The Rain is Over and Gone

  

 The rain is over and gone,
And the winter is passing by,
The time for singing has come,
And the clouds have parted from the sky. 

Arise, my love, and come away,
For lo! the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone,
Over and gone, my love,
Come away, my fair one, come away. 

We will rise and go to the city,
The city without any walls,
Where we can live in freedom,
To the new Jerusalem we’re called. 

Arise, my love, my fair one,
For lo! the winter is gone,
The flowers appear on the earth again,
And the time for singing has come. 

Sing of life and love and laughter,
Sing of freedom to live in peace,
And there shall be no more crying,
Only joy that will never cease.

 The Rain Is Over And Gone Song of Solomon  Additional words: Paul Halley

When we attended the memorial service for a friend in Sudbury recently we assumed that it would be well attended (it was) and that there would be thoughtful and loving tributes (there were.) There was also remarkable music with stirring hymns accompanied by the pipe organ and two beautiful anthems. The congregational choir was augmented by members from community and university choral groups, bringing the total to about 40 voices. 

A family friend was the soloist for one of the anthems and she was splendid. The anthem was The Rain is Over and Gone, by Paul Halley, a piece which is one of Ruth's favourites, and the lyrics are a paraphrase and augmentation of a passage of scripture from Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon, chapter two, which is one of my favourites. 

It is hard to imagine anyone present not being moved by this anthem and I said after the service concluded that it was the most meaningful choral piece I've ever heard sung at a funeral or memorial. In retrospect, it may have been the most meaningful anthem I've heard in any worship service through my lifetime, and I've appreciated scores of them by some very good choirs. 

What a reminder of the tremendous spiritual power of music which finds its way to the very core of our being. So often through my years of ministry it was the anthem which allowed me a few moments of worship within a service I was leading.

In these days when many mainline/old-line congregations struggle to muster any sort of  choir, let alone a good one, and some contemporary faith communities include pieces which can be (not always) more performance than praise, we should savour every moment when God is glorified and hearts moved by music. 

I can only hope that this piece brought consolation and hope to a grieving family. 

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