New Ways

With The Death of Christ New Ways Were Born

Tunes: NEW WAYS  97979796

Melody: William L. Wallace

Harmony: Denis Guyan

KINGSFOLD Adapted

From an English and Irish Traditional Melody

Coll. Lucy Broadwood, 1858-1929

Harm. and arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams

 

1. With the death of Christ new ways were born

    To discern God’s presence here;

    Every person now is child of God

    Who can grow to be a seer.

    From the empty tomb awareness rose

    Of a presence everywhere,

    The divine in human hearts and minds,

    Compassion’s source of care. 

 

2. Liberation formed what Jesus taught,

    From the mythic Gods of tribe,

    Past the Gods who cursed their enemies 

    And in war was on their side;

    The old tribal Gods gave conquered lands

    And could aid fertility;

    They’re the ones they hoped would answer prayers

    And set their spirits free.         

 

3. We may feel we need some special place

    Where we think that God resides,

    But for Jesus God was everywhere 

    And that’s where myst’ry abides;

    To each person God gifts priceless worth,

    All are equal in God’s sight 

    So each person we shall now affirm

    And jointly spread delight.

 

4. All our one-way views now age and die

    In our faith, in art and law, 

    An accepting age we hope comes soon 

    That will move past either/or;

    A great evolutionary leap,

    That brings peace in place of war 

    And it will be all these complex ways 

    We shall with love adore.

 

        Text and Melody for New Ways © William Livingstone Wallace

        Harmony © Denis Guyan

 

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Click Here for Full Index to William L. Wallace’s Series Hymns “Cosmic Mystery”

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William (Bill) Livingstone Wallace is a retired New Zealand Methodist Minister and one of our most prolific contributors. Bill says that his work springs from communicating with the fire in his gut and his observation of both the internal and external aspects of the Cosmos. Since an early age, he has been both sympathetic to and critical of the church, announcing at the age of 13 his belief in evolution. In his youth, he struggled with the disconnection between art and spirituality in his own and other denominations and with the way in which all of the liturgies prior to the sermon were regarded as preliminaries and longer sermons were viewed as superior to more concise ones.

He holds a B.A. in philosophy and a Dip. Ed. and is the author of nine published collections of his hymns as well as other resources on our website. His aim is to help people be empowered by the divine within them and the Cosmos and to work to overthrow the forces of personal and institutional greed which destroy both the ecosystem and human society.

 

Click Here for a Full Biography of William L. Wallace

Click here for a complete list of his work on ProgressiveChristianity.org