The Feast of All Saints

"And There's Another Country"

Text: Cecil Spring-Rice, 1859-1918 & Bernard of Cluny, 12th century
Tune: Gustav Holst, 1874-1934

And there's another country I've heard of long ago,

Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;

We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;

Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering

And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,

And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.

O sweet and blessed country, the home of God's elect,

O sweet and blessed country that eager hearts expect

Where they who with their leader have conquered in the fight

Forever and forever are clad in robes of white.

In mercy Jesus bring us to that dear land of rest

Where sings the host of heaven thy glorious name to bless.

The Christ is ever with them, the daylight is serene

The pastures of the blessed are decked in glorious sheen.

There is the throne of David; and there from care released,

The shout of them that triumph, the song of them that feast;

There God enthroned in glory; through all in all depend,

The Lamb forever blessed, the light that knows no end.

(Video of LCMS High School Honor Choir, directed by Kurt von Kampen and accompanied by Jeffrey Blersch on organ, recorded July 24, 2008, at the LCMS National Institute on Worship, Preaching and the Liturgy. The text being sung in the video is not the one provided above but is instead Pastor Stephen Starke's paraphrase of the Te Deum--"We Praise You and Acknowledge You." The tune, however, (THAXTED) is used for both texts, so if you don't know it, this will at least put it in your ear. Recorded on a cell phone, the sound & video quality do not do the performance justice, but you can still get a little taste of a glorious hymn festival enjoyed by the conference attendees.)