Aid will never save the world
Without changes in our lives.
Systems which embrace us all
Foster wealth’s destructive drives.
My desire for you, my friend,
Is the same as for myself
To be freed from gross desire
For more things or for more wealth
Through embracing sharing ways
That can nurture inner health.
Our hands, O God, are stained with blood
Which comes from family trees
Or flows from nations and the gods
They seek with fire to please.
Forgiveness is our most precious gift,
The most Christ-like blessing we can share.
When the world reveals a fractured face,
When the parts diverge to form extremes,
Can we build a world by joining hands
To fulfil the Gospel’s many dreams?
We are one with the creatures,
One with the plants,
One with the life of Earth.
In between the Cross and Rising,
In between our grief and light,
Lie the tombs of hibernation,
Times of inner healing’s might.
This Earth is full of beauty
For those with open eyes;
This world is full of wonder
Which makes the pilgrim wise.
Thank you, thank you, thank you God
For the gift, the gift of life.
Thank you, thank you, thank you God
For the peace beyond all strife.
Blow your whistle, beat your drum,
God’s new way is full of fun.
Have a party, bake a cake,
Everyone should celebrate.
At times we’re like old-fashioned cameras
Seeing life as black or white.
At times we’re like deleted scanners
Printing only dull or bright.
If I think that I am wiser
But you feel that you are right
We don’t need a fight to settle
What is black and what is white
I can’t face forgiving you,
You have caused me too much pain.
You have made me cry too much,
We can’t be good friends again.
I just want to be alone
Letting my dark anger reign.
When I’m feeling hurt and angry
I will let my feelings out
Yelling all my pain out loudly
When no others are about.
When your heart is feeling blue,
Feeling blue, feeling blue,
Count your blessings and give thanks,
Give thanks to God.
If my eyes are full of tears,
If my heart is numb with pain,
Give me hope that does not die;
Bring me back to life again.
Our spirits are like the trees of the forest,
Or trees as they stand guarding a park.
Our spirits can reach as high as tall timber.
Praise God for Spirit’s sacred life.
(Boys) I don’t have to be king of the castle,
I just want to be me.
(Girls) I don’t have to be queen of the castle,
I just need the courage to be,
We’re really like the onions
With skins beneath our skin.
Each face has ways of masking
The private worlds within.
We all have stories we can share
Of times of failure and success,
Of highs and lows, of gold and dross,
Of frugal lives and love’s excess.
Dream, dream and never give up,
Hope, hope of a world to be,
Work, work for justice and dreams,
Put others first and set people free.
How can the time of peace come to Earth?
When will all bombs be banned?
How can true justice blossom in mirth?
When will the violence end?
All those who choose the Way
Of noble living
Must seek to grow each day
In joyful giving,
There are times when truth is this and partly that,
When love can bind extremes to be as one,
But at other times our heart says “you must choose the way
Of life or death, for you and Earth today.”
Thank you God for this beautiful Earth.
Thank you God for the wonder of life.
Thank you God for the blessing of love.
All things are connected
And everything is one,
The cells within our flesh,
The Moon, the stars, the Sun.
Great Life-Force, God of all nurture;
Honor and praise to you.
Your peace and justice fill the Earth;
Honor and praise to you.
Which code can assist us
Uncover the fullness
Of living and loving
Which our spirits need?
Call of the songbird rising to Heaven,
Movement of bird wings rainbows enshrining,
Color of sunset painting the evening,
Scent of the forest fragrance displaying
The energy of God,
Like yeast within the dough,
Can take a sterile life
And give it strength to grow.
Jesus Christ is alive and lives in me
As I touch the Christ within,
As I open my life
To the power of God’s love
I obey the Risen Christ.
King David was a man of fire
Who sang and danced for God.
The raptures of his heart’s desire
Were sacred gifts from God.
Abraham had stirring dreams
That called for emigration.
Steadfast faith sustained his search
Despite its worst privation.
As wind that dances lightly round the clouds,
As sighs that come from loving’s warm caress,
As rising air that lofts the soaring bird
God’s Spirit can empower what we express.
To our winters Jesus brings
Light and warmth and dancing,
Melting frozen lives and hearts,
Freeing and enhancing.
