Sing a New Church
- The Rev. Nancy J. Hagner
- Aug 1
- 3 min read
Dear friends,
We will sing a new hymn starting this Sunday at the Offertory. I am very excited about this, for a number of reasons, one of which is that it is sung to the traditional tune Nettleton, the same tune as one of my favorite hymns “Come thou fount of every blessing” –I trust that many of you will recognize the tune right away and sing along with gusto!
We will sing verses 1 and 5 and a refrain which go like this:
Summoned by the God who made us
Rich in our diversity;
Gathered in the name of Jesus
Richer still in unity.
Refrain: Let us bring the gifts that differ,
And in splendid varied ways,
Sing a new Church into being
One in faith and love and praise.
Drawn together at one table
All the human family,
Shape a circle ever wider
And a people ever free.
Refrain: Let us bring the gifts that differ,
And in splendid varied ways,
Sing a new Church into being
One in faith and love and praise.
The other reason I am excited is that Robert, our Music Director, and I have been planning this all summer, and with all that is going on in our communities and our country, it seems a particularly fitting response we can make as a faith community. As we approach on Sundays to receive Communion, we are reminded of God’s goodness and delight in creating each of us with different gifts, different skills; God’s beloved called to honor the beauty in diversity in our world.
As Rev. Julia M. Freedman referenced in her sermon last week, “all of us are made in the image of God.” She was quoting a young Trinity parishioner, who clearly understands this bedrock principle of faith! This hymn will remind us each week of our commitment to one another, to our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters and all who claim faith or none–we are all made in God’s image and are deserving of respect, dignity and kindness in our “splendid diversity” of gifts and understanding of the God who creates all.
You may know that there are heightened tensions in Concord, Carlisle, Bedford, and perhaps other towns too around a disturbing rise in anti-semitic incidents, particularly in the schools. Your clergy are responding in the following ways:
Fr. CJ and I have reached out to our local rabbi colleagues and offered support
We have offered to convene the local Concord Interfaith Clergy Group this fall to discuss ways we as a community of faith leaders might speak into these issues
We are committed to Trinity offering a space of kindness and curious listening in all matters
At the Blessing of the Backpacks on Sept. 7, we will provide prayers for our students, teachers, and parents as they head off to school, reminding everyone of our commitment to be kind to everyone.
I will be reaching out to our Sunday School teachers and all parents to encourage conversations and prayers about “loving our neighbors as ourselves” and being kind to everyone we meet in school, on sports teams, in church, and in our daily lives.
We will sing the hymn discussed above through Homecoming Sunday on Sept. 14 and perhaps it will appear with all the verses again this fall!
A Ministry Expo on Sunday Sept. 21 will showcase many ways you can live out your faith in community as we seek to be kind, caring, compassionate followers of Jesus.
We will continue to learn and teach about the ways Scripture is used to exacerbate tensions between Christians and Jews, and will utilize resources to help all of us understand God’s grand story of faith in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation as one story of hope, love, and salvation for all people.
Fr. CJ and I are available to talk with you about any of this or other topics; please feel free to reach out anytime to set up a Porch Chat or a visit. As your spiritual leaders, we walk with you even as we too struggle with the complexities of so many issues before us these days. Together, we walk with faith that God is present and that our prayers matter as we “sing a new Church into being” by our witness to God’s love and faithfulness.
Peace and blessings,
Nancy+
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