God, when hope of peace is sullied
God, when hope of peace is sullied,
sown with hatred, fed with lies,
threaded through with blind rhetoric,
strengthen us and hear our cries.
Give us language to remodel
human values lost in dust
sharing through our conversation
lives of loving, living trust.
Take away all greed and grasping,
soothe our sorrow, meet our need,
help us as we seek to nurture
every bruised, or broken, reed.
May we see in every nation
siblings of a common birth,
seeing Christ in one another
sharing heritage and worth.
Words © 2025 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.
Tune: ALL FOR JESUS
Written following President Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, 28/2/2025.
Category: Poems
Hymn Society, US and Canada – Conference
February 28, 2025
WE BELIEVE: THE HYMN SOCIETY TO GATHER IN DETROIT
The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada invites all who love congregational song to its Annual Conference, taking place July 13-16, 2025, on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit. With the theme “We Believe: Faith, Community, and the Holy Act of Singing,” this year’s gathering will explore how singing together shapes faith and strengthens community, especially in times of change and challenge.
As churches navigate new realities, the conference will reflect on the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, asking: How do we sing our faith today? Through vibrant worship, rich learning opportunities, and powerful communal singing, participants will celebrate the transformative role of song in healing brokenness and renewing peace.
Each evening, participants will experience a dynamic hymn festival led by renowned musicians and scholars, including Jan Kraybill, FHS, Mary Louise Bringle, FHS, Robert Batastini, FHS, Phillip Morgan, and C. Michael Hawn, FHS. A special highlight will be the joint hymn festival on Monday, July 14, at historic Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, presented in partnership with the National Association of Negro Musicians, which will also be gathering in Detroit.
The conference will feature engaging plenary speakers, including:
• Margaret Aymer – Professor of New Testament Studies, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
• Jennaya Robison – Artistic Director, National Lutheran Choir
• Peter Marty – Publisher and Editor, The Christian Century
Attendees will also have access to dozens of sectional presentations, the Emerging Scholars Forum, a hymnal showcase, interactive connection zones, and an Organ Institute on leading congregational song, led by Nicole Keller (University of Michigan).
Whether you are a church musician, scholar, poet, composer, worship leader, clergy member, educator, or simply someone who loves to sing, this conference is for you!
Register today at www.thehymnsociety.org. Early-bird rates are available through March 15, and advance rates through June 15.
About The Hymn Society
Founded in 1922, The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada is an ecumenical community dedicated to the transformative power of congregational song. Our members include scholars, musicians, poets, composers, clergy, worship planners, educators, and passionate singers. We believe that the holy act of singing together shapes faith, heals brokenness, transforms lives, and renews peace.
For more information, contact:
J. Michael McMahon, Executive Director
The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada
5 Thomas Circle, NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-4153
📧 mike@thehymnsociety.org | 📞 800-843-8966
Sometimes the bible seems confused – a hymn inspired by Luke 6: 39 – 49
1 Sometimes the bible seems confused
and full of contradiction
God give us grace to hear your word,
your clear resounding diction.
2 Give us the eyes to see your way
and follow where you lead us,
that through your word, the bread of life
you may fulfill and feed us.
Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2014, 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: 8 7 8 7
Tune: DOMINUS REGIT ME
A hymn for Transfiguration – ‘So tired with the heat and the height of their climbing’
So tired with the heat and the height of their climbing,
now resting where eagles might shelter their young,
disciples had followed, but Jesus now left them,
to wander yet higher, compelled he went on.
And now in a light that transfigured their vision,
the one they called Master was standing alone,
and yet it appeared that some others stood with him,
in whiteness, in brightness, the clouds like a throne.
The dazzle was blinding for those who were watching,
but then it seemed Jesus was heading back down,
the vision had faded, the moment was passing,
Messiah they’d called him who shunned any crown;
until on a hilltop, mid rubbish and slander,
this ‘king’ was hung out in the sun, set to dry;
crossed out between those others deemed rough and worthless,
the poor and discarded for whom he would die.
To those who had hung him, he offered forgiveness,
a crucified robber was paradise bound;
the poor he exalted, the widow, the stranger,
found love in this preacher who turns lives around.
Andrew E Pratt
Words © 2018 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
We cannot privatise God’s grace – hymn – inspired by Luke 6:27-38
We cannot privatise God's grace inspired by Luke 6:27-38
1 We cannot privatise God's grace
and in our hearts we know it.
The love of God is ours, it's free,
we know that we must show it.
2 The neighbour that becomes a friend
becomes a gift God's given,
the barrier that's broken down,
a clearer path to heaven.
3 So, take my hand and let us dance
the freedom steps from prison,
a choreography of love
where joy is no illusion.
Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2002, 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: 8 7 8 7
Tunes: DOMINUS REGIT ME; ST COLUMBA (Irish – 8787)
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