“Sound Forth the News that Wisdom Comes Christmas Carol Video

Sing and celebrate the good news that Wisdom comes to bring new life to birth!  How we need Wisdom and Her new life in our world! This video comes with the hope that Wisdom will guide us to co-create with Her a world of justice, peace, equality, love, freedom, and joy.

Sound forth the news that Wisdom comes
to bring new life to birth.
Arise with hope, Her labor join,
and peace shall fill the earth,
and peace shall fill the earth,
and peace, and peace shall fill the earth.

No more let fear and custom hide
the path of Wisdom fair.
She leads the way to life and joy,
with gifts for all to share,
with gifts for all to share,
with gifts, with gifts for all to share.

Joyful are we who heed the call
of Wisdom in our souls.
With Her we break oppression’s wall,
so love may freely flow,
so love may freely flow,
so love, so love may freely flow.

Crown Wisdom Queen of heaven and earth;
Her reign will set us free.
Fling wide the gates that all may come
join hands and dance with glee,
join hands and dance with glee,
join hands, join hands and dance with glee.

Words © Jann Aldredge-Clanton, from Inclusive Hymns for Liberating Christians

This Christmas season gives us a wonderful opportunity to take action for social justice, peace, and new life. Christmas carols are popular throughout our culture, not only in churches. We can sing these well-loved tunes but with inclusive lyrics. By including biblical female names for Deity and visual images representing diverse races, we contribute to gender and racial justice and equality.

One of the most prominent female names for Deity in the Bible is “Wisdom” (Hokmah in the Hebrew Scriptures and Sophia in the Christian Scriptures.) “Happy are those who find Wisdom. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with Her. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all Her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of Her; those who hold Her fast are called happy. Prize Her highly, and She will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace Her. She will place on your head a fair garland; She will bestow on you a beautiful crown” (Proverbs 3:13,15,17-18; 4:8-9).

Through inclusive leadership, as well as inclusive language, churches can help create a culture that gives equal power and value to all genders and races. Churches can help change male-dominated religion and culture at the root of gender injustice and violence. By making changes in leadership and language churches can stop contributing to this culture that gives greatest power, privilege, and value to men. Equal representation of clergywomen and laywomen as leaders and inclusive worship language make powerful contributions to the transformation of church and society. Many churches, along with Equity for Women in the Church, are working toward this transformation.

May we reclaim Wisdom in our churches and our world. She will set us free to be all we’re created to be! “Sound forth the news that Wisdom comes to bring new life to birth”!

Video Credits

Performed by: Shannon Kincaid

Visual Art:

David Clanton: “Tree of Life” and two dancing children photos

Alice Heimsoth: seven photos inside Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran, San Francisco

Mirta Toledo: “Saint Sophia”

Shannon Kincaid: “Oprah & Child” and “Queen Maeve” paintings

Elizabeth Zedaran: “Flow”

Mary Plaster: “Sophia, Divine Wisdom”

Instruments:

Keyboard: Ron DiIulio

Guitar: Danny Hubbard

Bass & Percussion: Jerry Hancock

Produced/Arranged by: Ron DiIulio