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Good Samaritan – The foreigners that we reject can bring the grace of God to bear

1 A man lay beaten, left for dead,
his shattered, broken frame
spoke of the kicks that brought him down,
the blows that bruise and maim.
The ones who might have offered help
could give a reason why
they left him lying in the road,
they left him there to die.

2 They spoke of fear, they passed him by,
they left him in his pain;
too busy or too self–absorbed
to turn and look again.
The ones who could have helped walked on,
they passed and soon forgot,
but one who knew the cost of love
knelt down and shared his lot.

3 When people challenge or deny
our rights and break us down,
when others leave us desolate
and friends just laugh or frown;
The foreigners that we reject,
the ones we would despise,
can bring the grace of God to bear,
bring love into our lives.

4 And when we see another’s need
and feel another’s loss,
God give us courage and the strength,
the memory of your cross;
God give compassion, selfless care,
and strip away our pride,
then give us each the grace to love
the ones we might deride.

Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
© 2008 Stainer & Bell Ltd. Please include on your CCL Licence return

The care of our planet, the threat of extinction – Hymn

The care of our planet, the threat of extinction,
alerts us to need to be stewards of the earth:
this place of great beauty, our God given tenure,
the place of our nurture, the globe of our birth.

This place we must guard for each new generation,
to leave as we found it or, better, restored;
to share each resource without greed or pretension,
not barring the needy, not plunder, nor hoard.

The  banquet of God is for all of God’s people,
communion companions are both rich and poor,
our ultimate end will remove all distinctions,
no birthright or creed can obstruct heaven’s door.

God’s common wealth love can encompass all nations,
but here in this place we must all make a start:
a life of acceptance of sister and brother,
the practice of loving, a God given art.

Andrew Pratt 1/5/2019
Words © 2019 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, http://www.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.
Written for the 140th Anniversary of St John’s Methodist Church Whitchurch, Shropshire.
Tunes: STREETS OF LAREDO; ST CATHERINES COURT

A Cosy Armageddon

When arguments are brewing we don’t notice,
it seems that tension builds with every word,
we say things while not hearing one another,
like children in a playground, quite absurd!

It could have been a cosy Armageddon,
the words had seemed innocuous and bland,
yet hidden in each phrase, each idle sentence
were thoughts designed to undermine each stand.

If we could simply seek a gracious outcome
when others hurt and harass, fault or harm,
a look inspired by love could turn the tables,
could echo hidden need, befriend, disarm.

© Andrew Pratt 3/5/2019