New worship song at Baptist Assembly
A new worship song which featured a silent section in British Sign Language was created collaboratively at the Baptist Assembly and then sung (and signed) twice on the Sunday morning
'God clearly spoke to us throughout the weekend in a number of different ways - what a privilege to be able to take a snapshot of that moment and declare the wonders of God as Baptists Together,' said worship leader Simon Gudger
The inspiration for the song came from Simon Gudger, the minister of Catshill Baptist Church who led worship throughout the gathering.
Simon was interested in working with others to create a song that captured and reflected something of the weekend, and which could then be introduced in the Sunday morning communion service.
His thought process was: 'how do we bring something of Acts 2 verses 4 and 11, the joining together of many voices declaring the wonders of God?’, he explained.
He decided at the outset the song would be to the familiar tune of Amazing Grace so it could be picked up easily by delegates.
Simon invited fellow Baptist ministers Tim Parkman, Ben Lucas and Hayley Young to act as listeners and share thoughts about what they'd been hearing to inform the verses.
'With the verses, I wanted us to say directly ‘to God’ what it was we had heard throughout the weekend,' Simon said. 'This is why I wanted to bring in the listeners – more voices that could share the bringing together of praise.'
The group was joined by Communications Manager Mike Lowe on Saturday night to put the words of the verses together.
One verse states
Through challenges and difference/You speak in unity, which echoed General Secretary Lynn Green's
Friday night address, while another spoke of 'passing the baton on', a reference to President Steve Finamore's
focus on young leaders,
the SENT cohort and Assembly's all age nature.
Moved by the Bible study led by Susan Myatt earlier in the day, the group also wanted the song to acknowledge the Deaf community in an inclusive way.
To do this with integrity, they involved the team of interpreters, Deaf ministers Susan Myatt and Sue Whalley, and Nicky Large, a member of
Open Hands Signing Church, which is based in Staffordshire and served by Susan. This resulted in the opening two lines in verse two being signed in British Sign Language (BSL).
Delegates themselves contributed to the chorus. On Sunday morning they were invited to share a word to describe how the Holy Spirit had impacted them over the weekend. This was done through the Mentimeter platform, and from these words Simon crafted the chorus. In this way words such as hope, peace, love, grace and empowering were included.
'We wanted to hear the voices of the gathered people, and declare the wonders of God,' Simon explained. 'This was then deliberately written in a ‘gathered tense’,
O God our hope, our peace, our love – the emphasis on ‘our’, the gathered declaration.
'The verses are very much directed ‘to God’ –
you speak, you call, you send. And as a result of this, we repeat the chorus, declaring the wonders of God that we, as community, see in God’s work through the Holy Spirit!'
Simon and the worship band led the song twice on Sunday morning. The first time saw the aforementioned two Deaf Baptist ministers Susan and Sue take to the stage alongside Nicky to sign the BSL section.
When the song was played a second time, this section was led by Mel, an interpreter, and delegates were invited to sign too - see video below:
Reflecting on how it came together, Simon said, 'I am so pleased we went for it – and that the organisers allowed us to try this out.
'For me the encouragement came in the number of people wanting copies of the words, both immediately after the service, and also in the days since too – clearly the words captured a moment in our time together.
'God clearly spoke to us throughout the weekend in a number of different ways. What a privilege to be able to take a snapshot of that moment and declare the wonders of God as Baptists Together.'
Assembly song
To the traditional tune of Amazing Grace:
O God our hope our peace our love
Our gentleness and song
Our grace our life empowering
We worship you as one
Through challenges and difference
You speak in unity
Discerning what you call of us
To build community
O God our hope our peace our love
Our gentleness and song
Our grace our life empowering
We worship you as one
(not on screen, signed*)
Using sign language, we had the feeling of isolation, exclusion and disconnection.
But as we looked up, we realised that God was signing to us, initiating a profound relationship with Him.
He resides in our hearts and fills us with His love. We pour out our praises to Him, and in turn, He calls us to go forth and share His message.
We see the story told of old
Inspired to live our part
The call O Lord to everyone
To pass the baton on
We won’t restrict or block the way
To sing the heavenly song
O God our hope our peace our love
Our gentleness and song
Our grace our life empowering
We worship you as one
You send us out with Spirit lives
Re-gifting love today
Without your grace we miss your call
Transform us now we pray
O God our hope our peace our love
Our gentleness and song
Our grace our life empowering
We worship you as one
* This part of the song should always be signed - and these words are the best way this BSL part of the song can be expressed in English.
Baptist Times, 10/06/2024