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Holy Rood House

Theological reflection and research into hymnody and healing

- For theologians and biblical scholars, hymn writers and musicians, and people who just love singing hymns!


- sharing stories to explore the power of hymns and songs in our lives reflecting on the theology and    imagery used in hymns and songs


- exploring the relationship between words and music creating new words and music for worship, potentially    leading to publication.


Hymns for Healing is a pioneering, unique project, springing out of the connections made between the therapeutic and theological work of Holy Rood House. The project has been funded by The Pratt Green Trust ( www.prattgreentrust.org.uk )and comes under the auspices of the Centre for the Study of Theology and Health and the leadership of Rev’d Jan Berry, previously a Director of CSTH.


Those involved in the project have been working

hard in their explorations, writing and composing

since 2010.


Visit the Project’s website via this link:

www.hymnsforhealing.org.uk


This hymn of welcome was written for

Holy Rood House by Rev’d Jan Berry and

published in ‘Naming God’.

Tune Bard of Armagh.

We reach for a welcome that beckons us homeward,

crossing the threshold to find safer space;

a place we can turn to in hurt and rejection,

where tender compassion bears witness to grace.


We rest in a love that can offer us healing,

care for the aching and comfort for pain;

a gentle embrace of our wounds and our rawness,

protecting fragility through suffering and strain.


We work for a vision that holds us together,

built on the depths of the faith that we share;

through tension and giving, in silence and speaking,

our tangle of living is woven in prayer.


We long for a wisdom that answers our searching,

the questions and protests and agonised cries;

the glimpses of glory through anger and doubting,

the mystery of holiness clouding our eyes.


We sing of a hope that is flourishing in us,

shaping our lives into all they might be;

delighting in art and in music  and laughter,

the God of creation in joy sets us free.

Time and Space to Create Hymns for Healing