As we look across our city (Lord will you act)

As a church, we regularly took part in the 40 Days initiative across Hull. During 2007, there was a prayer that appeared in the daily study guide that included a prayer for use throughout the Lent period. This was as follows:

“Lord we ask that You would act, not according to the poverty of who we are or what we believe, but according to the greatness of who You are and what You can do”

Originally, this song had a chorus that simply set those words to music, but much has changed with it over the 11 years since four of the verses were written.

Hull has been the knocking boy of most of the country. Regularly being reported as the worst place to live, and often finding itself at the top of every league table it would wish to be at the bottom of, and the bottom of every league table it would wish to be at the top of. At the time of writing, teenage pregnancy was a significant issue in Hull – hence the reference in the first verse. It is a city where, growing up, our young people don’t even feel they have the option to dream or imagine what a future would be like – whereas their peers in other areas feel that their future is full of options that they can determine and shape, for many in Hull they believe that their lives will amount to nothing – ambition quashed before it even starts to take shape.

And within Hull, there are areas that are criticised from within – and Bransholme, where Bodmin Road Church is based, is one of those areas. Considered by many to be an area that they would avoid – and even with significant transformation and investment, those legacy issues still remain.

This song attempts to capture the position that Hull and Bransholme finds itself in, and cries out to God to act – in the way that only He can – and not to be limited by the times when we as His church feel that things can’t and won’t change. The chorus attempts to stay true to the thrust of the prayer that inspired it.

And then 2017 happened – Hull was City of Culture. A song of this nature remained unwritten until something captured that part of the story. The year started with a mesmerising light show, projected onto some of the most iconic buildings in the city culminating in the statement “We are Hull”. Hull folk are proud – proud of their history, and proud of their heritage. This song captures something of the journey that we as a city have been on – and continue to go on, where people choose to visit and are open to having their mind changed about Hull.

I hope you enjoy the song!

Belongs to the album Though Seasons Will Change