Range: High
-
STLT#345, With Joy We Claim the Growing Light
First, I need to say a prayer for Key West, and really all of south Florida this morning. I have friends who are still on the island (mostly they are first responders, public works folk, or other government officials), and they are getting hit so very hard as I type. I’ve seen a few videos… Continue reading
-
STLT#341, O World, Thou Choosest Not the Better Part
I am in a Lichtenstein painting: “Oh no! I forgot to read George Santayana!” And I’m a bit embarrassed, largely because he wrote about spirituality and aesthetics, and this is the area of my ministry and while God knows I have read a ton of literature in my area of ministry, how is it I’ve never read… Continue reading
-
STLT#340, Though Gathered Here to Celebrate
Wow. I have a service I love to do called “Holey, Holy, Wholly” about the myth of wholeness and the grace of brokenness as a truer path to healing. It is one of those deeply pastoral services that fulfills the call to ‘comfort the afflicted’ – because we can’t always just ‘afflict the comfortable.’ I… Continue reading
-
STLT#315, This Old World
Am I the only one who sees the first line of this song and thinks of “Man of Constant Sorrow” from O Brother, Where Are Thou? Really? It’s just me? Can’t be. Anyway… this is another one I have never sung, and likely never would have chosen because it’s got a title “This Old World” and is… Continue reading
-
STLT#314, We Are Children of the Earth
I’ve been sitting here trying to troubleshoot a problem with the site in an attempt to avoid writing about today’s hymn. But I know I must, so here goes. I have problems with this hymn. Not because it’s set to an unfamiliar tune by noted Vietnamese composer Nguyễn Đức Toàn. (We also have from him… Continue reading
-
STLT#293, O Star of Truth
So… I’m not sure about this one. On the one hand, it’s a wonderful piece about our first source – our personal experience of awe and wonder, singing praise to the “star of truth” – which is a wonderful name for that which some call God. On the other hand, there seems to be a bit of… Continue reading
-
STLT#218, Who Can Say
As with any art form, the more you engage it, the more familiar you become with those who practice it – sometimes it’s easy, like discerning Picassos in the Modern Museum of Art. Sometimes it’s less so, requiring some familiarity – signature dance moves mark the difference between Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse, signature word… Continue reading
-
STLT#215, Praise to the Living God
Confession time: I did not actually sing this today. It’s not that I don’t like this hymn – I do. It’s that I have laryngitis and I physically can’t. That laryngitis – and the accompanying cold – is also why this is so late: I turned off the alarm so I could sleep. The good news… Continue reading
-
STLT#213, There’s a Wideness in Your Mercy
There’s a special announcement at the end of this post – but you have read it first. No cheating! (Like I’d notice, but really, what fun would it be? Especially since there’s a good hymn to talk about!) This hymn, y’all. It’s not the most lush or most poetic, but don’t let aesthetics get in… Continue reading
-
STLT#202, Come Sunday
I wonder how many denominations have Duke Ellington in their hymnals? A hat tip to our hymnal commission for finding a place for this piece. And, as I’ve talked about before, this fits in the ‘not every song in the hymnal is meant for the congregation to sing’ category – although I would love to… 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.