Category: Hope
-
In the Beginning
As waters rise due to environmental devastation, our situation has similarities to the flood story. This time, we’re the ones bringing the flood. How might God’s presence and promise help us now? This text emerged in a shape that didn’t fit any traditional format. I’m grateful to Kate Williams for creating a wonderful tune that…
-
It Hurts to Grow
After God leads the people Israel up out of slavery in Egypt, they are full of gratitude. However, what comes next isn’t easy, and they sometimes wish they could go back. When we are living through something new, whether a blessing or a challenge (or both!), we may also struggle to accept our circumstances and…
-
Come, Watch For the Green
Encouragement to hold onto hope and continue to praise in difficult circumstances
-
You Grow Like the Moss
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…
-
The Seeds of Grace
This text is an exploration of the parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13:1–23, Mark 4:1–20, and Luke 8:4–15. What is our response to the bountiful seeds of grace God scatters and nurtures in our midst? The text is paired with the beautiful Irish folk melody DURROW. It could also be used with a more familiar…
-
May We Be Free
During a visit to the Statue of Liberty in 2023, I was moved by the museum exhibit contrasting the dreams of freedom in the United States with the reality of our past and present. So many have worked to realize freedom in this land, and so much work remains to be done. I returned to…
-
Morning Breaks
In October of 2022 I was a bundle of nerves as I prepared to attend a conference for aspiring hymn composers and text writers hosted by The Hymn Society of the United States and Canada. I was totally fascinated by the prospect of hymn writing and I had been spending more and more time experimenting,…
Hannah C Brown 