Hymns for Unitarian Universalist Worship

Unitarian Universalist blogger Mom to the Left wrote about attending worship this past Sunday, and how much she enjoyed the hymns. She mentioned three hymns that I also love: Enter, Rejoice and Come In; Come, Come Whoever You Are; and This is My Song.

Other UU bloggers have also written about wonderful hymns for UU’s. Philocrites wrote a post titled “Desert Island Hymns!” in 2003 mentioning his favorites and collecting suggestions from readers. Scott Wells also wrote about hymns a few weeks ago, recommending some that would complement a service on Universalism.

There’s a few more hymns that I’d like to highlight for use in Unitarian Universalist worship. These hymns are beautiful (of course!), easy to sing, and found in one of the two current UU hymnals (Singing the Living Tradition (1993) and Singing the Journey (2005)). Samples of some of these hymns can be found on iTunes, and probably other online music services as well.

“Spirit of Life” (#123 in Singing the Living Tradition).
The UUA Commission on Appraisal reports that Spirit of Life is the second most-widely sung hymn in UU congregational worship. (The first being Go Now in Peace, #413 in Singing the Living Tradition, a hymn that many congregations sing as children leave worship to attend religious education).

“Guide My Feet” (#348 in Singing the Living Tradition).
I was introduced to this hymn before becoming a Unitarian Universalist, while I was singing in a choir in college. Its lyrics about yearning for God’s guidance resonated with me. While I was online tonight looking for more information about this hymn, I stumbled across a video of that same choir singing “Guide My Feet” last year. Pretty cool!

“Wake Now My Senses” (#298 in Singing the Living Tradition).
This one was written by Rev. Thomas Mikelson, the former minister of my congregation. It is set to the same tune (Slane) as Be Thou My Vision, #20 in Singing the Living Tradition.

“Come, Come, Whoever You Are” (#188 in Singing the Living Tradition) and “Come Sing a Song with Me” (#346 in Singing the Living Tradition) are great for small group worship. They can be sung easily, without accompaniment or even a sheet of the words. I also think “Come Sing a Song with Me” can be sweet during a larger worship, although it seems to be rarely sung in that context.

“Blue Boat Home” (#1064 in Singing the Living Journey) is an earth-centered hymn. I’ve heard this sung in several settings, and it was been beautiful every time.

“There’s a River Flowing in My Soul” (#1007 in Singing the Living Journey).

“This Little Light of Mine” (#118 in Singing the Living Tradition) is a hymn many people already know by heart (at least the first verse). It doesn’t contain theologically exclusive language, it can be sung loudly without fear of sounding bad, and it has a joyful message.

“‘Tis a Gift to be Simple” (#16 in Singing the Living Tradition) is also familiar to many people and has fairly universal language. This would also be lovely accompanied by a flute or string instrument.

Happy singing, and please post with comments about any other hymns you’ve enjoyed in UU worship!