gospel to a waiting world.

Hope of our calling: hope with strength empowered,
Inspired by all that we have seen and heard;
This call is ours, for we are chosen too,
To live for God in all we say and do.

Hope of our calling: hope with grace outpoured,
From death’s despair the gift of life restored;
Our call to serve, to wash each others’ feet,
To bring Christ’s healing touch to all we meet.

Hope of our calling: hope by faith made bold;
To sow God’s righteousness throughout the world;
Bring peace from conflict, fruitfulness from weeds,
The Kingdom’s harvest from the Kingdom’s seeds.

Hope of our calling: Spirit-filled, unbound,
Old joys remembered and new purpose found,
Our call refreshed by sacrament and word,
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord.