Author: Andrew Pratt

Andrew Pratt was born in Paignton, Devon, England in 1948.

A hymn inspired by Jesus use of parables and stories

He taught in puns and riddles,
in pictures wrung from words,
of gates and fields and shepherds,
of fish and flowers and herds.
These parables are potent,
ingrained with hope and grace,
infused with love and beauty,
transcending time and place.


So Jesus, Word incarnate,
became the word he spoke,
embodied loving kindness,
in whom our faith awoke.
Not just a simple shepherd,
a gate to keep the sheep,
the image offers credence
that we may safely sleep.


And every phrase he uttered,
and every step he took,
say, this is God, this shepherd,
into whose world we look.
His parables paint pictures 
of love we strain to grasp, 
beyond our comprehension, 
this love will always last.


Andrew Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2015 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . 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.
Metre: 7 6 7 6 D
Tune: DAY OF REST

The children would follow the peal of your piping – Hymn – Matthew 11: 16 – 17

A hymn inspired by Matthew 11:16-17 Jesus said, “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn'”.

The children would follow the peal of your piping,
the ring of your reason, the joy of your love,
the children would follow, and none would deter them
from plateaus so barren to mountains above.

And those who are childlike still follow your calling;
a calling to suffer, yet dusted with hope.
The way to fulfilment, to peace and to plenty.
is fissured and rutted but still we will cope.

God's joy is the centre of all that we hope for,
a calling for everyone, not just for some;
the music is moving, can't stop ourselves singing,
still Jesus is piping and still people come!

Andrew Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2006 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . 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
Metre: 12 11 12 11
Tune: STREETS OF LAREDO

Scientists pick up shock waves from colliding galaxies – a hymn…

‘The observations were made by studying signals from dead stars called pulsars. These rotate and send out bursts of radio signals at extremely precise intervals’. BBC News. This hymn references pulsars and was published 32 years ago. Available in Blinded by the Dazzle, Stainer & Bell.

1	The God of cosmic question
	Surprises by his birth,
	Not in some new dimension
	But on this ravaged earth!

2	In quasars, quarks and pulsars
	We seek the cosmic truth:
	The ground of our existence
	That set creation loose,

3	And human senses lead us,
	Through all they analyse,
	From arrogance to wonder,
	To spiritual surprise.

4	But senses have their limits:
	Unanswered still there lies
	The single, deepest question
	Our intellect supplies.

5	Yet history proffers insight:
	The Christ of time and space
	Speaks of a God incarnate
	Born in a squalid place.

6	Alive within our compass,
	Upon this ravaged earth,
	The God of cosmic question
	Surprises by his birth!

Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)	
© 1991 Stainer & Bell Ltd 
7 6 7 6 Iambic

Dan Damon – Look at the light

I met Dan in Boston (Massachusetts) over 20 years ago. An American Methodist Pastor with four items in Singing the Faith – too few to my mind. You can find him at Dan Damon Music . His latest collection Look at the light, can be found here but also on other streaming services.

This is religious music with intelligent texts and with a jazz setting.