A Hymn for Gregory

THE FRIENDS OF ST GREGORY’S MINSTER KIRKDALE

kirkdale compositions

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A Hymn for Gregory

Tune: Laudate Dominum [O praise ye the Lord] or Hanover [O worship the King]

First sung at St Gregory's Bedale, September 2003

1. Monk Gregory's fame come let us report,

Whose love for his Lord inspired every thought;

Who sent his apostle to this island race

To strengthen the English, to win them to grace.

2. O come, let us tell how he of high birth

State office renounced for things of more worth:

Though perfect patrician, his ancestral home

Converted to serve the poor people of Rome.

3. Though Bishop and Pope, chose monk to remain,

Defended the weak, deplored wrongful gain,

Sought justice with mercy, just judgements set forth,

And Benedict's teachings spread wide, west and north.

4. God's consul to be, God's servants to serve,

Was all his desire, deep peace to preserve.

His care and his writings, his notes firm and strong

Enrich still our serving, our worship, our song.

5. May we who today his legacy share

Be patient and bold to live out God's care:

Inspired by example, from slavery free,

Not Angles but angels, God's messengers be.

6. As echo these walls with centuries' praise

His deeds we recall from far distant days:

The best of the Romans a pattern we find

for honouring Jesus with heart, soul and mind.

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