Penny Island

Dan Damon writes: "I think the theme of healing and the images of cobblestone and pavement might make this a timely hymn. Bombs do not get the last word in God's world."

Dan Damon wrote this hymn text for the people of First United Methodist Church, Richmond, California, in their centennial year. The Russian River flows around Penny Island as it empties into the Pacific Ocean. This hymn's themes of ecology, the church, and healing are appropriate to our grief-filled world.

Refrain:
Make of us a healing garden
planted in the cobblestone,
warmed and watered with compassion,
growing where your love has sown.
God, a plant can crack a pavement,
bud and bloom beneath our feet;
and a seedling, pushing upward,
senses sunlight through the street.

Refrain

As the flowers raise their voices
on our avenues of need,
by your Word a new creation
grows as surely as a seed.

Refrain

Flowers open in the morning
with a quiet burst of praise;
when we take the time to notice,
stillness sets our hearts ablaze.

Refrain

Dan Damon's photo, biography, contact information and links to additional songs and choral music are available on the Discipleship Ministries website.

Dan Damon Copyright 2000 Used by permission.

Penny Island 8.7.8.7.Ref.