Events

Let Nothing Disturb You

Garth tells the background to the song:

“‘Let Nothing Disturb You’ was inspired by some words of Teresa of Avila, also known as St Teresa of Jesus (1515 – 1582). She was a Prioress and Carmelite nun, a central figure in a movement of spiritual and monastic renewal.

And she wrote these words as a poem, translated here:

All things are passing

God alone never changes

Patience gains all things

If you have God

You will want for nothing

God alone suffices

These words were taken by musicians at Taizé and turned into a short four line song – suitable for times of worship, and the song is repeated again and again. Taizé music is beautiful and very suitable for Lent. I heard the Taizé song from friend and guitarist Dave Perry who played it to a group of us one evening – Dave was the guitarist on my new album My Name Is Palestine, which includes this song.

I liked this chorus, and thought that for a song on an album it needed a bit more progression so I wrote three other verses and then a chorus section. The words are picking up on the original theme of Teresa and also Taizé, where again the song is normally sung in Spanish so I end the song with the Spanish words “Nada te turbé”. Read more…

Do Unto Others (as you would have them do to you)

Make a Difference in the World

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers,
Half-truths, superficial relationships,
So that you will live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice,
Oppression and exploitation of people,
So that you will work for justice, equity and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain,
Rejection, starvation and war,
So that you will reach out your hand to comfort them and change their pain to joy.

And may God bless you with the foolishness to think that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done.

From ‘A World of Blessing’, edited by Geoffrey Duncan