The Atom and The Molecule are part of God’s Great Plan

The Atom and The Molecule

(A faith and science song - tune to follow)

 

Source: CGI by the author: note the heart of the image

This is a lighthearted song which blends the science of Creation and an outline of the Christian story. I hope you and God will like it: I found it great fun to write!

 

The atom and the molecule are part of Gods’ great plan, 

the photon and the proton both emerged in The Big Bang. 

The source of all the elements was God’s almighty Word,

and the fundamental forces* jumped for joy! 

 

Great rocks and little pebbles were coerced by gravity 

to form amazing planets, and enormous galaxies 

The source of all this gathering was God’s almighty Word,

and the fundamental forces jumped for joy! 

 

Great beasts preceded humans here, upon our planet earth,

extinction by an asteroid left fossils we unearth.

The source of all those massive lives was God’s almighty Word,

and the fundamental forces jumped for joy! 

 

Among much smaller creatures, human beings then evolved

and Eve and Adam’s epic was the wisest story told

Of mortals’ brash behaviour despite God’s forewarning Word.

And the fundamental forces paused their joy.

 

As humans down the ages moved away from God’s great plan,

He gave His Son to visit us, from baby through to man,

to offer us a vision of life lived by His Word,

and the angel hosts of heaven sung for joy.

 

Good News and life eternal were the messages of Christ,

confronting powerful leaders anxious they might be displaced;

Christ’s shameful killing at their hands fulfilled the Prophets’ Words

(Pause)

AT HIS RISING ALL THE COSMOS LEAPT FOR  JOY!

* The Fundamental Forces are 

• The Weak nuclear force responsible for particle decay: find a good physics site such as 'Live Science’ to explain the mechanics of this and the other three forces.You will find a link at the bottom of this post.
• The Strong nuclear force
• Electromagnetism     
• Gravity
•                                                               
• These four forces govern everything in the Universe (Source: Space.com)

This same theme is explored in a rather more youth-friendly  song called ‘The Bible Starts with Awesome Tale’ which can be accessed HERE

And similar ideas are caught into the hymn Source of The Fundamental Forces

The four fundamental forces are explained on this page of the Live Science website

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carol of The Good News

Picture credit

 faithofourfathersfaith.blogspot.com

I suspect there are many, who like me, delight in those moments when a familiar Bible passage gives rise to an unexpected train of thought. This happened just a few days ago when meeting an Advent invitation to our congregation (Made by my Ordained wife) to read the 24 chapters of Luke through the first 24 days of December. I had scarcely started when the words of Luke 2 17-18 gave me an idea …

¹⁷When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 

 

This led to thoughts about oral story-telling and the thought-provoking idea that God’s plan meant the Shepherds, almost certainly outcasts from respectable society, were the first evangelists. So this carol celebrates the earliest dispersal of the news of Jesus’ birth throughout the locality of Bethlehem. 

 

The Carol of The Good News (Luke 2 17-18)

Can be sung to any 87.87 tune (suggested by author - LOVE DIVINE)

 

Gather round me all you people,

I’ve a wondrous tale to tell;

heard it from my trusted cousins,

told by shepherds round a well.

 

It was just a few days since, those

shepherds watching flocks by night

on the hills surrounding Bethl’em, 

Saw a startling, dazzling light. 

 

There were angels, calling, singing

urging them ‘Go into town,

where a new-born in a manger

is The promised Holy One’.

 

So, let’s tell this story widely,

prophecies attest its truth.

Come! Make every hill and valley

ring with joy at our glad news.

 

December 2021.

More carols, Christmas songs and activities for All Age services can be found HERE

Creationtide - Day 16.We Have a Lovely Planet

Throughout Creationtide, 1st September - 4th October, there will be a daily posting of material to help us reflect on the various themes associated with this period in the Church’s year.

Credit NASA: Blue Marble

The posts will incorporate the following themes:

• Glory of the Cosmos, 
• Bible 
• Earth’s Wonders 
• Care of the Planet 
• Meditation/ Prayer 
• Praise & Adoration
• Jesus, the heart of it all

I hope you will find these notes, prayers, hymns and meditations helpful and that you will feel you want to call in on the site each day. You will be very welcome and as many of the items reflect the biggest challenge of our times (notwithstanding Covid 19), I hope you might encourage other like-minded people to join us on this 34 day pilgrimage. 

Today, a children’s song. Why not ask for this hymn to be sung in collective worship times in school to help keep the issues sharply in focus. And, Oh Yes! Some of you might be able to write better songs on the subject - which could be one of your contributions to keep the profile of the issue where it needs to be: top of the political and economic agenda

We have a lovely planet

For God’s creatures all to share

He asked us to be kind to it,

Look after it with care:

There’s lots of things we can do

To tend to God’s creation;

Look after plants and animals

And people of all nations.

Cars and things with engines

Are harmful to the air.

We can walk and cycle,

Help save the world we share.

And as we look around us

At birds and bugs and trees

We thank God for creation

Asking ‘Help us love it, please’.

Now pricey bottled water

Is the same as from the tap

Both of them are H₂0

So why the costly gap?

The charge is for the bottles

Which at sea disintegrate

Into a billion fragments

Sealing birds’ and fishes’ fates.

Then in a spoken chant

You could buy a flask, to fill as you need,

Your water stays cool,

It’s a ‘Save God’s Earth’ deed.

Further Care of The Planet songs, hymns and poems can be found at https://crossandcosmos.blogspot.com/p/care-of-planet-collection.html

You might also like to reflect on the internationality of the potential contribution towards the stewardship of the earth from the Christian church globally by spending ten minutes listening to one of the many versions of ’The Blessing’ which have been published during Lockdown times. Today’s choice comes from Haiti 

8 Years old - A day of celebration

This is a celebratory post because last weekend was the eighth anniversary of the first entry on this blog. So this is an opportunity to say ‘Thank you' to all of you who call up The Cross and The Cosmos from time to time. I very much hope that you find both thought provoking and helpful material here. And from time to time some fun with which to engage children - hence the balloon image!

As this is a celebration, I thought it would be good to post a shortened version of my song ’This is a Day of Celebration’. The full version can be found HERE

This is a Day of Celebration

General Chorus (to start)

This is a day of celebration,

This is a day for shouts of praise,

This is a day of jubilation,

Jesus, your Name we raise

Jesus, the Name above all others,

Jesus the name that brings release,

Jesus, our Saviour, our Messiah,

Jesus the Prince of Peace.

Chorus

This is a day of exultation,

This is a day of Jubilee,

This is a day to tell all nations

Jesus will set you free.
Chorus

June in February.

Much of the UK basked in an astonishing few days of unexpected warmth at the end of February. (2019). This followed on the heels of the immensely heartening news of children and teenagers coming out in protest at the irresponsible blindness of policy-makers to the climate chaos all around the world. This post is to celebrate the wisdom of those young people and hopefully encourage them to keep up their challenge. Well done to them all and to the teachers who have had the vision to give them support . And, of course, congratulations to Greta Thunberg for her inspiration that set these protests in train.

A June day in late February, 

geese and ducks bask in unseasonal sun.

Strangers chat by warm water

and marvel together

at the heat that arrived

as this hot day begun 

and persisted to draw in an African breeze.

Who might there be

that this would not please? 

It will be those with concern

such delight might subvert 

vital truth of our chaotic

climate-changed earth.

Their unease is urgent and real,

do not be beguiled; 

Just ask, if unsure,

any well-informed child!

See other  'Care of The Planet’ poems on this blog

Something new amidst the traditional Christmas music?

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS AND LINKS TO ALL THE CONTEMPORARY CAROLS PUBLISHED ON THIS BLOG SINCE ITS START

AN ANGEL TOLD SHEPHERDS WITH GREAT, GREAT JOY (CAROL) (Click here)
A simple-to- learn children's carol which tells of the birth of Jesus and the Salvation story. This is simple enough to teach in a service and the suggested activity which can involve small or large numbers of children - and the grown-ups with them!

AT BETHLEHEM IN BORROWED CATTLE STALL (CAROL) (Click here):
 A carol based on the beautiful French folksong Plaisir D'Amour with a fanfare chorus based on the magnificent  Isaiah prophecy "Wonderful, Counsellor... “

BEFORE THE CREATION, THE WORD WAS WITH GOD (HYMN) (Click Here)
A sung version of The Christmas Gospel (John 1. 1 - 15). Sing it  to the tune 'To God be The Glory’

BE STILL, SMALL EARTH (CAROL) (Click Here),
also known as 'A Carol of the Cosmos' as it celebrates the cosmic disturbances that marked the birth of Jesus. This is written to be sung to the hymn tune from Finlandia (Please observe the copyright note printed with this carol).

GO TO NAZARETH MY GREAT MESSENGER (CAROL) Click Here Imagines God instructing His Angels from The Annunciation to the warning to Joseph to flee with his new family to Egypt. Lively dance-style tune.

OVER PLAINS OF ARABIA ONE CRYSTAL NIGHT (STAR OF JUBILEE) Click Here. Story of the Star sung to the Shaker Tune used for Sidney Carter’s 'Lord of the Dance’

PRAISE THE CREATOR GOD Click Here
Hills of The North Rejoice reframed to start with creation and build to the crescendo of Advent.

STABLE TALK (This Manger’s Well Made) - Click HERE
A  carol that gives Joseph a ‘voice’ in the stable as he imagines the future for his new-born son

STARS AND PLANETS SING YOUR GLORY  (HYMN) (Click here).
This hymn of praise, (can be sung ‘Lux Eoi’ (preferred tune) or to the Beethoven tune used for 'Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee’ or another 8.8.8.8 tune) is suitable as a Christmas hymn but can also be used at other times to celebrate Christ as the Lord of the entire cosmos.

STAR OF HIGH HEAVEN by John B Hobbs (Click Here)

Children’s Carol for the Epiphany to the Low German Folk tune ‘Dat Du min leefste best’.

VIVID WINTER'S MORN (CAROL) (Click here)
This carol is intended to be played and sung in rock style

Whilst this post consists of all the contemporary Carols published on this blog, there are also children’s Christmas activities on this blog which you can access by clicking HERE

I Believe: Lots of reasons to believe - in this NEW song of God and science

Let the children sing!

Eighth in the series of ‘ Sing of God and Science’ songs from Ely cathedral - ‘I Believe'

Find another eight ‘Sing of God and Science’ song video-clips at http://bit.ly/2tZyC8L 

And eleven more scores and words at http://crossandcosmos.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

All songs in these two series are covered by Creative Commons Licence

LIGHT! (Vib-gy-or) Final addition to Assembly-friendly songs - for now! Together with update on the ‘Sing of God and Science’ project.

Just a smudge of rainbow on the lounge carpet

Vib-gy-or, Vibgyor (sing to Jingle Bells)

Vib-gy-or, Vib-gy-or 

helps us memorise,

all the brilliant colours of Rainbows in the sky-y,

when the sun’s rays shine through

rain both hard and light:

hurrah! The colours all appear

in bows that bring delight.

Chorus (Chant)

Violet, indigo, blue and green,

yellow and orange and red;

these are the colours always seen  

when God’s light’s re-fract-ed.

Vib-gy-or, Vib-gy-or

helps us memorise

all the brilliant colours in

bubbles rising hi-igh;

when the sun’s rays shine through

soap and water spheres;

hurrah! The colours swirl around

the short-lived surface clear

Chorus

Vib-gy-or, Vib-gy-or

helps recall with fun 

all the brilliant colours in

spiders’ webs in sun;

when the sun’s rays shine through

gossamer so fine;

hurrah! The colours all appear

along their slender lines.

Chorus

You can listen to this song HERE

(You Tube https://youtu.be/bmv1iav-fAc)

Other songs in the ‘Sing of God and Science’ collection can be found HERE 

Sing of God and Science - Project Update
Those who have found any of the above collection useful, may be interested to know that the Ely diocesan project, generously supported by the ‘Scientists in Congregations’ (SiC) programme reached a significant milestone at the end of last month. Nine church primary schools in the Ely diocese presented original songs, written within their schools, at an all-day event against the backdrop of the current Science Festival in Ely Cathedral (also supported by the SiC programme). The 320 children who took part were a delight to work with and an illustration of their enthusiasm can be seen in the following You-Tube video made by a local TV station ’ That’s Cambridge TV’.

 The nine songs presented will now be put together with the songs in the ‘Assembly-friendly’ collection mentioned above and sent to the eighty church primary schools in the diocese. They will be invited to make their own videos to submit for posting to the upcoming ‘Sing of God and Science’ You-Tube channel which will be started by featuring the nine ‘Cathedral’ songs. They will also be asked to evaluate the sons prior to the publication of a larger collection (35 songs in all), hopefully published by a faith-based publishing house in the summer/autumn of this year. News of each of these steps will be posted here as they happen.
The nine participating schools at the Cathedral with their songs were 

Bourne: 'God's Masterplan'

Bury: 'Creation'

Anthony Curton/ Tilney: 'Sing it Loud'

Elm: 'Endless Love'

Buckden: 'How did I get here'

St Peter’s: 'Our Tiny Earth Revolving'

St Luke’s; 'And the Earth is Spinning'

St Botolphs, Orton Longueville:  'Power of Nature'

St Andrew’s Soham: 'I Believe’

As Project Leader, I would like to thank the Headteachers and staff of the nine participating schools for a thoroughly enjoyable day and also thank the Headteacher and staff of 

Teversham and Burrough Green church schools for their very valuable earlier involvements in the project.

Trevor Thorn.
PS. In addition to all of this, we used this song in a Baptism/ all-age service at one of our local churches at the end of last month. The very familiarity with the tune enabled a congregation of regular and visiting worshippers that had never seen the song before to join in - some with apparent ease,

Creation Sunday: A Celebration of the Universe, the Solar System and Genesis 1

In February 2017 we had an enjoyable All-Age service with a simple illustration of the vastness of the Solar system - and some further brief thought about the scale of the Universe. Then, we explored the opportunity we have as Christians to celebrate both of those and the wisdom of Genesis 1 together.

A very simplified model of the Sun (a cheap lightweight football, part painted over with acrylic paint) was placed on the pulpit. Then very basic models of the larger planets were handed to each of the children brave enough to volunteer ‘to show the rest of the congregation something of special interest’.

The planets were made up, to illustrate their size compared to that of the football sun, and made from

·      Painted marble-size cotton balls for Earth and Venus

·      Painted ping-pong ball size cotton balls for Jupiter and Saturn (with a cardboard ring system glued on to the latter)

·      and garden seeds Sellotaped on to small pieces of card labelled (1)Mercury, (2)Mars and (3)Pluto (The seed representing the planets’ sizes although should be even smaller i.e. a grain of sand) .

The children with Earth, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn each walked round the church to show the congregation their comparative sizes, whilst Mercury, Mars and Pluto were given to another child to hand to three members of the congregation to pass around among themselves.

The children returned from their walks and it was then explained where they would have to go to represent the circuit of their planet on the scale of ‘our’ football/sun.

Mercury – 42ft – to the back of our pews (to my delight when I asked ‘Who’s holding Mercury?’ (one of the seeds on a card) it had conveniently reached the back row and was being held by a new visitor to the church))

Venus – 76 ft – to the back of the church. Venus was duly carried there.

Then an explanation only that

·      Earth -106 ft – would be 30 feet further in the churchyard

·      Mars - 163 ft – would be ‘by the war memorial’

·      Jupiter – 552 ft – would be 3 football pitches away

·      Saturn -1012 ft – down by the river (at which point, the personable young girl holding Saturn protested ‘I’m not going there!’ to the amusement and delight of the congregation)

·      Pluto – 4200ft – up to the bridge over our main arterial road

It was then explained that this vast system is only one of billions of billions of similar systems throughout the whole Universe. At this point, I referred to the song ‘The Bible Starts with Parable’, and used the words as the basis for the rest of the short talk. The first verse celebrates the wisdom of the Genesis Stories: then the second half of the three verses celebrates the miracle of the creation of the whole Universe as God’s work. (Click Here to view the song)

This needed a bit of preparatory work, which it was emphasized was all very approximate. But from remarks afterwards, it was felt to be thought-provoking, much enjoyed by both children and adults and gave at least some people, a fresh perspective. Just how great is your God?

We Are Living! Celebration post (Sing of God and Science 6)

😄                            😄
  😄                       😄
    😄      😄       😄
      😄 😄 😄 😄     E   ARE    LIVING!
        😄         😄  

We are living! 
We are living!

Let’s be thankful,

Let’s be thankful

For food , 

and air, 

And clean water,

and clean water.

This is a special post to the collection of Assembly-friendly songs on this blog, entitled ’Sing of God and Science’, written mainly for primary schools and groups working with children of those ages. It celebrates our going to Lambeth Palace TODAY for a reception of the latest round of grant recipients under the ’Scientists in Congregations’ programme - and we are one of them!

The grant is to enable us to work with the church schools in Ely Diocese (of the Church of England) to develop a songbook to be called by the same name as the collection referred to above. It is planned that it will have about 30 songs and a number of these will be written by schools themselves. We hope it will be available nationally later this year.

Some of the songs will be performed by schools at the Science Festival in Ely cathedral in May. They will then be videoed and put up on a dedicated You-Tube channel. I’ll keep you in the picture.

This introductory part collection of ‘Sing of God and Science’ songs can be found HERE

Full Moon Rises, Huge and Bright (Sing of God and Science No 5)

This short, simple song, using a very familiar hymn tune, aims to engage young children with a curiosity as to why something happens - and still, even today, leaves a question mark!

Full Moon Rises Huge and Bright

  

Full  moon rises huge and bright,

In the East, a glorious sight.

    God’s great wonders still endure,

Ever faithful, ever sure.

That same night it’s way up high,

Seeming smaller in the sky.

Chorus

Why the difference to our eye?

Ah! It’s still a mystery.

Chorus

Maybe soon, a clever brain

Will explain this vision strange.

Chorus

Other 'Songs of God and Science' suitable for Assemblies and All Age services can be found HERE. More will be added to this selection in Spring 2017.