NeuroDivine

Yesterday afternoon, at our Harvest Songs of Praise in St John’s Church, Monasterevin, I heard seven hymns I had written sung by a congregation of nearly 100 people.

I have lived with these words while writing and revising them, often hearing a tune in my head as I worked. Hearing other voices take them up was something else entirely. A wonderful choir and group of musicians had come together from across the dioceses and beyond. The drum kit gave the singing such energy, while the fiddles, flute, guitars, accordion and trumpet made the sound unbelievable. And through it all, the congregation sang.

The hymns had been written at different times and for different moments in the Church’s year. Some began with a psalm; others with prayer, the Eucharist, or the landscape around the Barrow. At harvest, their images of earth, light, water, weariness and praise found a place together. Psalm 98’s invitation to sing a new song felt especially close as I listened to people do just that.

I am deeply grateful to everyone who played, sang, rehearsed and helped bring the service together. It was a joy to share these hymns in the church and community I call home.

For anyone who would like to read them, these were the seven hymns we sang, in service order:

1. O Trinity of Earth and Light⁠ — Forest Green
2. Singing Psalm 98 in an Irish Key⁠ — Kingsfold
3. Bless the Land, O All My Being⁠ — Pleading Saviour
4. Before the Dawn First Brushed the Sky⁠ — Kilmarnock
5. A Hymn for a Wandering People, the Weary and the Small⁠ — Resignation
6. O God Who Rises, Veiled in Light⁠ — St Patrick
7. At Evening, God Has Spoken⁠ — Salley Gardens

Yesterday they belonged to everyone who sang them. That is more than I could have hoped for when I first put pen to paper.