Our Favourite Hymns
Updated: Oct 4
Sunday Service, 4 October 2026
Led by Jasmine Cooray and Members of the Congregation
Musical Prelude: Theme from Variations on a Rococo Theme - Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (performed by Benjie del Rosario and George Ireland)
Opening Words: based on words by Rev. Jeffrey Bowes
Here we have gathered - our whole selves,
with all the pleasures and the pains of our daily lives.
We trust and hope that here there will be ease for the heart,
refreshment for the spirit, challenge for the mind,
and a way to make peace in our lives and bring peace in the world.
We offer our friendship in fellowship, our service in community,
our care in mutual support through the trials and troubles of daily life,
and our devotion one to another in sharing the highs and lows of the everyday.
May we feel, as true presence, a spirit of unity and love, of friendship,
of mutual desire to find joy, happiness, high aspiration,
and a deep sense that we are connected as one with all living things.
Whether you’re a regular here with us at Essex Church
or this is your first time attending, you are welcome here.
Words of Welcome and Introduction:
Welcome all who have gathered this morning for our Sunday service. Welcome to those who have gathered in-person at Essex Church, to all who are joining via Zoom, and anyone tuning in at a later date via YouTube. For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Jasmine Cooray, I’m a member of this congregation, and I’ll be leading our service this morning.
This morning’s service is entitled Our Favourite Hymns - a celebration of the hymns that feature in our service each week. Singing hymns together is for many of us an important part of our gathering. You might know our hymns well, or not. You might sing out enthusiastically, more gently, or just enjoy listening. And of course to sing together is one of the things that connects us to spiritual communities worldwide and humanity as a whole - for song is so often holding, soothing, enlivening and of course, unifying. We sing to lift our spirits. But such a vast catalogue of hymns, you might ask, who is going to be the DJ? So today, we’ll hear four members of the community share their reflections on their favourite selected hymns, and we’ll also sing each featured hymn together.
It’s worth saying that the theme of today’s service is likely to come back around, so each time you join us, see if you can make a note of hymns you particularly enjoy, and you might get a chance to speak of them next time we do a service like this.
Chalice Lighting: with words from Marnie Singer (adapted)
Let’s light our chalice flame now, as we do each week. It’s a moment for us to stop and take a breath, settle ourselves down, put aside any preoccupations we came in carrying. This simple ritual connects us in solidarity with Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists the world over, and reminds us of the proud and historic progressive religious tradition of which this gathering is part.
(light chalice)
The chalice is the container: the space where
the singers and the listeners gather.
The oil is the fuel: the hearts and the life experiences
of everyone in the room.
The wick is the lungs and vocal cords
through which the music will flow.
And the flame is the song which is created, as if by magic,
when our voices are lifted, the breath is inhaled,
and the downbeat is nodded.
May this flame ignite the music within us all -
the music from our bodies, and the music of our lives.
May all voices be welcome here.
Hymn 24 (purple): ‘Come, Sing a Song with Me’
Time for our first hymn now - it’s Come Sing a Song with Me, number 24 in your purple books, to start us off. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer.
Come, sing a song with me,
come, sing a song with me,
come, sing a song with me,
that I might know your mind.
And I'll bring you hope when hope is hard to find,
and I'll bring a song of love and a rose in the winter time.
Come, dream a dream with me,
come, dream a dream with me,
come, dream a dream with me,
that I might know your mind.
And I'll bring you hope when hope is hard to find,
and I'll bring a song of love and a rose in the winter time.
Come, walk in rain with me,
come, walk in rain with me,
come, walk in rain with me,
that I might know your mind.
And I'll bring you hope when hope is hard to find,
and I'll bring a song of love and a rose in the winter time.
Come, share a rose with me,
come, share a rose with me,
come, share a rose with me,
that I might know your mind.
And I'll bring you hope when hope is hard to find,
and I'll bring a song of love and a rose in the winter time.
Candles of Joy and Concern:
Each week when we gather together, we share a simple ritual of candles of joy and concern, an opportunity to light a candle and share something that is in our heart with the community. So we’ve an opportunity now, for anyone who would like to do so, to light a candle and say a few words about what it represents. We’ll go to the people in the building first, then to Zoom.
So I invite some of you here in person to come and light a candle and then if you wish to tell us who or what you light your candle for – please keep it brief – be considerate of others. I’m going to ask you to come to the lectern to speak, as we want people to be able to hear you.
(in person candles)
And if that’s everyone in the room we’ll go over to the people on Zoom next – you might like to switch to gallery view at this stage – just unmute yourselves when you are ready and speak out – and we should be able to hear you and see you up on the big screen here in the church.
(zoom candles)
And I’m going to light one more candle, as we often do, to represent all those joys and concerns that we hold in our hearts this day, but which we don’t feel able to speak out loud. (light candle)
Time of Prayer & Reflection: based on words by Lyn Cox and Douglas Taylor
Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. The prayer is based on words by Lyn Cox and Douglas Taylor. You might want to adjust your position, close your eyes, or soften your gaze. There might be a posture that helps you feel more prayerful. Whatever helps you get into the right state of body and mind for us to pray together – be fully present – with ourselves, with each other, and with that which is both within us and beyond us. (pause)
Spirit of Life, God of All Love, in whom we live and move and have our being,
we turn our full attention to you, the light within and without,
as we tune into the depths of this life, and the greater wisdom
to which – and through which – we are all intimately connected.
Be with us now as we allow ourselves to drop into the
silence and stillness at the very centre of our being. (pause)
Eternal Spirit, from whom all things come and to whom all things return,
We gather this morning in community seeking to live in harmony.
Life – at its highest and its sweetest – is a sharing.
Life is a sharing of our melodies, of our love and interest,
of our yearning and questions.
May our different ways of knowing and naming the holy blend together.
May our voices be added to the holy chorus of life.
The world is rife with discord and trouble.
Injustice and suffering weigh us down and trip us up and silence us.
May we learn to trust in love, in our own voices,
trust that we have a part in this symphony and we can join this chorus.
May there be times of gentle tones and soothing melodies
May there be rhythms upon which we can rely to rally our spirits
May there be moments when we are transported,
moments when we discover we are not playing the music
so much as the music is flowing through us, playing us.
O Spirit of Life, may there be beauty in our song and in our living.
May there be meaning and power in our collective prayer.
(short-ish pause)
And in a few moments of shared silence and stillness now,
may we speak inwardly some of those deepest prayers of our hearts —
the joys and sorrows we came in carrying –
in our own lives and the lives of the wider world.
Let us each lift up whatever is on our heart this day,
give thanks for all the blessings we have been given,
and ask for whatever it is that we most need.
(long pause)
Spirit of Life – God of all Love – as this time of prayer comes to a close, we offer up
our joys and concerns, our hopes and fears, our beauty and brokenness,
and we call on you for insight, healing, and renewal.
As we look forward now to the coming week,
help us to live well each day and be our best selves;
using our unique gifts in the service of love, justice and peace. Amen.
Hymn 100 (purple): ‘May I Be Filled With Loving Kindness’
Time for a specially selected hymn now- hymn number 100 – ‘May I Be Filled with Loving Kindness’ - this is a favourite of John’s and we’ll hear about why afterwards.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be well.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be whole.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
May you be whole.
May we be filled with loving kindness.
May we be well.
May we be filled with loving kindness.
May we be well.
May we be peaceful and at ease.
May we be whole.
Reflection On ‘May I Be Filled With Loving Kindness’ by John Humphreys
In the years before I came to Essex Church, I had slowly emerged from a childhood enjoying singing traditional hymns at an all-boys boarding school, but keeping very quiet about that.
When my first child was born, I felt the need to explore what, if anything, I could teach her about the place religion and spirituality had in our shared world. This led me to the Quakers, and I have been an occasional attender at meetings for worship ever since. Not a lot of hymn singing there!
Early in our relationship Pat introduced me to meditation retreats at the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. There I sat for many hours in silence, often with a very busy thinking brain, resisting the teaching to just be in the present moment, aware of the breath and the body. But, on a regular basis on these retreats the teacher would lead us in a formal Metta meditation. Metta is the Pali word for loving kindness and is one of the four immeasurables. The other three are compassion, empathy and equanimity.
We are singing a simple form of Metta, moving from “May I” to “May You” to “May We”.
Traditionally Metta meditation moves from ourselves, to a loved one, a neutral person, a difficult person, and to all living beings. At each stage it uses four phrases:
May I (or You) be happy
May I (or You) be well
May I (or You) be safe
May I (or You) be free of suffering
While usually Buddhists meditations are silent or guided by one teacher, we did chant at the monastery which was important to me. Today we can sing the meditation together, and this makes me very happy. Yet another reason why I have come to value Unitarian worship.
Hymn 128 (purple): ‘Our World Is One World’
Thankyou John. And we’re following with another favourite hymn - this time ‘Our World is One World’, selected by Brian. It’s number 128 in your Purple books.
Our world is one world:
what touches one affects us all:
the seas that wash us round about,
the clouds that cover us,
the rains that fall.
Our world is one world:
the thoughts we think affect us all:
the way we build our attitudes,
with love or hate, we make
a bridge or wall.
Our world is one world:
its ways of wealth affect us all:
the way we spend, the way we share,
who are the rich or poor,
who stand or fall?
Our world is one world:
just like a ship that bears us all:
where fear and greed make many holes,
but where our hearts can hear a different call.
Reflection On ‘Our World is One World’ by Brian Ellis
When I open the Service Sheet on a Sunday morning and see that we’re singing one of my favourite hymns I feel this is an augury for the hour to come, and since I have many favourites the odds of a good service are always on my side. I do have a favourite of favourites, however, and that is ‘Our World is one world’.
The sequence of sounds produced by singing, using the world’s oldest musical instrument and universal through cultures, is suggestive rather than particular and can express our emotional states. Together with appropriate texts it is ideally suited in all faiths to being used to help establish communication between the natural world we live in and the supernatural worlds of their beliefs.
For most of my life I sang Christian hymns because I enjoy singing, but paid little attention to the words since the world of their belief was not mine. Finding a church very late in life based on the exercise of reason and the free search for truth which was in accord with my own experience of life, and where the hymns we sing have real meaning in relation to my own beliefs, has been a revelation to me in my older age. I don’t remember ever feeling much emotion singing hymns before, but many of our hymns I can react strongly to.
I’m not very musical so my favourite hymn gets me off to a good start; it has a straightforward tune and the words and notes don’t do anything tricky which means I can really enjoy singing it. It’s in effect a simple hymn with a title that is a five-word generalisation of how I experience Unitarianism.
The unusual use of the title as the first line of each verse is a powerful way of making sure its message is always present to me throughout the singing, and each verse then expands in more detail how we humans experience our world as one world.
Although this is a hymn about we humans relating to each other I feel an underlying message that we do this together as part of all evolution. Concise and to the point; singing ‘Our World is one world’ always reminds me of the Voyager spacecraft’s famous pale blue dot photograph, and Carl Sagan’s words: ‘Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us’.
Words for Meditation: ‘I Will Lift Up My Voice’ - Robert T Weston (adapted)
Thankyou Brian. We’re moving into a time of meditation now. To take us into stillness, I’m going to share a poem from Robert T Weston- ‘I will lift up my voice’.
After that, we will hold a few minutes of shared silence, which will end with the sound of a bell. Then we’ll hear music for meditation. So let’s do what we need to do to get comfortable – adjust your position – put your feet flat on the floor to ground yourself – close your eyes. As ever, these words are just an offering, feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.
I will lift up my voice and sing;
whatever may befall me,
I will listen to the music
arising out of grief and joy alike,
I will not deny my voice to the song.
For in the depth of winter, song,
like a bud peeping through the dry crust of earth,
brings back memory,
and creates anew the hope and anticipation of spring;
out of a world that seems barren of hope.
Out of destruction,
out of the agony of heartbreak,
song rises once more to whisper to us
that we shall yet take the pieces of our hearts
and put them together in a pattern
of deeper truths
I will lift up my voice in song,
for in singing I myself am renewed,
and the darkness of night is touched
by the promise of a new dawn,
for light shall come again.
Period of Silence and Stillness (~3 minutes) – end with a bell
Interlude: Gymnopédie No.1 - Erik Satie (performed by Benjie del Rosario and George Ireland)
Reflection On ‘Be Thou My Vision’ by Shari McDaid
When Jasmine asked me to contribute to this service, I could have chosen half a dozen hymns that are special to me, some because they were the favourites of people whom I have loved, some because they are musically beautiful. The hymn Be Thou My Vision is special to me for some different reasons. Yes, it has a quite accessible and memorable tune and a very logically structured text that makes it easy to remember. But that’s not the primary reason why I value it.
For me, spiritual practice is a touchstone that helps me to navigate a topsy turvy world, and my own topsy turvy inner life. I have a very good quality of life. Nevertheless, on any given day, I can wake up wondering what makes today worth getting out of bed for, why bother summoning my energies for the day, what anticipated activity will motivate me to arise? As well, I often wonder how will I cope with this particular day with its negative news, relationship challenges, personal failures and disappointments. From my spiritual practice, I seek the signposts to steer me in a better direction, towards a place of inner peace or at least of more coherence and acceptance. And since attending Summer School in 2025, where I was deeply inspired to renew my spiritual practice, I have tried to be more conscientious about keeping God at the centre of my life; to start each day with prayer first, plans second. (And yes, I think in terms of the language of God, even though I’m not sure what that word means).
The hymn Be Thou My Vision is just the kind of text that supports me in this spiritual practice, one to keep me on a better path.
The lyrics encourage me to keep God at the centre of my life. The first verse tells me that from the position of my awareness of the divine, my keeping God in sight, will come the hope I need to carry on, the ‘light’ for my path. The second verse, beginning ‘Be thou my wisdom and thou my true word’, tells me to rest in wise teachings and draw upon them to shape my daily decisions, and that by seeking out spiritual wisdom, I can find shelter from the world’s storms and cold. And finally, the third verse’s injunction to make God my ‘treasure’, reminds me that all the riches of the world are insignificant compared to the rewards of coming in contact with that divine presence, met perhaps in noticing the blooming flower in my window box or the movement of the wind through the trees outside my balcony.
The fact that Be Thou My Vision is a translation of an old Irish hymn makes it that more special to me, being an immigrant to Ireland. The English text is a translation of the old Irish hymn Bí Thusa 'mo Shúile, drawing on a poem by the 6th century Irish monk Dallán Forgaill. The tune is the ancient Irish melody called ‘Slane’, after Slane Hill in County Meath. Predating the reformation, it is a hymn that transcends the division between Catholic and Protestant Christians, as well as between Trinitarians and Unitarians; a uniting hymn.
One hymn, three teachings, and a memorable melody to sing it through; a hymn that is short enough to remember when I need it and encouraging enough to want to sing. I am grateful to Dallán Forgaill for its lyric, and to that anonymous songwriter for its tune.
Hymn (on sheet – 151 Green): ‘Be Thou My Vision’
Thankyou Shari - now’s our chance to sing this together! Be Thou My Vision - the words for this are on your hymn sheet in today’s order of service.
Be thou my vision, O God of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom and thou my true word,
I ever with thee, and thou with me God;
Thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tower,
Raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I need not, nor world’s empty praise,
Thou my inheritance, now and always;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Sovereign of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s un.
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Reflection On ‘We’ll Build a Land’ by Marianne Harvey
I have chosen “We’ll Build a Land” because it is a hymn that touches something very deep in me. It speaks to a longing in my soul, the belief that, despite the brokenness of our world, healing and change might still be possible.
The words were written by Barbara Zanotti, drawing on the biblical prophets Isaiah and Amos, and the music was written by Carolyn McDade. For me, the words and music are inseparable. The words express what I want to believe, but somehow it is the music that allows me to really feel it.
The strength of the melody reaches me in a way I find difficult to explain. As I sing, quite often the tears simply come. The music seems to give expression to what I am already feeling. It lifts me and carries me forward, and for those moments the possibility of a different world feels real.
I am also very moved by that little word “we.” This isn’t something I am being asked to do alone. We will build. When we sing together, I hear our individual voices becoming one. I feel connected to the people around me, but also to something beyond us. For me, that is where I sense the Spirit of Life, in that connection and in a bigger love that reaches beyond ourselves. A love that includes other people, nature and the living creatures with whom we share this earth.
I think of the foxes who come to visit me. They remind me, in their own wild ways, that this land, this world, doesn’t belong to any one of us. We share it. And if we can learn to care for what we share, and for one another, then there is hope.
So, when I hear the hymn speak of building a land, I don’t think only about human society. To me, the land includes the whole living world. It means respecting and defending nature and recognising that animals are living beings deserving of our compassion, respect and protection.
That brings me to something we do here every Sunday. We have the opportunity to light a candle of hope or a concern. Whatever brings us forward to light that candle, whether it is something personal or something happening in the wider world, it is part of the shared landscape in which we live. Perhaps building the land begins there, by noticing what we care about and bringing it into the light.
I particularly love the image of justice rolling down like waters. Water brings life. For me, it is a powerful image of justice reaching into our lives and communities, but also of our connection to the earth that sustains us.
The hymn’s call for justice feels very wide to me. I think of people who are forgotten, excluded, displaced or killed, particularly children. And it reminds me that imagining a better world isn’t enough. It asks something of us.
Of course, we are small in the face of everything that is wrong in the world. But being small doesn’t mean being powerless. We can still do something. It might be an act of kindness, speaking up, protecting something vulnerable, or changing the way we ourselves live. Small steps matter.
And maybe that is what building together means. We plant trees whose shade we may never sit beneath, knowing that someone else will. That little word “we” includes those who come after us too. We build not only for ourselves, but for a future we may never see.
The hymn also speaks of peace, and for me peace and justice belong together. Peace isn’t simply the absence of conflict. It is a different way of living with one another and with the world around us.
Perhaps that is why this hymn affects me so deeply. It lets me imagine the world as it could be. A world in which life is treated with greater care and reverence. A world with a bigger love.
And perhaps that is why the tears come. There is sadness in us for the world as it is, but there is hope too. A sense that, small as we are, we can begin something that reaches beyond our own lives. That what we begin to build today can become the land of tomorrow.
Hymn 198 (purple): ‘We’ll Build a Land’
Thankyou Marianne - what a fantastic hymn to conclude our celebration of our favourite hymns. Let’s sing it together now - We’ll Build a Land - Hymn 198 in your purple books.
We’ll build a land where we bind up the broken.
We’ll build a land where the captives go free,
where the oil of gladness dissolves all mourning.
Oh, we’ll build a promised land that can be.
Come build a land where sisters and brothers,
anointed by God, may then create peace:
where justice shall roll down like waters,
and peace like an ever flowing stream.
We’ll build a land where we bring the good tidings
to all the afflicted and all those who mourn.
And we’ll give them garlands instead of ashes.
Oh, we’ll build a land where peace is born.
Come build a land where sisters and brothers,
anointed by God, may then create peace:
where justice shall roll down like waters,
and peace like an ever flowing stream.
We’ll be a land building up ancient cities,
raising up devastations from old;
restoring ruins of generations.
Oh, we’ll build a land of people so bold.
Come build a land where sisters and brothers,
anointed by God, may then create peace:
where justice shall roll down like waters,
and peace like an ever flowing stream.
Come, build a land where the mantles of praises
resound from spirits once faint and once weak;
where like oaks of righteousness stand her people.
Oh, come build the land, my people we seek.
Come build a land where sisters and brothers,
anointed by God, may then create peace:
where justice shall roll down like waters,
and peace like an ever flowing stream.
Announcements:
Thanks to Shari, Brian, Marianne, and John for their reflections on their favourite hymns. Thanks to Ramona for hosting and Aisha for co-hosting (if you’re online please do stay on afterwards for a chat with Aisha). Thanks to Benjie and George for lovely music. Thanks to Patricia for greeting and David for making coffee. Please stay afterwards for tea and coffee!
Our minister Jane is on autumn break for a few weeks but all the regular events are still on.
After today’s service Margaret will be offering her ‘Finding Your Voice’ singing class – back here in the church – free of charge – she can help anyone make a better sound – no experience needed.
Tonight and Friday at 7pm we’ve got our ‘Heart and Soul’ online contemplative spiritual gathering – this week our theme is ‘Small Acts’ – email Charlotte if you want to join tonight or Maud if you want to join on Friday and they will send you the Zoom link.
Brian will be here in-person with the poetry group on Wednesday at 7pm. Sign up with him.
Sonya is offering Nia Dance from on Fridays at 12.30pm. That’s holistic movement and dance. Get in touch with Sonya if you want to know more.
The Better World Book Club is reading ‘Worn’ by Sofi Thanhauser – about the history of clothing –an unusual subject but it brings in all sorts of social justice and environmental concerns. We have a few copies of that to lend out if you’re able to join us online on the 26th October. Send Jane an email to let her know if you’ve borrowed one of the books.
Looking further ahead we’ll be running a new RE course this autumn – it’s every Thursday night in November – on ‘The Language of Faith’. We’ll be exploring our relationship to religious language. That’s on Zoom. All are welcome – Unitarians from all over – but you need to sign up in advance and there will be a little bit of homework to do in advance. Email me if you want to sign up for that.
Next Sunday our service will be led by our ministry student on placement, Eva Kortekaas who will be over here from the Netherlands, so it’d be great if you could come along to support her. The service theme will be ‘Our Place in the Web of Life’. And that’ll be followed by Yoga with Hannah.
Details of all our various activities are printed on the order of service, and also in the Friday email, so sign up for our mailing list if you haven’t already done so. And we do have a lot of copies of our autumn newsletter which we want to use to promote our events so if you know anyone who might be interested in what we do then take a copy for them! The congregation very much has a life beyond Sunday mornings; we encourage you to keep in touch, look out for each other, and do what you can to nurture supportive connections. Just time for our closing words and music now.
Benediction: based on words by Jean Olson
May you be brave enough to expose your woundedness
and reveal your vulnerability.
May you speak your deepest truths, knowing that they will change as you do.
May you sing the music within you, composing your own melody,
playing your song with all your heart.
May you find kin to lift your voice with.
May you love even though your heart breaks.
And until the end of your days, may your life be filled with possibilities and courage.
Amen.
Closing Music: Stranger on the Shore - Acker Bilk (Performed George Ireland and by Benjie del Rosario)
Jasmine Cooray and Members of the Congregation
4th October 2026