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Nelson Mandela Hymn

This day we have witnessed a man for all nations, 

a man who was human, held fast what is right, 

for this he would live with profound resignation,

he shone in the world, don't extinguish that light.

And we who are human stand now in remembrance, 

frail shadows of all he has shown we can be. 

Standfast in this moment and cherish the values, 

for which he once suffered that we might be free.

The man we remember has died, will be [has been] buried, 

yet while we seek justice his theme will not fall

His spirit is living, will not be extinguished, 

the love he embodied is always for all.

Andrew Pratt 5/12/013 Copyright Stainer & Bell Ltd.

At the death of Nelson Mandela
Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.

HURRICANE / TORNADO HYMN

A twisting wind that wreaks such devastation,

a town like matchwood torn and turned around;

an act of God? Or nature's self destruction?

Here people die, trees rooted from the ground.

It seems there is no safety in this carnage.

And where is God when random death walks in

destroying buildings, tossing cars like pennies?

A game where all will lose, and none can win.

Within a school, or with a homeless stranger,

the Christ will suffer in this human loss;

and God will love amid this human grieving,

as once he loved while hanging on a cross.

© Andrew Pratt 21/5/2013

Tune: INTERCESSOR

andrewpratt@btconnect.com

HYMNS POSTED ON THIS BLOG MAY BE USED FREELY LOCALLY WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. TO PUBLISH FOR PROFIT PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR.

HOLY INNOCENTS HYMN DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE KILLED IN CONNECTICUT

For Holy Innocents: Dedicated to those children and adults killed in the school shooting in Connecticut

We wring our hands in hopelessness

while Herod's spirit roams abroad,

the innocent are slaughtered still

as hatred draws a tighter cord.

We lack audacity to face

corruption in our very midst;

humanity is drawn by greed

and power has the final twist.

God bring again your human love,

an innocent and child-like grace

infusing every heart and mind.

Renew the hope of every race.

The children lying slaughtered, dead,

or those abused through life from birth

are signs of lack of care and love

we so much need through all the earth.

God come again and make us hear,

God fuse our ice-cold hearts of stone

until compassion warms each life

and through us grace and love are shown.
Tune: BRESLAU
Metre: LM

© Andrew Pratt 18/12/2012

andrewpratt@btconnect.com

HYMNS POSTED ON THIS BLOG MAY BE USED FREELY LOCALLY WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. TO PUBLISH FOR PROFIT PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR.

NEW REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY HYMN - VETERANS' DAY HYMN

Once crimson poppies bloomed

out in a foreign field,

each memory reminds

where brutal death was sealed.

The crimson petals flutter down,

still hatred forms a thorny crown.

For in this present time

we wait in vain for peace,

each generation cries,

each longing for release,

while war still plagues the human race

and families seek a hiding place.

How long will human life

suffer for human greed?

How long must race or pride,

wealth, nationhood or creed

be reasons justifying death

to suffocate a nation's breath?

For everyone who dies

we share a quiet grief,

the pain of loss remains,

time rarely brings relief,

and so we will remember them

and heaven sound a loud amen.

© Andrew Pratt 15/10/2012 Pleas include on your CCL return

andrewpratt@btconnect.com

Tune: LITTLE CORNARD 

HYMNS POSTED ON THIS BLOG MAY BE USED FREELY LOCALLY WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. TO PUBLISH FOR PROFIT PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR.
PLEASE INCLUDE ON YOUR CCL RETURN

Hymns and Songs

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Simple faith or ignorance? - a hymn

To simply bask in ignorance,

to shy away from facts,

can masquerade as 'simple faith',

or veil our foolish acts;

and then the world will look at us,

a church so old and stale,

no longer worth a second glance,

a church beyond the pale.

While Jesus chose a simple life

his wits were sharply honed,

he turned the tables on the ones

who'd have a woman stoned.

He argued with some learned men

and beat them at their game,

used intellect, intelligence,

to finely tune his aim.

And in the world we know today

we need that self-same will,

to keep abreast of politics,

of science, art and skill;

to use our words in argument,

while not denying facts,

then backing up the things we say

with faithful, loving acts.

© Andrew Pratt 7/8/2012

Tune: BETHLEHEM (also known as CLAUDIUS [Fink]); NOEL (Sullivan)

Metre: CMD

HYMNS POSTED ON THIS BLOG MAY BE USED FREELY LOCALLY WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. TO PUBLISH FOR PROFIT PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR. Andrew Pratt lectures at Luther King House, The Partnership for Theological Education, Manchester as a Methodist Tutor at Hartley Victoria College