This one is to words by Ally Barrett, written for the closing ceremony of a supervision course for ministers.
Be present, Lord, among us here,
And speak to drive away our fear,
And as a stranger seeking rest
Be with us now as host and guest.Our mind and spirit, flesh and bone,
Our past and present, things to come:
To you, O Lord, we now present –
We gladly spend, are gladly spent.Our presence, Lord, we dedicate,
This time is yours, and we will wait,
To friend and stranger may we give
The gifts to help each other live.
The tune it was written for was Tallis’ Canon, so I tried to write something where the melody would work as a round. It’s a bit modern; the tenor part is just too high in the third phrase, and the bassline is a bit boring. But there’s a simplicity to the melody which I hope is workable, at least.