Father’s Day is in a few days, and my mind goes to this lovely hymn, “Rise Up, O men of God” by William P. Merrill. This hymn was frequently sung at my childhood church during Father’s Day many years ago.
1. Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
2. Rise up, O men of God!
The kingdom tarries long.
Bring in the day of brotherhood
and end the night of wrong.
3. Rise up, O men of God!
The church for you doth wait,
her strength unequal to her task;
rise up, and make her great!
4. Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where his feet have trod.
As brothers of the Son of Man,
rise up, O men of God!
While I don’t know if the men still sing this hymn, I remember that the men used to hold a week-long program to celebrate the Fathers. On Sunday – the grand finale – the men’s choir, clad in white shirts and black trousers, would stand before the congregation, according to the parts they sang, with scripts in hand. The organist would play the intro and usher in the men. They would sing with deep voices, harmonising in tenor, alto, and bass, their Adam’s apples bobbing, heads thrown back in style.
Beautiful rendition, it used to be. Well, I have a lot to say about this hymn but I will leave it for now (and share more in subsequent posts)
To celebrate the men, I have this collection of poems, “Rise! CAP able Men” dedicated to the capable, mighty men of valour, crowned with splendour. I hope this little collection will spur other men to awake, rise and take up their duty post.
#Anticipate
#fathersday#Fathersday2024#believerinchrist
#berrilyinlovewithwords#ReadyWriter#storyteller#poems
(Picture credit: umit-yildirim on Unsplash)
ABC days of being a penwoman 