Open your hymnals to this wonderful hymn, #323. It reminds us to draw the circle ever wider, because – as Susan Frederick Gray has reminded us, “no one is outside the circle of love.”
As Kimberley Debus, author of the Blog Notes from the Far Fringe, farfringe.com, states: “This hymn is incredibly aspirational. Seemingly unattainable, in fact. Can there ever be this much love? And yet, the vision described by Fred Kahn is precisely what we need today.”
Debus also points out: “A side note about the tune, written by the delightful Tom Benjamin: do you ever wonder why a tune has a particular – and sometimes unusual name? I suppose there are any number of reasons, often tied to the original lyrics, although some tunes get a name to honor a person or a place. Such is the case with this one, called Yaddo. I learned from Tom that he once spent a summer at an artist’s retreat at Yaddo, this incredible place with a gorgeous mansion and lovely gardens, and it was there where he wrote this tune.”
We love this hymn at Heritage. It is exactly what we need to remember today as we show up for the side of good, the side of inclusion, the side of love.
A special thanks to Stephanie Tacy, who is the audio and video editor for all musical pieces performed by Les Tacy.
Enjoy the YouTube video: Break Not the Circle