We All Are One In Mission
We all are one in mission,
We all are one in call,
Our varied gifts united
By Christ, the Lord of all.
A single, great commission
Compels us from above
To plan and work together
at all may know Christ’s love.
We all are called for service
To witness in God’s name;
Our ministries are diff erent,
Our purpose is the same:
To touch the lives of others
With God’s surprising grace
So ev’ry folk and nation
May feel God’s warm embrace.
Now let us be united
And let our song be heard.
Now let us be a vessel
For God’s redeeming word.
We all are one in mission,
We all are one in call,
Our varied gifts united
By Christ, the Lord of all.
Author: Rusty Edwards
Scripture Text: 1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians
4:1-13; 1 Corinthians 12
Tune: UMH 545 (AURELIA) or TFWS 2243 (NYLAND)
THE AUTHOR OF THIS HYMN, Rusty Edwards, is a hymn-writer who was born in Dixon, Illinois on Jan 22, 1955.
He has been an ordained minister for more than 25 years, and is currently the Senior Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Marietta, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta). He and his wife Lori have been married for 30 years, and have two sons, Benjamin and Ian.
This hymn is found in e Faith We Sing (2243), a hymnal supplement to the United Methodist Hymnal. rough this hymn, we are reminded that we have a call.
There are various ministries in our respective churches where all have the opportunity to participate and be a part of the church’s mission.
However, before joining one, we generally have to make an assessment on what the ministry is all about. If it suits us, we sign up and eventually become actively involved. Our signing up depends a lot on what each of us can do.
It is clearly stated in the hymn that through our various gifts, our call and purpose is to “touch the lives of others, with God’s surprising grace, so every folk and nation may feel God’s warm embrace”.
The hymn alludes to Ephesians 4:1-13 where the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians tells us how we should respond to God’s call. Paul exhorts us to respond with humility, gentleness, patience and love (Eph 4:1-2).
These values are necessary for us to understand so that when we decide to commit ourselves to use the gift we received, by God’s grace, we are united with others to sing and live God’s redeeming Word.
Judith Mosomos is a Lecturer in Church Music at the Methodist School of Music.