wfn.org | New hymn offers faith in the wake of disaster

[ENS@ecunet.org]

2001-256

New hymn offers faith in the wake of disaster

by Jan Nunley
jnunley@episcopalchurch.org

     (ENS) A prolific Episcopalian hymnwriter has written a new hymn to 
commemorate the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers and the 
Pentagon September 11. The hymn debuted at the noon eucharist at the Episcopal 
Church Center on September 18.

     The hymn, entitled When sudden terror tears apart, was written in the days 
after the disasters by the Rev. Carl P. Daw, Jr., currently executive director of 
the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. The text is in Common Meter 
(C.M.). Suggested tunes are Bangor (The Hymnal, p.164) and Detroit (The Hymnal, 
p. 674).

     Contact Church Publishing Incorporated for information about using the hymn. 
Reprints must include copyright information and a notation identifying the source 
of the music.  

     WHEN SUDDEN TERROR TEARS APART

      

      C.M. (suggested tunes: BANGOR, DETROIT)

      

      When sudden terror tears apart

      the world we thought was ours,

      we find how fragile strength can be,

      how limited our powers.

      

      As tower and fortress fall, we watch

      with disbelieving stare

      and numbly hear the anguished cries

      that pierce the ash-filled air.

      

      Yet most of all we are aware

      of emptiness and void:

      of lives cut short, of structures razed,

      of confidence destroyed.

      

      From this abyss of doubt and fear

      we grope for words to pray,

      and hear our stammering tongues embrace

      a timeless Kyrie.

      

      Have mercy, Lord, give strength and peace,

      and make our courage great;

      restrain our urge to seek revenge,

      to turn our hurt to hate.

      

      Help us to know your steadfast love,

      your presence near as breath;

      rekindle in our hearts the hope

      of life that conquers death.

      

 Words: Carl P. Daw, Jr. (b. 1944)  )2001 Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream IL 
60188 All rights reserved. Used by permission.

--The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of the Episcopal News Service.