A Minimal Hymn

"...led by hunches, lured by hope, now excited, then afraid."

Music by Ron Klusmeier
Words by Fred Kaan
Tune Name: PENTICTON

Lyrics as Poetry

All that Christians have in life
is a story and a song;
bread and wine, a little faith
and a longing to belong.
That is all they have,
that is all they have.All that Christians are in life:
they are people of ‘the Way’,
led by hunches, lured by hope,
now excited, then afraid.
That is what they are,
that is what they are.All that Christians have and are
is a picture of their Lord,
is a signal and a glimpse,
is a gesture and a word.
That is where they are,
that is where they are.


Words by
Fred KaanCopyright © 1980 by Hope Publishing Company
(Carol Stream, Illinois) for USA and CanadaCopyright © 1980 by Stainer & Bell Limited
(London, England) for all other territories

Comments About Song

Author Fred Kaan, from his book
THE ONLY EARTH WE KNOW (page 40):

“During a seemingly endless and complex debate on constitutional reform at the 1976 Assembly of the Indonesian Council of Churches, a fellow ecumenical observer said to me: ‘You know, when you take it down to the basics, all that Christians have in life is a piece of bread, a sip of wine and a song.’ It inspired me to write this text there and then. Philip Potter, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, suggested the title of the hymn.”


The Only Earth We Know
(Hymn Texts by Fred Kaan)
is co-published by:Hope Publishing Company
Carol Stream, IL USA
(for USA and Canada)Stainer & Bell, Limited
London, England
(for all other countries)

                                                    Audio Sample for
"A Minimal Hymn"


All 3 verses and ending
played on piano

Season, Theme
or Subject

  • Bread
  • Faith
  • Fear
  • Hope
  • Story, Stories
  • Trust
  • Wine

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