Hymn to the Large Hadron Collider

OK. So I said the post about the Large Hadron Collider rap would be the last on the subject of CERN for a while. But then I read Virtual Methodist’s post from Saturday.

The Methodist Church is noted for the practical way it approaches the world and its pattern of social engagement. It’s also noted for its rich heritage of Charles Wesley’s hymns. Virtual Methodist explains:

“We sing our theology... It is the hymns of Charles Wesley that should be noted as a statement of normative Methodist belief rather than John Wesley's 44 Sermons... When was the last time you heard someone whistling a sermon?”

So it should be no surprise that the British Methodist Church website is offering new, contemporary hymns that congregations can use as part of their services of worship. And they’re not afraid to tackle more difficult subjects.

I reproduce Andrew Pratt’s ode to the Large Hadron Collider … which can be sung to the tune of Amazing Grace (or any other Common Metre tune):

'BIG BANG' DAY

We seek the source of all that was
of all that is to be;
the ground of being, source of life
that set creation free

The cataclysmic cosmic force,
God's rollercoaster ride,
may give a glimpse back into time
as particles collide.

For here we watch, observe, compute
and try to understand
the time before we even thought
what physics might demand.

But even if we comprehend
or wonder at these things,
Higgs boson, quasars, pulsars, quarks,
we need the faith God brings.

The test of all we ought to be
is in the common place,
our depth of kindness, strength of love,
that demonstrate God's grace.

© Andrew Pratt 10/9/2008 (andrewpratt AT btconnect DOT com)

Something for the technicians and engineers at CERN to hum as they go about their work, dealing with the “slight technical problem” that has halted LHC experiments for the next couple of months.