Erik Gustafson's New "Hymn for the Earth"
Erik Gustafson composed a new hymn entitlted "Circle of Life: A Hymn for the Earth", which we sang in our Earth Day-themed worship service on Sunday, April 28, 2019. The hymn aspires to observe Earth Day 2019 and to help usher in a “new normal”: not the current state of our planet and its overall climate, but a better collective and creative way of honoring our Mother Earth, our restorative God, and nature. You can listen to the hymn below.
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"Circle of Life: A Hymn for the Earth"
Circle of life, we know you as the earth,
In whirling through the cosmos, playing host:
To all things living, creatures giving birth;
We share this teeming planet–of plenty, can we boast.
Circle of life, we greet you on our way,
As guests and dwellers grazing your domain;
In cycles of creation and decay,
We do enjoy rich blessings, with hopes they will remain.
Circle of life, we count you as a gift,
Drawn from God’s love, entrusted to our care.
Together, we must all strive to uplift;
And, to keep life’s even balance, we must agree to share.
Circle of life, we often do ignore you;
We, in myriad ways, take much for granted:
Our blessings present, graces old and new;
Now, let us stop, give pause, and well nurture good seeds planted.
Circle of life, we bless you in our living,
Mindful of gifts, earthly and divine;
As our lives’ rhythms often need forgiving,
May we still find a beauty– in your life and in mine.
Copyright (C) 2019 by Erik K. Gustafson