One Light through Many Windows
by Barbara A. Brannon
One light through many windows
in different colors shines;
one flame from many candles
burns bright within our minds.
One life to us is given,
its seconds ours to spend;
how manifold its living
and infinite its ends!
One God with many faces
we meet on many roads,
who dwells in holy places
and lives in low abodes.
One earth with many nations
must share a common sun;
a world of celebrations,
a universe at one.
One song with many voices
now rises from our hearts,
and from our separate choices
one chorus, many parts.
One light through many windows
in different colors shines;
one flame from many candles
burns bright within our minds.
© Barbara A. Brannon, 2001. Used by permission. May be
used in worship with proper attribution.
Barbara Brannon's hymn was inspired by images in A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism, by John Buehrens and Forrest Church. Written in the popular meter, 7.6.7.6.D., with J.S. Bach's Passion Chorale in mind, the hymn may also be sung to other tunes listed on page 665 of Singing the Living Tradition. Brannon, whose work has appeared in the Asheville Poetry Review, The Cenacle, the Robert Frost Review, the South Carolina Review, and Yemassee, is managing editor of the University of South Carolina Press.
UU World XV:5 (November/December 2001): 21.
