Whats that whisper Hymn
Whats that whisper Hymn
by Andrew Pratt
First Sunday of Advent Year A Matthew 24: 36-44Hymn: What's that whisper (see also dramatic reading: What's that whisper) What's that whisper, just the wind blow? Almost silent, hardly heard. Did you hear a footstep coming; trick of sense? That's just absurd... Andrew Pratt (bo…
When all is lost, there seems no turning back
When all is lost, there seems no turning back
by Andrew Pratt
When all is lost, there seems no turning back; when friends are gone, while gain has turned to lack; when life has left us in a crumpled heap, we slip and slide, we agonise and weep. Sometimes our lives are spun, flipped upside down, the royal are poor, the beggar wears a crown. …
What value can you place on love
What value can you place on love
by Andrew Pratt
What value can you place on love, how can you weigh attention that watches every step you take beyond this world's convention? Verses 2-3 follows Tune: DOMINUS REGIT ME Metre: 8.7.8.7 Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 16/8/2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, www.stainer.co…
Whatever gains I once held dear
Whatever gains I once held dear
by Andrew Pratt
Whatever gains I once held dear, the things of earth or heaven above; I now reflect and know their flaws, they fade before abundant love. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: WINCHESTER NEW; WILTON (Stanley) Metre: LM Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 24/2/2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, En…
When in our loneliness, lost without comfort
When in our loneliness, lost without comfort
by Andrew Pratt
When in our loneliness, lost without comfort, homeless, abandoned, when hope has all gone; God speaks through history, the words still disturb us: 'this is your home and you must carry on'. When our depression has mirrored that exile, hope is diminished and love drains away; even…
When Moses uttered, ones who heard
When Moses uttered, ones who heard
by Andrew Pratt
When Moses uttered, ones who heard assumed he spoke for them, for now, not for some future time or place still wanting of a Saviour's grace. And yet those words would resonate beyond that early utterance, would still have force in later years to speak to latent needs and fears. V…
When blood is poured like water
When blood is poured like water
by Andrew Pratt
When blood is poured like water, humanity destroyed, in denigrating neighbours, your grace seems null and void. Our politics seem barren as this hot desert floor, while all around seems hopeless and life, a firm closed door. Verses 2-3 follow Metre: 7 6 7 6 D Tune: PASSION CHORAL…
When ever disaster brings death and destruction
When ever disaster brings death and destruction
by Andrew Pratt
When ever disaster brings death and destruction, when people are suff'ring and questions arise, we should not assume some divine retribution condemning the people that we might despise. God's judgement is subtle, each person is counted, each one is significant, folded in grace. G…
When nations are healed and all warfare is banished
When nations are healed and all warfare is banished
by Andrew Pratt
When nations are healed and all warfare is banished, the hungry are fed and the poor lifted high, the vision of glory, God's presence among us, will signify love and all hatred will die. The river of life will flow on unpolluted, the language we share will express common wealth, …
When Jesus prayed in mystic, sweet communion
When Jesus prayed in mystic, sweet communion
by Andrew Pratt
When Jesus prayed in mystic, sweet communion, he was not begging for a loaf of bread, yet noting the reality of hunger, his words are human, asking to be fed. This human need that undergirds existence, provides the ground, the need to live in peace, where grace determines human c…
When roots grow deep and branches rise
When roots grow deep and branches rise
by Andrew Pratt
When roots grow deep and branches rise they mirror faith secure in grace. And from this ground thanksgiving grows beyond this time, in every place. Verses 2 follows Tune: BRESLAU Metre: LM Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 12/7/2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, www.stain…
When our lives are tossed and windswept
When our lives are tossed and windswept
by Andrew Pratt
When our lives are tossed and windswept, twisted, spun and turned around, God is in the swirling darkness, leads our feet to solid ground. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: WRAYSBURY; WYCHBOLD Metre: 8.7.8.7 Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 2/3/2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, w…
Where are you God, when darkness shrouds each day
Where are you God, when darkness shrouds each day
by Andrew Pratt
Where are you God, when darkness shrouds each day Fifth Sunday in Lent Psalm 130; John 11: 1 – 45 Where are you God, when darkness shrouds each day, when mists obscure my path, I see no way? Where are you God amidst this urban sprawl when roaring traffic leaves a smoky pall? Wher…
Where bodies hang in bloody torment
Where bodies hang in bloody torment
by Andrew Pratt
Where bodies hang in bloody torment, as once prefigured by the cross, we see again in coarse oppression, such human hate and human loss. The nails once hammered through Christ’s body, are now replaced with guns or wire, sophisticated ways of torture, yet no less sharp the fear th…
Where jackals gnaw the drying bones
Where jackals gnaw the drying bones
by Andrew Pratt
Where jackals gnaw the drying bones Fifth Sunday in Lent Ezekiel 37: 1-14 Where jackals gnaw the drying bones and vultures wheel above, the people languish losing hope, is this the end of love? This exile tore them from God's grace, yes that is how it seemed... Andrew Pratt (bo…
Where is Jesus, where is Mary