Once a Farmer Went Out Sowing

A Hymn for the 300th Anniversary of

Pencader Presbyterian Church

AR HYD Y NOS (“All Through the Night”)

“Once a farmer went out sowing,”

Jesus began.

“Soon the tender plants were growing

There on his land.

Every day he labored, tending,

Weeding, working, hope unbending.

So his care was never-ending

For what he’d planned.”

God of love, when he was sleeping,

His harvest grew.

Even with his faithful keeping,

Life came from you.

You awakened seeds he’d sown there;

You gave strength to what was grown there.

He was never all alone there;

He looked to you.

Long ago our church was planted

Here in this place.

Those who loved you worked and tended

In your embrace.

Here they built a place of worship,

Labored well in faith and friendship,

Preached and served in times of hardship,

All by your grace.

In our joyful celebration,

God, this is true:

You sustain this congregation;

Life comes from you.

In the times we pray and gather,

When we risk for things that matter,

As we love and serve our neighbor,

We trust in you.

Mark 4:26-29

Tune: Traditional Welsh Melody

Text: Copyright © 2010 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

Carolyn Winfrey Gillette serves New Castle Presbytery’s Administrative Commission for the Pencader Presbyterian Church and wrote this hymn for the church’s 300th anniversary. She and her husband Bruce are the co-pastors of the Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Carolyn is the author of Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor (Upper Room Books 2009)and Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today's Worship (Geneva Press, 2000).  A complete list of the 150+ hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, many with hunger and justice themes, can be found www.carolynshymns.com