Thank heaven that no matter what treacly pop tunes choir directors feel compelled to include in the Sunday lineup, at least they haven’t replaced that rousing anthem, For All The Saints, which I think is still used as the recessional hymn just about everywhere.
But next to For All the Saints, my favorite All Saints Day song is something you never hear in a Catholic church. It comes from the Anglican hymnal, and I suspect other protestant denomination use it as well. This morning, our pastor, a former Baptist, recounted vague memories of a song about the saints that he couldn’t quite recall, but loved because it suggested that the saints come from all walks of life. I knew right away which one he was talking about.
I Sing a Song of the Saints of God has the vibe of a children’s song. There’s even an illustrated children’s book about it. Here are the lyrics, followed by a link to a YouTube performance of this sweet little hymn.
I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true, who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew. And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green; they were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one too. 2. They loved their Lord so dear, so dear, and his love made them strong; and they followed the right for Jesus' sake the whole of their good lives long. And one was a soldier, and one was a priest, and one was slain by a fierce wild beast; and there's not any reason, no, not the least, why I shouldn't be one too. 3. They lived not only in ages past; there are hundreds of thousands still. The world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus' will. You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store, in church, by the sea, in the house next door; they are saints of God, whether rich or poor, and I mean to be one too.
