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I’m eagerly waiting to greet the first day of Spring on Thursday, March 20th. Fun fact: In 2024, the first day of Spring fell on March 19th, the earliest first day of Spring in 128 years. (Farmers Almanac)
Spring is my favourite season when l can begin to shed some extra layers of comfortable, cosy and heavyweight winter outdoor clothing. Winter is my least fave season because l’m miserable, my mood is low and I’m cold, right through to my bones.
Spring awakens and gladdens me – early bird song, spring flowers, blossom on trees, lambs in fields, farmers visible tending their fields and flocks once again. Spring encourages me to get up in a morning, enjoy my first hot drink of the day on the patio, me, the sky and the birds singing.
It’s hard to express in words those joyous moments in God’s presence and His creation.
Spring takes me back to my primary school days and my favourite hymn during assembly. In those days, assembly was every morning at the C of E church school l attended. Another fact: the school was attached to the church by a tunnel (honest!). The vicar was called Rev’d Flood!
My primary school head teacher Mr Smith played his violin every morning assembly, shared a ‘thought for the day’, said a prayer and concluded by everyone reciting The Lord’s Prayer or the Apostles Creed, then we’d walk out in straight lines to our classes and no talking.
All Things Bright and Beautiful
One of Mr Smith’s favourite hymns was All Things Bright and Beautiful. His face lit up as we sang with great gusto those words penned by the hymn writer, Cecil Frances Alexander.
Cecil was born in 1818 in Dublin, Ireland, and passed away on October 12th 1895, at The Bishop’s Palace, Londonderry. As a child, Cecil had a talent for poetry, which her parents initially did not take seriously. Her father discovered her poems hidden under a carpet and began reading them aloud every Saturday. As she grew older, Cecil channelled her love for teaching children through poetry. Before her marriage, she published “Verses for Holy Seasons” and “Hymns for Little Children” (1848), the latter including her most famous work, “All Things Bright and Beautiful.”
Cecil Alexander: A Prolific Hymn Writer
In 1850, Cecil married the Reverend William Alexander, who later became a bishop in Ireland and then Primate of All Ireland. Despite his significant ecclesiastical accomplishments, William humbly acknowledged that he would be remembered primarily as the husband of the poet who wrote “There Is A Green Hill Far Away,” another of Cecil’s well-known hymns. Over her lifetime, Mrs. Alexander wrote more than four hundred hymns and was deeply committed to charitable work. She founded a school for the deaf with her older sister and established the Girls Friendly Society, an Episcopal Church organization that continues to operate worldwide.
“All Things Bright and Beautiful” was written to help children understand the opening line of the Apostles’ Creed:
“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.”
The tune associated with the hymn is an English melody dating back to the seventeenth century, which first appeared in “The Dancing Master” (1686). Martin Shaw, an English musician and church organist at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, adapted the melody to fit Cecil’s words.
The hymn’s vivid language evokes images of animals, birds, and nature, making listeners and singers feel as though they can smell the flowers, hear the river, and feel the wind. It reminds Christians of their connection to the Creator through Jesus and encourages them to express their awe and gratitude for the beauty of creation by singing, “All things bright and beautiful, O Lord, You made it all!”
God, give us eyes to see the beauty of Spring
and Your majesty in every living thing.
May we see in lacy leaves and every budding flower
The Hand that rules the universe with gentleness and power.
Give us ears to hear, dear God, the Springtime song of birds,
with messages more meaningful than man’s often empty words.
(from a prayer by Helen Steiner Rice)
God has you, us, me, and those we love and care for in His care. Amen!
Welcome Spring!
Denise
Published in the Parish magazines March 2025
Image, courtesy of Unsplash