For So the Children Come
An affirmation of the limitless potential of all children
Music: Elizabeth Alexander
Words: Sophia Lyon Fahs
An atmosphere of mystery and awe permeates this moving celebration of new life, bringing Sophia Fahs’ timeless Christmas poem to life. Opening with stillness and expectation, For So the Children Come culminates in an affirmation reaching far beyond any particular faith or creed. Equally appropriate for religious celebrations, holiday concerts or interfaith worship.
“I heard plenty of wonderful music between Thanksgiving and Twelfth Night, as I usually do. For So the Children Come was the most personally moving piece I encountered.” Broad Street Review (Philadelphia, PA)
Details and Ordering Information
For So the Children Come
For so the children come
And so they have been coming.
Always in the same way they come
born of the seed of man and woman.
No angels herald their beginnings.
No prophets predict their future courses.
No wisemen see a star to show where to find the babe
that will save humankind.
Yet each night a child is born is a holy night,
Fathers and mothers —
sitting beside their children’s cribs
feel glory in the sight of a new life beginning.
They ask, “Where and how will this new life end?
Or will it ever end?”
Each night a child is born is a holy night —
A time for singing,
A time for wondering,
A time for worshipping.
Sophia Lyon Fahs
© by Unitarian-Universalist Association. Reprinted by permission.
Performers
Premiere: La Crosse Chamber Chorale / Paul Rusterholz (LaCrosse, WI)
Choir of First Unitarian Church of Ithaca / Elizabeth Alexander (Ithaca, NY)
Choir of Jefferson Unitarian Church of Golden, CO / Keith Arnold (Golden, CO)
Choir of Unitarian Society of Hartford / Mattie Banzhaf (West Hartford, CT)
Choir of Unitarian Universalist Church of Princeton / Peter Lauffer. Princeton Interfaith Festival (Princeton, NJ)
Choir of Unity Church-Unitarian of Saint Paul / Ruth Palmer (St. Paul, MN)
Choirs of Universalist and Unitarian Churches of Hartford / David Almond (Hartford, CT)
Concert Pro Femina Choir / Mattie Banzhaf (Hartford, CT)
Gregg Smith Singers / Gregg Smith (New York City, NY)
Maui Symphony Chorus / Celia Canty (Maui, HI)
Millsaps College Choir / Timothy Coker (Jackson, MS)
Minnesota Center Chorale / J Michele Edwards (Collegeville, MN)
New Jersey Gay Men’s Chorus / Steven Russell (Titusville and Plainfield, NJ)
Voces Novae et Antique / Robert Ross (Philadelphia, PA)
Choir of First Universalist Church of Southold / Charlotte Day (Southold, NY)
Voces Novae et Antique / Robert Ross (Glenside and Philadelphia, PA)
