I first came across the name Kim Fabricius on the Faith and Theology blog of Ben Myers. He is an expat American, recently retired from the URC ministry and University chaplaincy, and living in the UK. His writing is sharp, laced with Scripture often of the least comfortable but often ultimately comforting kind, his worldview is inclusive and his theology both liberal and indebted to Barth. Taken at face value this could suggest more caricature than character. But time and again I have been tapped on the shoulder and had to stop and think through what he has written. Now and again I've been tripped up, slide tackled, made to rethink what I thought I had thought about enough already.
A couple of years ago I bought his book of hymns, mostly composed for his own congregation when something needed to be expressed that couldn't be found in the existing repertoire. Some I think are quirky and would only work in context and for a congregation who knew their minister. Others though, are sharply observed theology in the language of ordinary folk and often giving shafts of insight into social issues that cry out for a Gospel word. You can find his book on sale over here
I have used one of them several times in different churches. It says something about the nature and purpose of the church, and gives to our gathering for worship a richness of texture, a depth of purpose, and a seriousness of thought that, cumulatively, has long term consequences on Christian formation. This is because the hymn intentionally views worship as transformative of the whole person.
It's called "God's Church is a school for learning".
It appeals to me because I often think the Church is a university where every follower of Jesus is matriculated, where our minds are taken seriously. In church of all places, critical thinking, civic responsibility and social compassion. These are instilled as values, because loving God is a whole person commitment of body, mind, heart and soul, and so meeting together in church is to belong to a community of learning, where the learning and teaching is a shared experience and mutual exchange of support, insight and understanding.
God’s church is a school for learning,
life-long learning in the Lord;
here we’re taught to be discerning
as we read and hear his Word.
Taught to dramatise the Story,
Christians all have parts to play
in the theatre of his glory,
improvising on the way.
In the church of God are courses
in the arts of peace and prayer,
and in using the resources
from the files of love and care;
classes in the craft of living,
seminars on grace and sin,
Sunday workshops in forgiving,
coaching by the Christ within.
Thinking thoughts of God - what wonder! -
trained in virtue, given space,
we will make mistakes and blunder,
still in church there’s always place:
place for all - here no exclusions -
place for each - the fast and slow;
here we see through sight’s illusions,
here by faith alone we know.
Kim Fabricius, Paddling by the Shore (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2015), page 66.
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