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Note about hymn use:
You are welcome to copy these hymns for use in worship provided authorship is acknowledged. All the hymns are copyright and licenced with CCLI.com (Christian Copyright Licencing International). The selection available here will be added to from time to time. Tunes can be found in the following and other sources: WOV = With One Voice; MHB = Methodist Hymn Book; H&P = Hymns and Psalms; WH&V = With Heart and Voice. etc.
Gifts are a Sign
Giving for us is a true sign of Christmas,
gifts our response to the gift of God's Son,
Jesus the baby, born that first Christmas,
Jesus, Immanuel, God with us one.
Wise were the men who brought gifts to the stable,
guided by star, to the manger they came;
kneeling before him; they laid at his cradle,
tokens of wealth, scent of grace, balm for pain.
Gold is a gift that can speak of abundance,
the rich abundance of life that God gives,
Our gift is gold when it's rich with commitment
tested, refined, through the lives that we live.
Frankincense too is a gift that is worthy;
it speaks of fragrance, of lives touched by grace,
Frankincense brings into all our relations
gentleness, kindness, and peace to each place.
Myrrh is a gift that's not welcomed, or looked for;
symbol of death, of love being embalmed,
Myrrh speaks of life in its sorrows and sadness,
but for the living its word is -
These were the gifts that they brought to Christ's cradle,
What are the gifts you in faith now would bring?
Bring what you can, and give as you're able;
give him your life, the best gift for our king.
Tune: Spean
Kauri, Flax & Rata Trees
Kauri, flax and rata trees,
ferns with koru, signs are these
of new life; the Christ has come,
under Southern Cross, warm sun.
Christ our Lord be born anew,
shape our lives in all we do.
In this South Pacific land
let your peace and justice stand.
Land of lakes, and rushing streams,
snow capped mountains, deep ravines,
teach us all Lord Christ, to be
stewards of this rich beauty.
Christ our Lord, be born anew…
In this highly favoured place,
make us clear signs of your grace,
break down walls of selfish greed,
justice bring to all in need.
Christ our Lord, be born anew…
Than shall Christmas here be found
deep in Aotearoa’s ground,
mountains, lakes and peoples too,
all will render praise to you.
Christ our Lord, be born anew…
© Norman E. Brookes
Tune: Oxford MHB 124
Pohutukawa Promise (Advent)
Blossoms red along the seashore,
bathed in green, and standing tall
is the great Pohutukawa,
gnarled its branches, red its fall.
Growing by our twisting coastline,
holding land against the sea,
in its blossom lies a promise,
of an advent yet to be.
Shaded by its ancient branches,
from the heat and glare of sun,
children play, and hide, and seek there;
seek the Christ Child yet to come!
Blossom falls, and then ‘tis Christmas,
red the path the Christ child comes,
can this Advent now take root here?
will this Christmas be the one?
Yes, it's time, to let this Christmas
be more than a passing whim,
time this Advent with its Christ Child,
nurtured us with life – within.
Native the Pohutukawa,
let the Christ Child native be!
planted in this soil, and growing,
sign of hope, for you, for me.
© Norman E. Brookes
Tune: With Heart & Voice (no.2)
Marjorie Spicer
God calls Us
Worship, faith, belief and action,
let these mark our lives this day.
Worship that inspires, uplifts us,
faith that takes risks on life’s way.
God now calls us; Yes, God calls us,
come, we have a part to play.
Our beliefs, convictions shape us,
mould us, make us who we are.
Christ’s compassion can embrace us,
and equip us for this hour.
God now calls us; Yes, God calls us,
to believe, to seek love’s power.
But belief must lead to action,
else all talk, all theory’s vain.
Service is our true vocation,
living, working, for God’s reign.
God now calls us; Yes, God calls us,
love to spread, and life to gain.
© Norman E. Brookes
38 in WH&V Tune: Regent Square
Spirit, creative power,
Spirit, creative power,
source of each sun, each star,
Spirit of God.
Brood o’er the waters face,
act with creative grace,
order, chaos replace,
Spirit of God.
Spirit of wind and fire,
source of renewing power,
Spirit of God.
Breathe life where hope has died,
burn up excessive pride,
let us in you abide,
Spirit of God.
Spirit of Jesus Christ,
source of the world’s true life,
Spirit of God.
Come now with risen power,
speak to this very hour,
Your love our world inspire,
Spirit of God.
© Norman E. Brookes
Tune: Moscow MHB 880
Earth’s wild hidden forces
When the earth’s wild hidden forces,
roar and shake and tilt the ground
making fissures, cracks, and sinkholes
in this land that once seemed sound.
Then we know a power beyond us,
part of mystery profound,
part of mystery profound.
When the earth’s wild hidden forces,
crush and maim, and kill life’s dreams,
taking from us those who loved us,
people that we long esteemed.
Then we know a power beyond us,
greater than we ever dreamed,
greater than we ever dreamed.
When the earth’s wild hidden forces,
strike our cities thought secure,
damage buildings long enduring,
till unsafe, they stand no more.
Then we know a power beyond us,
sprung forth from creation’s store,
sprung forth from creation’s store.
Now let earth’s wild hidden forces,
renew values we’ve ignored
in our search for passing pleasures:
Life and love, and faith in God.
In the testing and the turmoil
may God’s healing power be found
may God’s healing love abound.
© Norman E Brookes
Tune: Cwm Rhondda MHB 615
Note: This hymn was prompted by the Christchurch earthquakes. Norman has spent over twenty years living in Christchurch so it is a city that has a special place in his heart.
Onward, Christians, onward
Onward, Christians onward, till our task is done,
when all barriers broken, we are truly one.
One in Christ who leads us, Saviour, Guide and Friend:
calls us into union, till divisions end.
Onward, Christians, onward, till the task is done,
when all barriers broken, we in Christ are one.
Onward, Christians onward, Jesus showed us how,
learn to love each other, live in oneness now,
If the world’s to listen, respond and believe,
then those old divisions we must clearly leave.
Onward, Christians, onward, till the task is done,
when all barriers broken, we in Christ are one.
Onward, Christians onward, learn from what is past,
how divided Churches became one at last.
Leaving pride behind them, setting power aside,
partners in the Gospel, walking side by side.
Onward, Christians, onward, till the task is done,
when all barriers broken, we in Christ are one.
Onward, Christians onward, there’s more work to do,
barriers still divide us, split God's Church anew,
End these fraught divisions, let us live as one,
till in Christ united, see God’s kingdom come.
Onward, Christians, onward, till the task is done,
when all barriers broken, we in Christ are one.
Tune: St. Gertrude MHB 822.
©Norman E. Brookes
NOTE: This was deliberately written to go with the tune for Onward Christian Soldiers as that was the hymn sung when the Primitives and the Wesleyans joined in a Methodist march of unity and witness in Wellington in 1913. That Methodist unity is but one step to the greater Christian unity that has yet to be achieved. “That we all may be one, that the world might believe”.