Rev Richard Hall of Wingham ON has written to the Regional Councils with a very generous gift: four original songs to be used freely across the church, including scores and sound files. Thank you for helping us honour this time, past, present and future, Richard! Please see all the files at the end of this post; they are uploaded to one of our three Regional sites, so don’t worry if you see another web address come up when you open them.
Richard writes, “Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to set several texts to music. Although they have been committed to written form, only recently have I had the time to properly record some of them. One is a musical setting for “A New Creed”. Although it can be performed by soloist or choir, as other arrangements have done, it was designed primarily for congregational singing.
The motivation for this is that any creed is a statement of our devotion to God and God’s mission, so it’s appropriate that it be sung, like a love song to God. It’s easily learned by congregations, and in fact has been used, and is still used, as a regular part of worship by a number of congregations across the United Church of Canada.
In the recording, the vocalist is Rev. Alex Jebson, minister of Blyth & Brussels United Church. The written music is of three arrangements: melody line only (for use in bulletins or screens), organ arrangement (which doubles as a teaching arrangement), and the full piano score. I offer this to be freely used or copied, which applies to both the written & recorded music.
I’ve also partnered with text writers, primarily The Very Rev. Walter Farquharson. Walter and I are offering three pieces for the 100th Anniversary for free use. In the 100th Anniversary, we look to the past, present, and future.
For the past, we offer “And What When I Grow Old”, which acknowledges those who contributed to our story in past years, and challenges us to value and honour that contribution, and learn from it as we progress towards the future.
For the present, we offer “I Will Sing To Our God”, which centres on the current injustice of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The hymn doesn’t mention either by name, but uses the imagery of Exodus 15 (The Song of Miriam and Moses) to call for justice for those who are targeted by the strong. Other themes besides Russia/Ukraine might come to mind as well… those unfairly targeted because of their sexual orientation, gender, race, Indigenous rights, and more.
For the future, we offer “As Long As There Is Time”, which recalls Matthew 25:36-40 and its call to visit, feed, welcome, and otherwise serve Christ’s children as long as we still have time available. It is looking to our future mission. Walter’s inspiration for the text came from an ancient eastern church prayer which called us to “feed Christ while there is still time”.
For all of the above pieces, neither I nor the Walter nor any musicians are looking for royalties. If anyone feels any of these pieces might be of use, both the printed and recorded music are offered freely for using, copying or duplicating. In the recording of “A New Creed”, Rev. Alex Jebson is the sole vocalist. In the others, it is a mixture of myself, my wife Barb, and Alex.
Thank you, and may God richly bless you and our United Church of Canada in this 100th Anniversary year! In Loving Partnership, Richard D. Hall”.
Files for A New Creed
Score, antiphonal or organ version (PDF)
Melody line version (PDF)
Piano version (PDF)
Files for And What When I Grow Old
Score for And What When I Grow Old (PDF)
Sound file for And What When I Grow Old (MP3)
Files for As Long as There is Time
Score for As Long as There is Time (PDF)
Sound file for As Long as There is Time (MP3)
Files for I Will Sing to Our God
Score for I Will Sing to Our God (PDF)
Sound file for I Will Sing to Our God (MP3)
