Never Turn Away
Richard E. Spalding
Chaplain, Williams College
Williamstown, Massachusetts
8.7.8.7 D
tune: BEACH SPRING
[alternative tunes: IN BABILONE, PROMISE, RAQUEL]
1. |
In the desert where they’d wandered
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[Gen. 15:1-6] | |
2. |
With a majesty that stunned her
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[Luke 1:26-38] | |
3. |
In a time of strife and blindness,
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[John 1:10-13]
[Isaiah 53:3-5]
[John 6:37] |
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4. |
To the bearer of Christ’s mission—
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[John 21:15-17] [Acts 10:9-16] |
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5. |
With a flagrant faith, impassioned
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[I Cor. 12:31]
[II Cor. 4:7] [Phil. 4:4-7]
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6. |
To the fragile, fateful beauty
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[Gal. 3:28] [Matt. 6:33] |
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7. |
And the gentiles, and the lowly,
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[Eph. 2:11-13]
[Rom. 8:26-28]
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Rev. Spalding wrote this hymn en route home from the Covenant Conference in Minneapolis in November 2002. It was sung in the closing service of the Covenant Conference in Washington, DC, in November 2003. It was a prize-winner in the 2002 Hymn Competition for hymn texts celebrating an inclusive church, sponsored by the Macalester-Plymouth United Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.NOTES: Choose verses appropriate to text, season, or particular use (not all at once!)
Other possible hymn tunes: |
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ABBOT’S LEIGH BEECHER BETHANY BLAENHAFREN CONSTANTINE CONVERSE EBENEZER ERIE GENEVA HYFRYDOL HYMN TO JOY |
JEFFERSON JOEL NETTLETON NEW REFORMATION OFFERING OMNI DIE PLEADING SAVIOR PROCESSION SILVER CREEK WEISSE FLAGGEN |