The Faith We Sing Hymn Interpretation
Introduction: On the Practice of Using Feminine Images and Language to Refer to God

by Dean McIntyre, Director of Music Resources, The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship

Some hymns and songs in The Faith We Sing make use of feminine language, images, and metaphors when referring to God and the earth. There are some who will wonder about the appropriateness or theological soundness of using such language or images of the birthing process and the womb.

There are numerous scriptural references for these metaphors and images, and some of these are cited in the individual hymn interpretations. Use of these images is not new to United Methodists because similar language and images appear in hymns in The United Methodist Hymnal and in The United Methodist Book of Worship — both official publications of our denomination that have been approved, sanctioned, and commended for use in churches by the General Conference. With these examples before us, it is accurate to say that the hymns and songs of The Faith We Sing are consistent with the already approved resources of the General Conference. Here are some examples:

• Hymn 105 (United Methodist Hymnal), "God of Many Names," refers to God as "the womb and birth of time."
• Hymn 605 (United Methodist Hymnal), "Wash, O God, Our Sons and Daughters," prays that as we long for God's nurture, we will be fed by God's milk — an obvious metaphor for God as a nursing mother.
• The Book of Worship, 527, prays, "O Creator God, let the waters of your womb heal." It continues: "... May the waters that covered us at our birth once again remind us of our creation in you."
• The healing service prayer (Book of Worship, 624) notes that God gave each of us life and surrounded us with love "in our mothers' wombs and from that secret place . . . called us forth to life" .
• "An Alternative Great Thanksgiving for General Use" (Book of Worship,78, © 1972 The Methodist Publishing House. Used with permission) declares, "Holy are you, and blessed is Jesus Christ, who called you Abba, Father. As a mother tenderly gathers her children, you embraced a people as your own . . ."
• "Shawnee Traveling Song," (Book of Worship, 197) in very clear terms declares the earth to be our mother. This language is obviously not to be taken literally, but metaphorically.
• In a prayer (Book of Worship, 398) by Anselm of Canterbury, England, from the eleventh century, we read, "And you, Jesus, good Lord, are you not also Mother? Would a mother not be one who, like a hen, gathers her young beneath her wings?"
• The greeting from the Native American Awareness Sunday resources (Book of Worship, 425) indicates that all of creation belong to the same family, and it refers to earth as "our mother."
• A prayer from page 439 of The Book of Worship likens God as a mother who nourishes and watches over children.
• An opening prayer from The Book of Worship (463) addresses God as the parent of Jesus and of humans. The prayer declares God to be both "Father and Mother" to us.
• In "Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi for All Created Things" (The Book of Worship, 507), we praise the Lord "for our mother the earth, who sustains us and keeps us. ..."
• Hymn 62 (United Methodist Hymnal), "All Creatures of Our God and King," which is based upon Saint Francis's prayer, refers (in stanza 4) to "Dear mother earth."

Copyright © 2001 The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003. Worship Web Site: http://www.umcworship.org. This hymn interpretation may be downloaded, copied, distributed, reprinted in church bulletins or newsletters, or otherwise used for nonprofit local church worship or education with the inclusion of the copyright citation and General Board of Discipleship Worship Web Site as its source. It may not be used for profit or republication without prior permission.

Posted 4-26-01