Half the World

West Hill was privileged to host a fundraiser this past weekend to raise money for Bangladeshi asylum seekers. The situation in Bangladesh is terrifying for secular authors and bloggers who each risk a brutal death whenever they are in public. Some have fled the country, others remain hidden. If you’d like to make a donation to this work, visit our CanadaHelps page, make a donation and add a note saying it is for Bangladeshi asylum seekers. West Hill has supported one small family. I’m hoping we’ll be able to do more. Michael George, a longtime friend, came from Kingston to present a concert. His music has won many awards and he shared it with us despite a slow recovery from a cold. Michael actually lived in the other half of the house I grew up in. We didn’t really hang out together – he’s a few years older – but he did marry my sister when she was seven and he was nine. Lots of memories played out on those shared lawns. You can check out Michael’s music on his Reverbnation page. We had used Michael’s beautiful song, Here’s to Love, for a promo for our event and he stayed overnight in order to sing it in our Sunday Gathering. Babette sang backup for him. It was brilliant and inspirational. Michael’s father, Graham George, was a composer and professor of music at Queen’s University and the founder of the Kingston Symphony. He played the organ at my first wedding, a selection of mostly unknown but absolutely beautiful Christmas pieces. One of the pieces Graham George wrote was published in the 1971 Hymn Book of the Anglican and United Churches in Canada as an alternate tune for Ride on! Ride on! In Majesty, normally sung to Winchester New. It is a challenging tune in classic Graham George style. For that reason, I don’t believe a lot of United Church members ever became familiar with The King’s Majesty, but it is one of the more powerful memories of my youth (that link shows the sheet music for those of you who can read it). For an impressive organ version, you can listen to it on YouTube as part of the Palm Sunday procession at St. Mary’s, Times Square. As a token of our appreciation to Michael for coming to West Hill for our fundraiser, I wrote new words for his dad’s tune. The choir, none of whom knew it, practiced it the Thursday before and Scott and Babette taught it to the congregation before we sang it Sunday morning. It was a pleasure to offer the song back to Michael with new, secular lyrics that could take the tune beyond the walls of church so that it could be enjoyed anywhere. (Unfortunately, because I actually used all the beats in the first line for syllables, the song cannot be sung to Winchester New.) My favourite YouTube version of The King’s Majesty has, unfortunately, been removed. So you’ll need to open one that has the original words and sing over them! Here’s a fantastic version. It has five verses, but you can sing the last one over again if you must.

Tune: The King’s Majesty by Graham George

At any moment, half the world is night, as darkness shrouds what once was light And those who’ve toiled beneath the sun repose for their long day is done.

For some, the darkness does not die with dawn and yet they choose to carry on. despite the cost, despite the pain, that truth might triumph once again.

Within their burdened hearts, still beats the song that calls us all to love made strong through single acts of courage done, the few inspiring everyone.

At any moment, half the world is light, and sunshine chases out the night. But light by day is not enough, for we must light the world with love.