God of every new beginning (website only)
God of every new beginning
fashioned out of pain and loss:
show us how our Easter vision
springs from Friday’s bitter cross.
If our lives are moving forward
to new tasks as yet unknown,
or are stayed: as you have called us,
we are yours, and not our own.
God of every change and ending,
with us till our journey’s through,
help us find the transformation
that will build our lives anew.
In the sharing of compassion,
in our own and others’ pain,
be the Comforter beside us
making torn lives whole again.
God of Easter’s celebration,
God of life from death restored,
God who gives us resurrection
through your Christ, our living Lord:
as we find again his presence,
now unbound from time and space,
God of Life, inspire our living:
yours the time, and yours the place.
Words: © Tony Law 2020, 2021. May be freely used in worship
Tune: Calon Lân (StF 323) – though there are other options in StF using this metre
Metre: 87.87.D (Trochiac)
Ideas for use
This hymn reflects the themes of the Methodist Covenant ("we are yours, and not our own", v.1) through the lens of the Easter story, providing a fresh angle on both. This makes the text appropriate to Eastertide, but it could be used at other times of the year also e.g. New Year/Covenant service, and more generally in times of uncertainty. With its original verse 2 (see below), the hymn becomes appropriate for services during which a congregation is saying farewell to its minister, or other well-loved congregation member.
More information
To read more about the Methodist Covenant Service, Covenant and renewal - hymns to explore is a good place to start. Singing the Faith Plus also hosts digital versions of the Covenant Service in English and Welsh.
The hymn was written for a service due to be held at Oakham Methodist Church on Easter Sunday 2020, to be led by the Revd. Canon Leo Osborn prior to his pre-retirement sabbatical. In the event, because of the Covid lockdown, the service didn't take place. Tony says that it was Leo who had drawn him to hymn writing by challenging the Oakham preaching team to develop services that connected across Advent, first, and then Lent.
In the event, Tony's words were sung at the memorial service for Leo Osborn in Newcastle in November 2023.
Tony's original version has a different verse 2, which speaks of a friend "moving on".
God of every change and ending,
with us till our journey’s through,
help us see the transformations
that will build our lives anew.
When we feel the separation
of a friend who’s moving on,
you, our Friend, are always present
holding us and them as one.
Tony Law is a Methodist Local Preacher in the Stamford Circuit. This hymn was first published in the Methodist Recorder, 18 March 2021.