"God is Present! God is with Us!"

In the next week I will be coming to the end of my sabbath leave from St. Mary's. I am thankful for the opportunity to simply be and to experience the presence and Spirit of God that is all around me, but which I'm often too preoccupied to see and recognize.

God is very present all around us! God is definately with us! Do we take time out of our hectic lives and schedules to appreciate that reality?

One day I saw God in the countryside during a drive through King township which included a walk through the grounds of the McMichael Art Gallery and the Kortright Conservation Center. On another excursion I experienced God in a walk through downtown Toronto: visiting places of worship, walking through a park, witnessing the poverty and in other ways too.

I attended two conferences on Spirituality and Photography: one in North Carolina, the other in New Mexico. These afforded me the opportunity to capture some of my experience of God through the lens of my camera. These were grace filled moments, and although I couldn't capture every image and every experience, as I look through the images I have I can return to that place and space where God was so visible and recognizable.

As a family we went to New York City. What an adventure into the urban culture. Amidst all of the hustle and bustle God was revealed to me there too. Like in downtown Toronto, God is present in the midst of the urban environment.

If you're interested, some of the images I captured, and the reflections that go along with them can be found on my blog "Spirituality in Focus" at www.spiritualityinfocus.blogspot.com

Out of these experiences, and the opportunity to simply "be" rather than "do", I have written the hymn "God is Present! God is with Us!" It expresses for me what I have learned and had the priviledge of enjoying over these past months. It is also a reminder to me that I need to take what I have learned and experienced and continue in this disipline even as I return to the stresses, schedules and responsiblities of my ministry at St. Mary's.

The tune is also one of my many favorites. It's a joy filled metre that proclaims a spirit of celebration and thanksgiving.

“God is Present! God is with Us!”

Tune: Lasst Uns Erfreuen
Metre: LM with Alleluias

Blessings surround us day to day
awesome and beautiful display;
God is present, God is with us!
But in the hectic lives we live
we often miss what God can give;
God is present! God is with us!
Sing our praises! Shout rejoicing!
God is with us!

Nature brings forth a broad array;
trees, birds and flowers to survey;
God is present, God is with us!
And in the urban centers too
God’s Spirit sets out to renew.
God is present! God is with us!
Sing our praises! Shout rejoicing!
God is with us!

Open our eyes that we might see
God’s grace so full of mystery;
God is present! God is with us!
Grace moments in our daily stress,
the sacred truth so endless.
God is present! God is with us!
Sing our praises! Shout rejoicing!
God is with us!

Text: copyright, The Rev. Mark Kinghan, 2010. Not to be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express written permission of the author.