Hymn by Hymn
-
STLT#329, Life Has Loveliness to Sell
I’m just gonna say right up front that for all of my belief in beauty and its role in revealing truth and inspiring connection to Mystery, I dislike the premise of this hymn. The premise – that loveliness costs, that the spiritual and inspirational are currency, that this entire piece is set in a capitalist… Continue reading
-
STLT#328, I Sought the Wood in Summer
Let’s not kid ourselves: Willa Cather could write. This lyric, from a longer poem “I Sought the World in Winter” is a graceful meditation on the beauty of nature: I sought the wood in summer when every twig was green; the rudest boughs were tender, and buds were pink between. Light-fingered aspens trembled in fitful… Continue reading
-
STLT#327, Joy, Thou Goddess
When I say “Beethoven” I bet most of you think “da da da DUM” and the strikingly innovative opening to the Fifth Symphony. But for me, it’s this – Ode to Joy. I first waxed poetic about it on November 1st, noting the joy of the music and the lyrics by Henry Van Dyke. And… Continue reading
-
STLT#326, Let All the Beauty We Have Known
Welcome to another edition of “Hymns Kimberley Would Use Too Often If Let Loose.” I love this one. I love its inspiration, I love the joy, I love the celebration. And, not surprisingly, I love the tune too – another Ralph Vaughan Williams setting (Danby). It is lush and sweet. Let all the beauty we… Continue reading
-
STLT#325, Love Makes a Bridge
Another list song – must be Brian Wren. And so it is. Now this is not to say his list is bad, necessarily, but It can get tiring pretty quickly. And when it comes to Wren, there is always something – even in songs I like, like this one – that make me go “hmm” … Love… Continue reading
-
STLT#324, Where My Free Spirit Onward Leads
One of the downsides of so many hymn tunes is that groups of them begin to sound alike. For instance, there’s a whole set of them in the O Waly Waly/Gift of Love milieu that I constantly confuse for one another. And now there is another set of them – including this English tune, called Kingsfold,… Continue reading
-
STLT#323, Break Not the Circle
Just before I opened the hymnal, I saw a Facebook post from a dear friend who asked ‘But what if this world runs out of lovers? What then?” Then for me was opening the hymnal to this wonderful hymn, reminding us to draw the circle ever wider, because – as Susan Frederick Gray has reminded us, “no… Continue reading
-
STLT#322, Thanks Be for These
One of the delights of being an active member and now religious professional in the Saint Lawrence District (upstate NY and part of Ontario) is getting to know Richard and Joyce Gilbert a little. They are so much a part of my story, in the way peanuts are a part of a Snickers bar –… Continue reading
-
STLT#321, Here in the Flesh
Let me start off by saying I feel significantly better today, with just a leftover fog from the meds and sleeping a lot. Phew – what a weird siege that was. Yet even a clearer head and lack of pain won’t help me today. Let me say for the record that I am glad we have… Continue reading
-
STLT#320, The Pen Is Greater
I wish… I wish I felt better so I could really dig into this hymn. I wish I had looked ahead and scheduled a Hymn-by-Hymn conversation with Suzanne Fast about this hymn. I’ll just say that having had a conversation with Suzanne at General Assembly, I now understand how difficult this embracing our bodies without… Continue reading
Support this site
I am an entrepreneurial minister, which means I am a freelancer, and every part of my income comes from the work I do. The Hymn by Hymn Project was and is a labor of love, but I now am incurring increasing costs for hosting the site.
If everyone who visited gave just $5, those costs would be covered in a single week.
Whether you give once or monthly, your generosity will keep Hymn by Hymn free and available to to the tens of thousands of people who benefit from it.
Please support the project!
links
Learn more about my ministry at The Art of Meaning
Read my thoughts about congregational life at Hold My Chalice
You must be logged in to post a comment.