Most of my professional life has been spent here at First Presbyterian Church of Winter Haven. (And I’m grateful.) Hymn 717 in the Glory to God Presbyterian Hymnal was “commissioned in 1987 by the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago”. (From what I have heard, even though it comes a few spots behind First or Second, Fourth Pres is quite a wonderful Chicago congregation.) In the note at the bottom on the page in our hymnal, the editors report that since 1987, and at least until the publishing of our present songbook “this hymn has continued to be used each Sunday as the offertory response.”
There is a lot said in this one-verse hymn as we offer our gifts to God:
For the life that you have given,
for the love of Christ made known,
with these fruits of time and labor.
with these gifts that are your own;
Here we offer, Lord our praises,
heart and mind and strength we bring;
give us grace to love and serve you,
living what we pray and sing.
Prayer
Generous God, help me to love and serve you with my voice and actions, as I respond in gratitude to your grace. Amen.