Here's my Friday Five as posted at RevGals:
You know how sometimes you just want to have a hymn sing?
Well, today is that day.
Share with the group five favorite hymns or praise songs or songs that
bring you close to the Spirit (that's a pretty wide net!) and why they
are special to you.
Bonus if you can share Youtube videos or audio files of one or two or more.
1) This is my favorite because it speaks to my soul a new way every time I read or hear it. The text is a poem by Auden:
He is the Way.
Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness.
You will see rare beasts and have unique experiences.
He is the Truth.
Seek him in the Kingdom of Anxiety.
You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years.
He is the Life.
Love Him in the World of the Flesh.
And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.
W.H. Auden,
For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio
In the Episcopal Hymnal 1982, it is number 463, a tune by David Hurd. I am sad that I can't locate an audio file of it anywhere. The music is appropriate to a place called "the Land of Unlikeness." If you know it, you know what I mean. If you can get your hands on the hymnal and can read music, you will see. :)
2) Holy Manna, which I love in the Sacred Harp / Shape Note singing versions. But some with tender ears do not love those versions. So here you go:
3) Some days, playing Taize in the background is what gets me through:
4) Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
5) A folk mass favorite, again from my childhood...
I Am the Resurrection by Ray Repp
Okay, and a bonus one, also folk mass material: Take Our Bread, by Joe Wise.These last two remind me of growing up in the charismatic renewal movement in the 70's.
