Hymn For Waitangi Day

Notes

Hymn for Waitangi Day:Dedicated to the Revd Peter Lord Cowell at whose suggestion I wrote this hymn on the occasion of the 2011 Royal School of Church Music Summer School, Hamilton.

Suggested tune: Ode to Joy by Beethoven.

Please press the red title to hear a MIDI recording of this tune, and then re-open this window to read the poem while listening.

If you would prefer to follow the tune and text on paper you may download a PDF file of this hymn.

For permission to perform or reproduce this poem, or for enquiries regarding the purchase of 'Hymns For All Seasons', please contact Jocelyn.

Hymn for Waitangi Day

This, a day of glad thanksgiving
    for a treaty signed and sealed,
giving credence to our country
    by true partnership revealed:
Aotearoa's beaches
    forests, rivers, mountains, lakes,
Gifts of God for our enjoyment,
    treasures shared for all our sakes.

    Though we live in peace and plenty
   there is more work to be done:
justice must be even-handed,
   healing former wounds begun.
May our children all be cherished,
   taught in ways that make them strong,
Live their lives in tranquil freedom,
   Hope their vision, love their song.

God was present at Waitangi
   all those many years ago;
God is with us still to guide us
   as our faith and knowledge grow;
Maori, Pakeha together,
   listening, learning, all involved,
planning for a peaceful future,
   tensions lessened, doubts resolved.