Renewing Our Spirits
Like a river of tears
Music by Ron KlusmeierWords by John Oldham
Tune Name: MacDONALD
Lyrics as Poetry
Like a river of tears
your love pours upon us;
like a sunshine of blessing
your grace will sustain us;
like a star-studded sky
your spirit shines o’er us,
renewing our spirits
with courage and faith.Like a bird in free flight
by windows around us;
like a wind in the forest
that breathes life among us;
like a phoenix that’s rising
from ashes around us,
renewing our spirits
with vision and grace.Like a pillar of cloud
you promise to guide us;
like a bright firey bush
you come to speak to us;
like a calm cooling breeze
your spirit breathes in us,
renewing our spirits
with loving embrace.Like a lover’s caress
your spirit revives us;
like a song of the soul
you come to be with us;
like a prayer of the heart
you heal and restore us,
renewing our spirits,
the future to face.
Words by
John OldhamCopyright © 1996 by John Oldham
Audio Sample for "Renewing Our Spirits"
One Verse
played on piano
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Scripture References
- Exodus 3:2
- Exodus 13:21
- Numbers 14:14
- Nehemiah 9:12
- Nehemiah 9:19
- Psalm 46:4
- Mark 12:26
- Acts 2:1-4
- Acts 7:30-32
Videos
Renewing Our Spirits
Season, Theme
or Subject
- Assurance
- Burning Bush
- Cloud
- Faith
- Future
- God∶ love of
- God∶ nature of
- Grace
- Heal, Healing
- Hope
- Love∶ God's
- Pentecost
- Promise
- Renewal
- Spirit
- Trust
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Accompaniment Recordings
Piano & Flute Accompaniment
• Piano introduction is 14 measures (measures 1-6, measures 20-23, and First Ending).
• Flute plays melody on all verses.
• Ritard at the end of the 4th verse.
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Choral Anthem Arrangements
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Comments About Song
A Reflection by
JOHN OLDHAM
“Renewing our Spirits” would not have been written if Young United Church in Winnipeg had not burnt down! Verse 1 and the first two lines of verse 2 were written during the dedication of the new building during worship in October, 1993; The remainder was written the next day following a sweat lodge with Tom and Margaret Little the previous evening. The Littles, First Nations friends, were part of Young Church and I recall standing with them soon after the fire along the hole where the church use to stand as Tom led in a smudge and prayer.
During the dedication service Laura Sundberg led in a prayer in which she spoke the words “Like a river of tears,” which opened the floodgate for the words to flow. The sun shone through the windows onto my face like a blessing while a pigeon-dove flew by as if a sign of the Spirit. The text was enriched by the message “Just Imagine!” by Peter Williams who had been with me while in theology at Emmanuel College, Toronto in the late 1960s.
The congregation had established a “Phoenix fund” following the fire – based on the Greek mythological figure “that’s rising from ashes.” “Rising” is a central theme for Easter people, as so is rise-sing! This text not only includes many Nature/nature images. It also highlights some biblical themes – eg. “like a pillar of cloud” and “like a bright fiery bush”.
The congregation that had been in shock and grief were experiencing new life, with an expanded “Crossways in Common complex” that included apartments for people with AIDS and a place for the homeless and other marginalized people to come for food, hospitality and shelter. All of us, all affected by the corona virus, know similar feelings of bewilderment and anxiety in our hearts during these troubling and uncertain times. So the song’s recurring mantra-message of “renewing our spirits” is so appropriate today as we live ‘with courage and faith…. the future to face.’
In 1997 Ron set the text to music which I find so flowing and fitting for the words. In 2005 it was included in his anthology concerts and in 2007 it appeared in More Voices #98. When the USA and Canada Hymn Society held its annual gathering in Winnipeg in 2012, two of the More Voices team – Bruce Harding and Lloyd MacLean – led a packed evening of introduction to songs from MV. I went to the mic and read one of the verses and then all joined in uplifting song in a Mennonite Church when many broke into parts. During the last verse the high sopranos wafted the descant through the building and through our hearts. Nearly eight years later I can still feel the ‘high’ of those angelic voices sustaining my soul and nourishing my spirit. It was what is called ‘a peak experience’ and what the Celts name as ‘a thin place.’