Our bodies are gifts of God, but cultural messages, practical challenges, aging, and loss can complicate our relationship with this holy gift. This text is a reminder to care for ourselves and one another.

Love these human bodies
fashioned, filled, and claimed,
fragile yet resilient,
fierce with will untamed,
made of clay and spirit,
made of flesh and bone,
sacred sanctuary,
home we call our own.

Love these lively bodies
joined in avid prayer,
drawn to joyful dancing,
called to serve and care,
moved for work and pleasure, 
moved for play and praise,
led on strange new journeys
to pursue God’s ways.

Love these different bodies,
each one is a gift;
rare in form and function,
made to mend and shift;
braving hurt and healing, 
braving risk and age;
blessing we can cherish
in each shape and stage.

Love these human bodies
bearing life and death,
full of the eternal,
full of soul and breath.
Love these fleeting temples 
Love has brought to birth,
living and then passing
home to holy earth.

Text by Hannah C. Brown (c) 2023, GIA Publications, Inc.

This text was designed to be sung with CRANHAM (“In the Bleak Midwinter”) and can be reproduced for worship using One License.