It's always a treat when an atheist like me is asked to give their thoughts on something religious, in this case, re-writing a much beloved hymn for our departing minister so that whenever he hears said hymn from now on, he will always pause for a moment to think of us.
The hymn in question was "Come Thou Fount Of Ev'ry Blessing" and the new lyrics made their debut last night at the minister's farewell bash. It seemed to be well-received. The choir did a bang-up job with it, too, for which I am very grateful, and it left the minister misty-eyed, which I also found very gratifying. I would aspire to be the Weird Al of Unitarian Hymns for my generation, were Weird Al himself not already the Weird Al of my generation.
This won't mean much to anybody not from the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, but for what it's worth, the lyrics to "From A Ranch Out In Montana" --
On the list of UU preachers there are many famous names.
Some were writers, some were teachers, each one had their claim to fame.
There is one who is a master and who has a unique pow'r.
Yes, his name is Howard Dane: he does service in an hour.
To be done in sixty minutes with a service from the heart
is a gift when there's two buildings and the choir must depart
To go to their other church home and sing once more through the chorus
In their mediocre Spanish of the hymn called, "De Colores."
As our UU congregation looks back o'er the past twelve years,
Reminiscing about laughter, reminiscing about tears,
We shall always think back fondly on the minister who came
From a ranch out in Montana to the church on Clover Lane.
The hymn in question was "Come Thou Fount Of Ev'ry Blessing" and the new lyrics made their debut last night at the minister's farewell bash. It seemed to be well-received. The choir did a bang-up job with it, too, for which I am very grateful, and it left the minister misty-eyed, which I also found very gratifying. I would aspire to be the Weird Al of Unitarian Hymns for my generation, were Weird Al himself not already the Weird Al of my generation.
This won't mean much to anybody not from the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, but for what it's worth, the lyrics to "From A Ranch Out In Montana" --
On the list of UU preachers there are many famous names.
Some were writers, some were teachers, each one had their claim to fame.
There is one who is a master and who has a unique pow'r.
Yes, his name is Howard Dane: he does service in an hour.
To be done in sixty minutes with a service from the heart
is a gift when there's two buildings and the choir must depart
To go to their other church home and sing once more through the chorus
In their mediocre Spanish of the hymn called, "De Colores."
As our UU congregation looks back o'er the past twelve years,
Reminiscing about laughter, reminiscing about tears,
We shall always think back fondly on the minister who came
From a ranch out in Montana to the church on Clover Lane.
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