Anthem

We sang this stirring hymn by Tom Conry at the Rev. Susan Champion's institution at Christ the Lord, Pinole, yesterday afternoon. It was written in 1978, but it was new to me. Strong ideas, beautifully expressed.

"We are called, we are chosen, We are Christ for one aother, we are promised to tomorrow, while we are for him today. We are sign, we are wonder, We are sower, we are seed, We are harvest, we are hunger. We are question, we are creed.

1. Then where can we stand justified? In what can we believe? In no one else but Christ who suffered, nothing more than Christ who rose. Who was justice for the poor, Who was rage against the night, Who was hope for peaceful people, Who was light.

2. Then how are we to stand at all, this world of bended knee? In nothing more than barren shadows, No one else but Christ could save us. Who was justice for the poor, Who was rage against the night night, Who was hope for peaceful people, Who was light.

3. Then shall we not stand empty at the altar of our dreams? When Christ promised us ourselves, Who mark time aginst tomorrow, Who are justice for the poor, Who are rage against the night, Who are hope for peaceful people, Who are light."

What I particularly like about this hymn, in addition to its clear commitment to the poor and to peace, is the brilliant use of paradoxical images, my favorite being, "We are question, we are creed." This is song Anglicans, in our best moments of comprehensiveness, can sing.