For Everyone Born

For Everyone Born, a place at the table, for everyone born, clean water and bread, a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing, for everyone born, a star overhead.  And God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace, yes God will delight when we are creators of justice, justice and joy.                              
- Shirley Erena Murray, For Everyone Born

A new setting of this powerful hymn is going to be introduced at General Conference.  This setting was written to celebrate the decision by the First UMC in Vermillion, South Dakota, to become a reconciling conference.  It is our "reconciling song" that we use all the time in our church, and we are proud to share it with the wider reconciling community.  It has just been published by the Global Praise unit of the General Board of Global Ministries in a book that bears its name:  For Everyone Born.  Here is some of the story of that song, with words from some of the key players. 

Vermillion, South Dakota, population 8,000, is home to The University of South Dakota.  In 2000, the First UMC of Vermillion opened up a housing unit for college students called the Student Christian Community, which was a part of the campus ministry (coffeeloft.org).  Six men lived in the house that first year (in subsequent years a second living space for women was opened).  All of us were musicians and we quickly became heavily involved with providing music for church - and we all fell in love with the church, and they with us. 

It was about this time that I started to come out as a gay man, and my five roommates were an immense well of support to me - I was astounded.  The discussions we had eventually led me and some of the others in the house to start conversations with first the pastor, then with members of the church.  These informal discussions led to study groups, Sunday school classes, sermons, and eventually open questioning and dissent from the UMC's official exclusionary policies. 

As Brook McBride, pastor, recently wrote:  I recall the first time someone in our church came out to me and then to a Sunday School class and then to the entire congregation and the spirit of acceptance that overwhelmed all of us.   

Several years later, the church (and the campus ministry) became Reconciling communities, officially aligned with RMN.  To celebrate that decision, we commissioned a reconciling song that we could use in worship.  After months of discussion, we decided on the beautiful words penned to the hymn by Shirley Erena Murray, For Everyone Born.  Although the words do not mention GLBT people by name, their awesome power resonated with everyone in the congregation.  We decided to ask Brian Mann, one of the former members in the SCC, and the music leader of our group, if he would set these words to a new song that could be distinctive of our voice.

Brian took up the challenge.  He recently wrote: 

" . . .Being a part of the Vermillion (United) Methodist church made me feel at home and gave me an opportunity to reach out to the surrounding community.  I was always so amazed at how accepting of others the Vermillion church was. . . Young, old, gay, straight, everyone was welcome at the church.  It didn't matter what burdens you brought through the doors, it only mattered that you were there and wanted to know Jesus.  After graduation, I was asked to write a praise song for the church based on the hymn For Everyone Born.  I was honored.  As I read through the words, I couldn't help but notice how fitting the message was for the Vermillion church.  They are a community of Christians who have always demonstrated that EVERYONE has a place at the table." 

The song was first sung at the first year anniversary of our decision to become a reconciling congregation.  The congregation immediately fellin love with Brian's new setting of the song and we sang it loudly and proudly every chance we could.  It has become an anthem of sorts, that declares the identity and commitment of the First UMC of Vermillion.  Every time we sing it we remind ourselves of our commitment to justice and proclaim to the church and to the world that All really means All. 

As beloved as this song is to us, it is also bittersweet.  As Brook McBride again says: 

Today is the day....it's finally arrived...our new edition of the Global Praise book "For Everyone Born" is finally in my hand.  As I hold it in my hand tears both of joy and pain come to my eyes.  At the same time as I hold all of this hope and joy, I also hold the pain of this song's incompleteness.  The nauseau I literally experienced, and still experience, when I read and reread the phrase in our UM book of discipline.... "incompatable with Christian teaching"...and the tears of pain it has caused for so many of my friends and family.  This song carries so much of my hopes for the church I love and the dreams of what we can become...and yet as I hold all those hopes,  I cry in pain and anger at the injustice of this song's incompleteness.    Sometime in those dark moments I secretly wonder.."Is this song just some candy for us?  Some placebo we sing to sooth our hungry souls...given to us so that we don't rise up?  And yet as I sit here today I see it instead as a "walking" song...indeed as a "marching" song...calling us out to be...to do...to act...no matter what!  It has become an essential part of my gospel...a gospel that means nothing unless it is inclusive of all.  "for everyone born...a place at the table!" 

I hope that others will find this song to be equally inspiring and a way to positively state what the church should be, even as we continue to challenge the church to live up to these ideals.

Peace with Justice

Comments

[southdakotajay]

How silly of me to not even include a link. Here is the new resource book "For Everyone Born" on Cokesbury
http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=682240

Hopefully the link will work.

[John Jones]

How can I get the music for this song? It should be wonderful to sing at Wesley United Methodist Church in Fresno, California. We are a reconciling congregation.