Baptised into being, the Lord of creation (Matthew 3:13-17)
1 Baptised into being, the Lord of creation:
the dove is descending the Spirit has come,
it soars and it swoops on the face of the waters,
Christ blessed in that moment, his mission begun.
2 Here John the Baptiser will pass on the baton,
though harsh and prophetic, his message, refined,
will gain a new purpose, as Jesus will challenge:
the powers and authorities now undermined.
3 But that will come later, for now for the honing
of all his integrity, knowledge and skill,
the Christ is cast out to the wilds of the desert,
where animals forage and hunger can kill.
4 And on his return he will live as God with us,
humanity clothed with both loving and grace,
to temper all justice with mercy, compassion,
a model of life for the whole human race.
5 And when will we walk in the steps of this master?
And when will we emulate what we see there:
inclusive and limitless love for creation
where all is of value and all deserve care?
Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2011 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
Tunes: ST CATHERINE’S COURT
Tag: incarnation
A hymn for the reality of Jesus’ birth – Christmas Day
1 Bloodied baby, cradled gently
at a manger birth.
Bloodied saviour, injured, dying,
taking leave of earth.
Love incarnate demonstrating
all the depth of human worth.
2 In each death a resurrection
hidden yet from sight;
in our life’s humiliation,
healing, softened light.
Hope has risen, death no prison,
love has banished endless night.
3 Slightest light then burning glory
sets the earth ablaze,
morning light of love’s own story,
kindles all our praise;
in the garden, quietly waking,
see the Lord of years and days.
Andrew E 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: 8 5 8 5 8 7 Tune: ANGEL VOICES
A hymn for Christmas Day - Bloodied baby, cradled gently at a manger birth
1 Bloodied baby, cradled gently
at a manger birth.
Bloodied saviour, injured, dying,
taking leave of earth.
Love incarnate demonstrating
all the depth of human worth.
2 In each death a resurrection
hidden yet from sight;
in our life’s humiliation,
healing, softened light.
Hope has risen, death no prison,
love has banished endless night.
3 Slightest light then burning glory
sets the earth ablaze,
morning light of love’s own story,
kindles all our praise;
in the garden, quietly waking,
see the Lord of years and days.
Andrew E 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: 8 5 8 5 8 7
Tune: ANGEL VOICES
God is with us – Mary and Joseph becoming parents of Jesus
God is with us – Mary and Joseph becoming parents of Jesus
1 God is with us, Joseph heard it,
in a dream in deepest sleep:
Mary's child, they'd call him Jesus,
now he had a vow to keep;
bound together in God's purpose,
he and Mary made their way
to the census in the city,
waiting for God's chosen day.
2 So they pause within the tension;
fallow moment, time to pray;
parents looking for protection,
what would follow day on day?
Tiny fingers, gurgles, crying,
Mary feeding as they go,
God is with them in this baby,
God would learn and God would grow.
3 Enigmatic gift and promise,
Mary pondered in her heart,
Joseph just as challenged, puzzled,
had to learn a father's part.
Now we look back on the story,
time contracted, one life's span,
Jesus human, here among us,
terror waits as life began.
Andrew Pratt (born 1948) based on Matthew 1:18-25
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: 8 7 8 7 D
Tune: AUSTRIA
How do we imagine beauty – Against a bleak backdrop a contrast…helpful? …a new text.
How do we imagine beauty - Against a bleak backdrop something of a contrast...helpful? I hope...a completely new text. How do we imagine beauty, wonder, words cannot express? Something felt, beyond our vision, love incarnate, nothing less? Here and now all life is timeless, here we're lifted out of self, now beyond all expectation, human sense, or worldly wealth. Can eternity be fathomed? Glimpse the feeling, sense the sound, breathe the spirit of creation, ground of being, sought and found. Here a mystery unravels, yet withheld from human sight: simply trust, with faith the given, God is beauty, love and light. Andrew Pratt written 22/6/2025 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. Metre: 8.7.8.7 D Tune: CALON LAN
As we tread this Advent pathway – new poem/hymn
Travelling through Advent, a poem or, if you wish to sing, a hymn
As we tread this advent pathway – a reflective poem
As we tread this advent pathway
stepping through this mystery,
wonder fills each human heartbeat,
carves new ways through history.
Others walked this way before us,
in a different time and space,
spoke a language foreign, distant,
delving deeply through God's grace.
Now within imagination
art and science visualise
things beyond our comprehension,
truths we've yet to realise.
Here all language strains and fractures,
struggles to describe, inform
what our senses lay before us,
fail to offer shape and form.
Yet, in faith, while frail, we fumble
reaching through the mists of time,
finding still, within this season,
cosmic love, incarnate rhyme.
As we tread this advent pathway – an Advent hymn
As we tread this advent pathway
stepping through this mystery,
wonder fills each human heartbeat,
carves new ways through history.
Others walked this way before us,
in a different time and space,
spoke a language foreign, distant,
delving deeply through God's grace.
Now within imagination
art and science visualise
things beyond our comprehension,
truths we've yet to realise.
Here all language strains and fractures,
struggles to describe, inform
what our senses lay before us,
fail to offer shape and form.
Yet, in faith, while frail, we fumble
reaching through the mists of time,
finding still, within this season,
cosmic love, incarnate rhyme.
Andrew E Pratt 30/11/2024
Words © 2024 © 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: CHAPEL BRAE; SHIPSTON; STUTTGART
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