Senses sharpened in the silence, gently, quietly, feel your breath, know God’s love will never leave us, now, or in our time of death.
As suggested by the title, the book takes a progressive approach to religion, seeing the critical biblical analysis of the past 200 years and the discoveries of science as friends rather than enemies in the ongoing quest for truth.
For forty days and forty nights you wander in the wilderness and face temptation of body, heart, mind and spirit.
Durham Street Methodist ChristChurch New Zealand (Aotearoa) January 20, 2019 service led by Rev. Bill Wallace featuring some of his hymns. Our theme today is Christian Theology and global warming.
For righteousness and peace In places of oppression Let love and hope increase.
Here in the stillness we come face to face With life giving presence, and unfolding grace. Refreshment of spirit, renewal of mind, These are the gifts we are destined to find.
God, you made your good creation and you hold it in your care — From each starry constellation to each forest under-layer. Tiny creatures, mountain splendor, rivers, lakes and ocean floors — You are loving, kind and tender in your care for what is yours.
Building a community of love and grace Reaching out and drawing in we make a place Where all can live in unity and find the space To live and grow in such amazing grace
I trust One Eternal Presence, God of Scripture, the I am and I will be, Creative force of the universe, the Source of life.
The words and music of this famous German hymn were created by Lutheran Pastor Philip Nicolai at a sad time in his ministry. During the winter of 1597-8, over 1300 people died of the plague in the small village of Unna, near Dortmund, where he pastored. He officiated at many funerals, as many as 30 a day. In a preface to its publication with other hymns and meditations he said he wished “to leave [them] behind me (if God should call me from this world) as a token of my peaceful, joyful, Christian departure, or (if God should spare me in health) to comfort other sufferers whom He should also visit with the pestilence.” The hymn draws richly from biblical sources, including images from the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) and the Book of Revelation.
Based on excerpts from Dag Hammarskjold’s Markings
Our work of peace must begin with the private world of each one of us. To build for man a world without fear, we must be without fear. To build a world of justice we must be just. And how can we fight for liberty if we are not free in our own minds? Dag Hammarskjold
"Las Posadas" is an old Mexican tradition enacting the effort by Mary and Joseph to find a place to stay on Christmas Eve. Actors depicting Mary and Joseph wander from "inn" to "inn" asking for a room, with a singing candlelight procession following them through the town. Here I offer my own words for the tune:
From the Seasoned Celebration Collection
1. Winter is the season of the revelation of basic structure. If I was to strip away all the paraphernalia of my life what form would it have? How many of the things which I do are related to the roots of my spirit. 2. Winter is the season for hibernation. What rhythm do I have for reflection as well as action? What frequency and length of time do I need in solitude in order to facilitate the growth and quality of my spirituality?
Coming home to community, we come home to our better selves.Coming together as community, we can live as our better selves.
Music has great power to touch the heart and change the world. Words we sing in worship shape our beliefs and actions. The inclusive songs in this collection will contribute to social justice, peace, equality, and expansive spiritual experience.
From the Seasoned Celebration collection
1. The seasons of the human heart reflect the seasons of nature. 2. For most things there is a right time but for some things such as manipulation, oppression and injustice there is never a right time.
From the Celebrating Mystery collection
ON RISING May awareness be my companion, love my friend and amazement my expectation.
From the Festive Worship collection
THEME The Connecting Solitude THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION The spiritual desert is not a foe to be conquered but an emptiness to be affirmed: for when we are full, we perceive nothing, but when we are empty we can receive everything.
From the Boundless Life collection
Through the star filled realms of evening Shines heavenly light. Daylight gifts a space for working, Rest comes with night.
From the Boundless Life collection
We sing of the darkness embraced by John, The mystic called John of the Cross, A darkness he entered with joyful hope...
From the Festive Worship Collection
Theme: Dreamtime Reality -- Season of Hope Thoughts for Reflection To travel hopefully is the mark of a pilgrim. To believe one has arrived is the mark of the insecure.
From the Boundless Life collection
The darkness and the light shall be one, The sorrow and the joy linked in wonder, Life shall dance, The song be sung And the golden fire burn brightly In the hearts of the children of the Earth.
From the Boundless Life collection
No one can share my inner space; There I am alone, yet not alone, For you are there, O God, Deeper than my thinking,
Introduction In my faith journey, I have struggled with the concept of the Trinity. Like many other followers of Jesus I suspect, I
An anthem in four parts
Most Holy Presence, fount of all becoming, in you we live and move and have our being.
So the hymns in this collection are my attempts to express aspects of a positive progressive theology. They are not meant to give a systematic statement of that theology; there are plenty of topics unaddressed here, and there’s plenty of room for a sequel. These hymns are, in the old sense, occasional pieces. They were written for particular occasions in my spiritual journey.
From the Boundless Life collection
“Knock, knock, knock and the door will surely open, * Seek, seek, seek and the questing heart will find,” All that only seems to lie outside us Also dwells within our heart and mind.
From the Boundless Life collection
When we find beauty in our depths, When we find love within our heart, When we find dance within our toes, God will form our sail and chart.
From the Boundless Life collection
There’s a beautiful place in our minds, Deeper than hatred or fear; There’s a beautiful space in our hearts Filled with God’s wisdom and care.