God's gift of life and love has gone

The monosyllables of Brian Black’s stark first line, soon lifted by the repeated ‘… in all his glory’ which concludes each stz, make a fitting introduction to Section 80, ‘Facing death’. The key phrase ‘with Christ’ is from Philippians 1:23 (cf 1 Thessalonians 4:17, ‘with the Lord’); death moves believers from Christ’s presence with them to theirs with him. The hymn was one of those submitted by the author in the 1990s from his native New South Wales, Australia, to both the Jubilate and the Praise! editorial group. It was accepted by the latter and is published here for the first time. It seems appropriate that a hymn about beginnings (634, 638) should repeat an opening word or phrase, while one about earthly endings should repeat its closing words (904, 905, 909 etc; 635 has the best, so to speak, of both worlds.) Like others which speak or sing directly of the deceased Christian brother or sister (with either option available here, as the words are often printed on a separate service sheet for the occasion) this hymn may well bring tears. This does not of course lessen its value, but it needs to be handled with pastoral sensitivity.

Catherine Motyer-Lowndes composed the tune WHITAKER in the 1990s, at home in Poynton, Ches. It is ‘named after Harold Whitaker, a dear family friend who died in the same week as I was sent the words of this funeral hymn’—CML. It is first published here.

b Hornsby, nr Sydney, NSW, Australia 1926. He took the Australian matriculation exam in 1952 and studied at Moore Theological Coll, Sydney, 1953–56; ordained (Anglican) 1953. After a curacy at Seven Hills he served as Rector of Tagoona, Westmead, Carlingford (associate), Blackheath and Norfolk Island. He then worked with the Bush Church Aid Soc, relieving in the Australian outback, including a short relief spell in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2001. He retired at 65 to Winmalee, NSW, where he was one of the few Australian members of the Hymn Society of GB and Ireland; he has compered several hymn festivals. He began writing poetry in 1975, ‘providentially triggered by a bush fire!’—BB. Hymns followed soon afterwards, his first published work in Britain appearing in the 1980s; his paraphrase from Phil 2, Before the heaven and earth, was included in the 1987 edn of HTC, followed by a dozen other collections. Including songs for children and adults, vespers, introits, rounds, benedictions etc he has written some 350 pieces, 7 of which are so far in print. In 1999 in retirement he served a holiday locum on Lord Howe Island (in the Pacific nr Norfolk Is) which became an annual event, during which he has spent time writing, concentrating recently on Psalm-based rounds. He was the first (and for many years the only) writer from the southern hemisphere to belong to the Jubilate Hymns network. He is also a keen traveller (trekking in Nepal 1982), gardener and tennis player. Nos. 253, 904.