And now our revelries are ended
To heaven\u2019s care our memories sended
Eighty years of history told
Places, faces, deeds of old
Stories of the church of yore
One church, yet, but many members
Each year\u2019s chalice lit from embers
Of the year that passed before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And now, this night, from our singing
The future comes to take us winging
Into the stretching years before us
As we swell that boisterous chorus
That sings the single spirit\u2019s song<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A church that claims all else above
Our only doctrine is simply, \u201clove.\u201d
May this people and that teaching
Far into the distance reaching
Last and last, for long and long
\u2018Til all are joined in God’s embrace
And history ends in eternal grace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"