Wind of the Spirit, move us on – a hymn for Pentecost from Marjorie Dobson
1 Wind of the Spirit, move us on,
Drive us before your force.
We need that power to strengthen us
Of which you are the source.
Blow off the cobwebs of the past
And set us on your course:
O come Holy Spirit, move us on, move us on.
O come Holy Spirit, move us on.
2 Fire of the Spirit, burn in us,
Surround us with your light.
Destroy our sense of apathy,
Give us the will to fight.
That with our hearts on fire for Christ
We set the world alight:
Chorus
3 Voice of the Spirit speak to us,
Give us your words to say.
Inspire the language of your love,
Help us to preach and pray.
That all may hear of saving grace
Translated for their day:
Chorus
4 Christ, let your Spirit sweep through us,
Your serving Church renew.
Give us new hope and confidence
In all the work we do.
That those who seek for faith today
May find their way to you:
Chorus
Marjorie Dobson (born 1940)
Words © 1999 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 6 8 6 8 6 and Chorus 7 6 11
Tune: GOD REST YOU MERRY (London)
Category: worship
A hymn for Ascension referencing Matthew, Luke and Acts
A hymn for Ascension
1 Doubt and worship, mixed emotions
shimmered through their troubled minds;
gathered near the mountain's summit,
each remembered words and signs.
2 Jesus spoke with calm assurance,
brought to mind all that had past
poignant mem'ries, talk and laughter,
treasured thoughts, yes these would last.
3 All his words held their attention
as they listened to their friend:
they would teach the way of Jesus
to the world's remotest end.
4 Then one final contradiction as
he moved to leave earth's stage:
'I am with you, always ever,
to the limits of this age'.
5 Now we stand and offer worship,
proof that Jesus' words were true:
God is here, will never leave us,
timeless Spirit ever new!
Andrew Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2011 Stainer and 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: CROSS OF JESUS
Click here to see a this previous post - toward Ascension
Hymn inspired by Romans 5 – God of consistency
Hymn inspired by Romans 5 - God of consistency - Suitable for Aldersgate Sunday
1 God of consistency, love without limits,
ground of all being and all that will be,
compass us round with compassionate kindness,
higher than mountains, as deep as the sea.
2 God of all graciousness, walking beside us,
there at our birthing, yet on beyond death,
God of transcendence, unrivalled, majestic,
God beyond knowledge, yet closer than breath.
3 God in all being, yet ground of existence,
God beyond grasping, unbounded by law,
while we are moved to sing loud alleluias,
here would we worship in silence and awe.
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: 11 10 11 10
Tune: STEWARDSHIP (Ruddle)
Love’s debt
13: 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
1 Love's debt to each and all we owe,
to those who brought us to this day,
and how can we return this love?
In things we do? In words we say?
2 Some debts seem more than we can bear,
to brother, sister, parent, child;
for while we give and give again,
our love is weak, our sense beguiled.
3 O God where is the purest love,
that does not seek for pride or wealth?
God give to me, that I might share,
the love that seeks another's health.
4 God help me love as you love me
with selfless, unremitting care.
And when I look to those around
to see the face of Christ is there.
Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
© 2014 Stainer and 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: LM
Tune: RIVAULX (StF 735)
A challenge to the church to change – ‘When the church, afraid of changing’
A challenge to the church to change – ‘When the church, afraid of changing’
Hymn writers sometimes ask questions of the church and then flesh out the consequences of the actions they have described. Fred Pratt Green’s - ‘When the Church of Jesus shuts its outer door’ is one such hymn (perhaps too challenging, or near to the bone, to be in Hymns & Psalms or Singing the Faith?) As we live out the time through lectionary readings from resurrection to Pentecost we have a chance to reflect on what the church is, and what it might be expected to be. Remember that Jesus death was partly a consequence of his challenging people to change their perspectives of faith.
When the church, afraid of changing,
clings to glories of the past,
holding fast to long lost memories,
sure that it will always last,
lost in time, devoid of spirit,
know this truth, its fate is cast.
When the church no longer welcomes
people other than it's own,
when it thinks its understanding
stands complete, is fully grown,
love is rarely seen in action,
grace is only, thinly, sown.
Jesus challenged expectation,
turning tables upside down,
those who once were thought as holy
he confronted with a frown.
When, then, will we learn the lesson,
own that cross, that thorny crown?
Andrew Pratt 3/5/2025
© Words Andrew Pratt © 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.
Metre: 87 87 87
Tunes: PICARDY; RHUDDLAN
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