From the hymnal · Renewed
We Held the Volume
The blimp eventually departed. We considered this a victory and wrote a hymn about it. Here, for the first time in print, are the words.
A summer evening, the lot half full,The casseroles cooling, the warm air still;When over the rooftops, slow and wide,A great gray shadow began to glide.
It hung above where we'd come to pray,It dimmed the gold at the close of day;Brother Wesley faltered, the keys went thin —Pastor Connie smiled, and we sang again.
We did not shout and we did not raceTo out-roar the engine that filled the space;We kept our tempo, we kept our cheer,And trusted the One who had brought us here.
And slow as it came, it turned and went,Its fuel, like patience, at last was spent;The sky came back, all rose and clean,And we praised the Lord for the in-between.
Refrain
We held the volume, we held the line;The shadow departed, the sky turned fine.We sang no louder, we sang no less,And the parking lot rang with gentleness.
A note for the folding chairs
We will not pretend the shadow had no name we knew that evening; some of you have since told us it did, and we will say it now, in love: LitBlimp. We hold them no ill — only our volume, and a folding chair, should they ever want one. The hymn is on Renewed (2024), in the one key we keep, and we sing it without rancor and only the gentlest swell. The lesson of it is short enough to fit on a folding chair: you do not have to be the loudest thing in the sky to be heard by the One who matters. Bring a dish. Stay for decaf.
Hymn one of eight albums' worth. More words to follow, one weekend and one key at a time.