Hannah C Brown

hymn writer

  • Elemental Joy

    I am thrilled that a collection of my hymn texts is now available through GIA Publications. You can also listen to the songs on Spotify (part 1, part 2) or YouTube (part 1, part 2).

    It has been such a privilege to collaborate with editor Adam Tice and composers Sally Ann Morris, Ben Brody, Kate Williams, Mark Miller, and Anneli Loepp Thiessen, and to have my words matched with existing tunes of many eras and styles from other gifted composers and arrangers.

    This book has so much of my heart in it and touches on topics ranging from issues of justice such as disability access, LGBTQ affirmation, bodily autonomy, and environmental care; to human experiences of grief, comfort, loneliness, hope, and growth; to expansive explorations of Christian stories and seasons.

  • My God, I Am A Harrowed Land

    Photo by Benjamin Jameson on Unsplash

    “for in Love’s field was never found / a nobler weapon than a wound.” 

    A biography of St. Theresa of Avila brought me to this quote from Richard Cranshaw’s poetic tribute to her. The quote stayed with me for months, demanding exploration. Times of great loss can lead us into retreat and calcification; and they can also be the beginning of growth. I pray that all of us might find that our wounded hearts eventually become fertile fields.

    My text is matched with the wonderful tune THE ROWAN TREE. You can preview or purchase this piece here. It is also included in my collection Elemental Joy.

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  • Bless What Is Breaking

    Photo by Courtney Cook on Unsplash

    Some of the holiest moments I have experienced while hymn writing have been when I consider a deeply personal and painful experience and try to imagine how it might be of service to a singing congregation. In this case — just as with one of my earliest pieces, “I Know God Holds You” — the personal experience is one that has not always been fully welcomed or acknowledged in churches.

    Divorce is prohibited in Christian scripture. This prohibition, like so many of the words of Jesus, is intended to protect those most vulnerable in his society. In that time and place, only men were able to initiate a divorce. When they did initiate one, it could leave their wives and children financially destitute.

    In modern contexts, a blanket prohibition of divorce or moral judgement on those who choose it ignores the many reasons why a marriage may need to end. Coming from church organizations or communities, these prohibitions or judgements are especially harmful. Those experiencing the pain of divorce need God’s blessing and the support of their communities.

    I wrote this text from my own divorce experience, longing for blessing in a painful time. The tune that Kate Williams composed in response broke my heart in a beautiful way. The music captures the aching, unresolved nature of this part of my life. I hope our collaboration will help others who, because of divorce or another painful change, need blessings as they unmake and remake their lives. The text can also speak to our collective experience as we witness things we value or trust in fall apart, and wonder what will come next. God comes closest to us in times of greatest need, and there is no shame in the honest telling of what is breaking within and around us.

    You can find the text and music to preview or purchase on GIA Unbound here. It is also included in my collection Elemental Joy. Here is the song with Kate’s tune SHANNON RAE:

    And with SLANE:

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  • In the Faithfulness of Service

    Photo by David The Optimist on Unsplash

    Christians sometimes argue about what is better: Martha’s service or Mary’s worship,  the effort of works or a receptiveness to grace, achieving a position of responsibility or growing in humility.  Jesus reminds us that we are called to love God with all that we do, and with all that we are.

    In the faithfulness of service,
    in the spaciousness of prayer,
    in my work and in my worship
    help me follow you, my God.

    With a mind in search of wisdom,
    with a heart inspired to praise,
    with my strength of soul and body
    help me follow you, my God.

    As you grow the gifts within me, 
    as you open paths ahead, 
    as I am, and as you form me
    help me follow you, my God.

    For a part within your purpose, 
    for a peace within my soul
    for a world suffused with mercy
    help me follow you, my God.

    Text by Hannah C. Brown, (c) 2024 by GIA Publications, Inc. This text can be reproduced with One License. I recommend pairing it with the tune AUSTIN or Ben Brody’s lovely COME TO ME.

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  • When Our Minds Are Set and Certain

    Photo by Emile Guillemot on Unsplash

    How can we work against the many forces urging us towards polarization and division? This text was inspired by A Sanctified Art’s theme for Lent in 2025: Everything In Between: Meeting God in the midst of extremes.

    When our minds are set and certain
    grant us grace that intercedes.
    When our hearts are hard with habit
    ease us into gentle deeds.
    When our ways are planned and patterned,
    guide us out of rote routine.
    Come reform our fixed intentions;
    teach us in the in between. 

    When we wander, lost and lonesome
    lead us back to flock and fold.
    When we ache with want or labor
    draw us close to be consoled.
    When we judge the ones around us
    show us wisdom yet unseen.
    Gather all to feast together;
    join us in the in between. 

    When the cruel deceive and slander
    amplify the kind and true.
    When the weight of hate is heavy
    strengthen love to pull us through.
    Great are small, and weak are mighty 
    as your powers intervene.
    Call your people to conversion:
    heal us in the in between. 

    Text by Hannah C. Brown, (c) 2025, GIA Publications, Inc.. This text can be reproduced for worship using One License. I recommend pairing it with the tune JEFFERSON but there are many other tunes that would work if they are more familiar to your community, such as AUSTRIAN HYMN or BEECHER.

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  • Come, Watch For the Green

    Image from holdenvillage.org

    This hymn text began with a memory of a learning session at Holden Village, a retreat center in Washington State’s North Cascades Mountains. Please, take a trip there if you can — it has wonderful worship and learning opportunities, unbelievable natural beauty, and incredible hiking!

    While I was at Holden, I learned about the importance of fire in the natural lifecycle of the forest. While fires threaten human homes and have become more dangerous due to climate change, they also serve an important purpose in renewing the forest. In fact, some seeds only open in response to the intense heat of fire.

    New plants greening a blackened forest felt like a powerful image when describing the hope that persists and returns after difficult experiences — a theme found in many scriptures. We’re called to praise God through it all, holding fast to what’s good until time and healing can do their work.

    This text took a long time to find its tune. I’m grateful to my editor, Adam Tice, who finally suggested COLUMCILLE, which I think is a wonderful match. You can preview or purchase the piece here. It is also a part of my collection Elemental Joy.

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  • In Woods and Wetlands

    On a visit to Vermont I hiked in Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park, part of the traditional and unsurrendered homeland of the Abenaki people. Learning about the deforestation and renewal of the Green Mountains gave me hope and reminded me of other promising efforts towards ecological restoration. People are working to heal the earth in so many ways — and sometimes, succeeding.

    This text is set to Sally Ann Morris’ tune, IN NOMINE DEI. Preview or purchase the piece here. It is also a part of my collection Elemental Joy.

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  • O Christ, Your Crucifixion

    When They Crucified Jesus
    by Clara Hochhalter

    How is Good Friday happening in our world today? This is a question that I carry with me into every Holy Week.

    This hymn unites past and present and recognizes the presence of Christ in the places of deepest suffering.

    My text is matched with two different tunes, PASSION CHORALE and LLANGLOFFAN.

    You can preview or purchase the piece here. It is also a part of my collection Elemental Joy.

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  • You Grow Like the Moss

    Mossy trees near St. Francis’ Hermitage outside Assisi, Italy

    The natural world is always changing, but that change is often extremely slow—hard to measure in human lifetimes. What would it be like to trust in the gradual unfolding of God’s desires within us and around us on this kind of timescale? The Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, devoted to both theology and science, wrote in his wonderful poem “Patient Trust”: “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.”

    Here’s a new text embracing the slow work of God, who sometimes works at the speed of growing moss or eroding rock. The last line of this text echoes a favorite quote from Willa Cather, another observer of nature: “that is happiness: to be dissolved into something complete and great; when it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep” (My Ántonia).

    You can preview or purchase the text here. It’s set to the lovely tune SAMANTHRA. While I was writing, I listened to this version. You can also find this piece in my collection Elemental Joy.

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  • Great Eastern Star

    Photo by NASA on Unsplash

    The haunting tune KEDRON is associated with two different texts about Jesus’ death: “Thou Man of Grief” by Charles Wesley and “Sunset to Sunrise,” translated from St. Clement of Alexandria. I take inspiration from both in this new text that follows Jesus’ transformations among us, from birth through resurrection.

    You can preview or purchase the piece here. You can also find it included in my collection Elemental Joy.

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