The Hymns of the Creatures

 

Refrain: Called by earth and sky, promise of hope held high. 

This is our sacred living trust, treasure of life sanctified, called by earth and sky. 

2. Precious this gift, the air we breathe; wind born and free. 

Breath of the Spirit, blow through this place, our gathering and our grace

Today the Trenton United congregation will be in the park for worship and there will be a Battle of the Hymns. These events are more like skirmishes, or maybe soccer friendlies, with a degree of passion about favourites but without physical blows -- so far. 

We began our day with the hymns of Creation as we paddled a section of the Moira River before heading to the service. We were greeted almost immediately by the frogs, tenor leopards, and bass bulls. The kingfishers chattered amidst the profusion of avian voices. At 7:15 AM there wasn't any noise from fishing boats until we returned to the launch site. 

I think of The Great Animal Orchestra by Bernie Krause, an acoustical savant who maintains that in healthy ecosystems "All God's Creatures Got a Place in the Choir" (my interpretation.) This is a wonderful premise. 

The human hymns I would choose include Touch the Earth Lightly, God of the Sparrow God of the Whale, Come and Find the Quiet Centre. I'd be happy to sing blasts from the past such as All Creatures of our God and King and This is God's Wondrous World. The latter used to be This is My Father's World, a version which might be okay on Father's Day.

I hope you have a lovely day (it is perfection here) with plenty of singing and listening. 

All the hymns in yesterday's skirmish were Creation related, and we began with a verse from eight different hymns. We voted them down to four, then two. The winner was Called By Earth and Sky from More Voices. The choice for both of us, happy to say.