March 5, 2018
Here in This Place
(Gather Us In)
Here in this place the new light is streaming, now is the darkness vanished away;
see in this space our fears and our dreaming, brought here to you in the light of this day.
Gather us in, the lost and forsaken; gather us in, the blind and the lame;
call to us now, and we shall awaken; we shall arise at the sound of our name.
We are the young, our lives are a myst’ry; we are the old who yearn for your face;
we have been sung throughout all of hist’ry, called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in, the rich and the haughty; gather us in, the proud and the strong;
give us a heart, so meek and so lowly, give us the courage to enter the song.
Here we will take the wine and the water; here we will take the bread of new birth;
here you shall call your sons and your daughters; call us anew to be salt for the earth.
Give us to drink the wine of compassion; give us to eat the bread that is you;
nourish us well, and teach us to fashion lives that are holy and hearts that are true.
Not in the dark of buildings confining, not in some heaven, light years away –
here in this place the new light is shining, now is the kingdom, and now is the day.
Gather us in and hold us forever; gather us in and make us your own;
gather us in, all peoples together, fire of love in our flesh and our bone.
Text: Marty Haugen; text and music @ GIA Publications, Inc.
I’m a planner. Be it a vacation, a family get together, or crafts for Vacation Bible School, I like to work out the details of what is going on each day and what we’re going to need. So when Pastor Lowell tossed me a funeral planning booklet several years ago (after getting over the shock that he might think I was so old I should plan my funeral), I set about planning the service for my eventual death.
One of the things the guide asks about is music. Do you have specific hymns and songs that you would specifically like used in your service? Presumably, you do not choose the hymns because you will be around to enjoy the singing, but rather because you want to share something of yourself or provide something meaningful to those attending. I realized that, while the planning of what would happen to my assets was important to my family, sharing music that is special to me would give family and friends more insight into me as a person and the life I led.
I didn’t have to think long about the gathering hymn for my service. I chose Here in This Place also known as Gather Us In. There are a number of ways in which this particular hymn speaks to me. First is the way the beautiful melody and harmonies played on the organ fill the sanctuary. Then there are the lyrics, lyrics that speak to my beliefs and my feelings about being part of my church family. The lyrics speak of communion with an ever-present God, and they call us to be good Christian people—light to the peoples and salt of the earth—all very important to my beliefs.
The lyrics also tell my friends and family why “this place,” which is not just the brick and mortar building they are sitting in, has been so important to me. It speaks to the inclusiveness of being a part of the church: young, old, rich, poor, all are called to be a part of this place. There are no exceptions; all are called to be gathered in.
It is probably time to review my funeral plans as it’s been many years since I did, but I expect this hymn to continue to be my choice for gathering, a joyous hymn that shares so much about why I want to be Here in This Place.
Susayn Brandes
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