This page is provided so that you can hear the tunes of items which we use in church. Mostly they are written by the vicar. Please note that they are copyright - we are very happy to give permission to you to use them, but we would like to hear about it. Please include any use on your Christian Copyright Licence returns.
Down this page:
- the words,
- the story,
- the sheet music,
- media player.
I would proclaim you
I would proclaim
Oh Lord, creator of this rolling world,
inventor of its sky and sea,
whom science reveals in strange design unfurled:
give confidence to me.
I would proclaim you to a race in need,
express to them your ceaseless care:
they search for meaning, Lord, and so I plead
afresh for ways to share.
Oh Lord of numbers, shape and space divine,
of art and music, power and wealth:
help me see hidden in what seems decline
their search for faith and health.
I would proclaim you to a race which seeks
to find a purpose strong and true:
give me the insight and concern which speaks,
so they discover you.
Oh Lord of morals, courage, noble thought,
of true concern for others' rights,
whose Son embodied what the best have taught:
help me explain your lights.
I would proclaim you to my race afresh,
that they may choose the path supreme,
acknowledge Him who came to dwell in flesh,
and find in Him their dream.
Words and tune copyright © John Hartley 2006.
Story behind the song
This song was written following Elaine Storkey's talk to the Rochester Diocesan Conference 2006 at Bognor Regis, on the subject "Proclaiming" (the first of three by different speakers on "Proclaiming the faith afresh").
In the talk, Elaine spoke of three difficulties which people have when considering the Christian faith. First, science seems to have disproved it; but in fact science continues to uncover a world which is more complex than previously imagined and God's design is revealed in this research. Second, statistics seem to speak of church decline and of people turning away from religion; but in fact ours is a spiritual age, much modern art, music, and use of wealth indicates that people are still engaged in a search for that which is of lasting value, and these searches give opportunities for explaining about Jesus. And third, people have moral objections to the Christian faith, often based on the idea of the sovereign right of the individual to freedom of choice; but in fact God is a god of love not coercion, and we can explain to people that in fact he is the ultimate embodiment of true morality.
It's impossible to summarise a detailed talk in a short lyric, but the song seeks to express some of what Elaine said, and to turn it into prayer.
John Hartley
Windows Media Player. When you click the left-hand "play" button your computer should have started to play the tune. If it didn't, you might be able to get the tune by clicking here, or by right-clicking the link, choosing "save target as", saving it onto your computer, and then opening it with a music-playing program.
Please remember that a midi file of a tune isn't supposed to be a state-of-the-art musical arrangement - it is only supposed to give a basic idea of how the tune goes. Any reasonable organist / keyboard player / music group could make it sound far better.