Gather Us In
Here in this place new light is streaming
Now is the darkness vanished away
See in this space our fears and our dreamings
Brought here to you in the light of this day
Gather us in, the lost and forsaken
Gather us in, the blind and the lame
Call to us now and we shall awaken
We shall arise at the sound of our name
We are the young, our lives are a mystery
We are the old who yearn for your face
We have been sung throughout all of history
Called to be light to the whole human race
Gather us in, the rich and the haughty
Gather us in, the proud and the strong
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly
Give us the courage to enter the song
Here we will take the wine and the water
Here we will take the bread of new birth
Here you shall call your sons and your daughters
Call us anew to be salt for the earth
Give us to drink the wine of compassion
Give us to eat the bread that is you
Nourish us well and teach us to fashion
Lives that are holy and hearts that are true
Not just in buildings, small and confining
Not in some heaven light years away
But here in this place the new light is shining
Now is God present, and now is the day
Gather us in and hold us forever
Gather us in and make us your own
Gather us in, all peoples together
Fire of love in our flesh and our bones
“Marty Haugen (born in Eagan, Minn - 1950) is perhaps the most prolific and influential composer of liturgical music of his generation. With over 400 compositions in print, his music is widely used in both Protestant and Roman Catholic congregations around the world. “Gather Us In” (1982) represents his skill both as a poet and composer, by calling the Christian community together.
Mr. Haugen describes his inspiration for this hymn in an email: “‘Gather Us In’ was written after I first heard the wonderful [former Jesuit Dutch theologian and poet Huub] Oosterhuis (b. 1933) text ‘What Is This Place?’ I wanted to craft something that might say a similar message to North American ears. I deliberately wrote it in second person to avoid gender issues and to more directly sing ‘to’ God rather than ‘about’ God...”
In the first stanza, we find that this community is one of hope where “new light is streaming.” It is also a community of honesty where we can bring both “our fears and our dreamings” into “the light of this day.” This is also a community of inclusiveness that includes “the lost and forsaken” and the “blind and the lame.” Regardless of who we are, we have an identity in this community as we respond to “the sound of our name” (Christian), given at our baptism.
Stanza two continues a description of this inclusive gathering: young and old, “rich and the haughty,” “proud and the strong.” Stanza two also indicates that this is a community that has a history and that the purpose of this community is to “be [a] light to the whole human race” (Matthew 5:14-16).
Stanza three articulates that this is a sacramental community where we receive the “wine and the water” and “bread of new birth.” This nourishment gives the members of this community strength “to be salt for the earth” (Matthew 5:13). The nourishment from this sacramental meal has an ethical result as we show compassion and “fashion lives that are holy and hearts that are true.”
The concluding stanza clarifies that the work of the kingdom takes place neither “in the dark of buildings confining” nor “in some heaven, light years away.” The work of the kingdom takes place now in the midst of the gathered, inclusive community.
Blessings,
Dorene
Source: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-gather-us-in-2