November

PRISONERS WEEK

Catch the bird of heaven,
Lock him in a cage of gold;
Look again tomorrow,
And he will be gone.
Ah! the bird of heaven!
Follow where the bird has gone;
Ah! the bird of heaven!
Keep on travelling on.

Lock him in religion,
Gold and frankincense and myrrh
Carry to his prison,
But he will be gone.
Chorus

Temple made of marble,
Beak and feather made of gold.
All the bells are ringing,
But the bird has gone.
Chorus

Bell and book and candle
Cannot hold him any more,
For the bird is flying
As he did before.
Chorus

Sydney Carter (born 1915)
© 1969 Stainer & Bell Ltd.
8.7.8.7 Trochaic & Refrain

'How can we sing our songs of faith
In this far, foreign land?'
The exiles cried, and knew that God,
Their God, would understand.
'We'll hang our harps on willow trees
Until the day shall come
When God shall set the captives free,
And send his People home.'

Yet sing they did; as captives must
When faith in God is strong;
And Christians in an alien world
Take courage from their song.
So negro slaves, in Egypt's land,
Sang 'Let my people go!'
And saints in concentration camps
Sang hymns, as we do now.

Let us, who have our freedom still,
And know what it is worth,
Remember those unjustly held
In any cell on earth.
May God deliver them, and us,
From every tyranny
That shamefully enslaves our race -
Lord, set your servants free!

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1982 Stainer & Bell Ltd
8.6.8.6.D. (D.C.M.)

I come like a beggar
With a gift in my hand.
I come like a beggar
With a gift in my hand.
By the hungry I will feed you,
By the poor I make you rich,
By the broken I will mend you,
Tell me,
Which one is which?

I come like a prisoner
To set you free.
I come like a prisoner
To set you free.
Chorus

The need of another
Is the bread that I break,
The need of another
Is the bread that I break.
Chorus

3A
The need of another
Is the bread that I break,
The need of another
Is the gift that I bring.
Chorus

3B
By the need of another,
By the gift that I bring,
By the need of another,
By the gift that I bring.
Chorus

Spare verses which may be slotted in as desired:

I come like a looking glass
To show where you are,
I come like a looking glass
To show where you are.

I come like a beggar,
What you do for my sake
Is the wine that I offer you,
The bread that I break.

Sydney Carter (born 1915)
© 1974 Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Irregular

O Lord, we pray that all
Who hunger may be fed;
That we may feed the hungry,
Give us the Living Bread.

O Lord, we pray that those
Oppressed may be restored;
That we may free the captives,
Free us from sin, O Lord.

O Lord, throughout your world
We pray that wars may cease;
That we may be peace-makers,
Give us your gift of Peace.

O Lord, we pray that all
Who suffer may be whole.
That we may heal the ailing,
Lord, clean our tainted soul.

John Ferguson (1921-1989)
© 1982 Stainer & Bell Ltd
6 6 7 6

There are times I still dream of the nightmare at Newgate,
Shut off in the filth from the pure light of day,
When my cold heart was breaking to hear I was banished
To the end of the world at Botany Bay:
To Botany Bay, to Botany Bay,
To the end of the world at Botany Bay.

As I waited on board at the quayside in terror
A gift was bestowed I can never repay,
It was given by one with the face of an angel
To bring me new life after Botany Bay:
After Botany Bay, after Botany Bay,
To bring me new life after Botany Bay.

t was then that I knew I was never forsaken
For God's loving mercy shone like a bright ray;
In the bundle lay hope, I could work for the future
Though the stormy winds hurled us to Botany Bay:
To Botany Bay, to Botany Bay,
Though the stormy winds hurled us to Botany Bay.

Cecily Taylor (born 1930)
© 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd & The Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes
13.11.13.11.4 4 11. Irregular

When they shouted hosanna were you there, were you there?
When they shouted hosanna were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won't matter,
Were you there?

When they took me to prison were you there, were you there?
When they took me to prison were you there?
Chorus

When the crosses were crooked were you there, were you there?
When the crosses were crooked were you there?
Chorus

When the crosses were burning were you there, were you there?
When the crosses were burning were you there?
Chorus

When I needed a neighbour were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour were you there?
Chorus

Sydney Carter (born 1915)
© 1965 Stainer & Bell Ltd.
13 10. & Refrain

The God of hope is God who comes,
To wait with us in faith;
Within our darkness and our fears,
Our comforter and strength.

The God who comes is God who speaks:
A living, human word;
Within our neighbours' joys and tears
The voice of God is heard.

We look for God to come, and yet,
Unknown, God comes to be
Till the imprisoned, trampled ones
Are in God's presence free.

We celebrate the God who is:
Love has a human face!
God greets the humble, lifts the poor,
And we are filled with grace.

Don Pickard (born 1941)
© 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd & The Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes
CM

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