Ever hear of Sylvia Dunstan? I hadn’t until I noticed her name at the bottom of a Lenten hymn, we sang at church a few weeks ago. The words from Bless now, O God, the Journey were meaningful, especially the last line. Here is one verse:
Bless now, O God, the journey
That all your people make
The path through noise and silence
The way of give and take
The trail is found in desert
And winds the mountain round
Then leads beside still waters
The road where faith is found.
We find faith while we journey, not only when we finally make it to our destination. Our path winds through noise, silence, give, take, deserts and mountains. It’s all part of life, ever shaping us.
As the hymn concluded, I wondered who wrote these powerful words – Sylvia Dunstan. Then I noticed it: (1955-1993) She was younger than me and what? She died so young? I knew I wanted to learn more about this writer of words that won my soul.
Canadian Sylvia Dunstan told others her love of music came from her grandparents who were Methodist but she took music lessons from Catholic nuns. I could identify with her as her early songs used a folk guitar, something I played in high school too. She began writing songs and was encouraged to write music based on scripture. She said later, “I came to believe that ‘meaningful thoughts’ in sloppy form are an impediment to the people’s prayer, causing an undue focus on the work itself, rather than pointing to the worship of God.”
She earned graduate degrees in theology and divinity and was ordained in the United Church of Canada. She served as a minister, a prison chaplain and even an editor of a worship journal in her short life. She died on July 25, 1993, four months after being diagnosed with liver cancer.
She published almost 40 hymns. She would write the words to familiar music such as “You, Lord, are both Lamb and Shepherd.” One writer shared this note about this song. “She wrote this on a commuter bus, reflecting on the work of Søren Kierkegaard, after a ‘particularly bad day’ of prison ministry. Let’s turn that into a math equation: a 17th century French melody + a challenging day of prison ministry + Kierkegaard + a gifted hymn writer in 1984 = a beautiful new hymn to sing in the discipleship challenges of the 21st century.”
Hello Sylvia Dunstan. So glad to meet you. I am grateful I noticed your name at the bottom of the hymnal and learned your story. Your words live on in my heart. Thank you for following God’s call and cultivating the gifts God gave you. May we all do so too.
Thank you, Jean, for telling the story of Sylvia Dunstan. It makes you wonder what she would be writing today in this time of blogging – a format that hadn’t been invented then. What encouragement she received in her short life to step into her gift so very early!
What an interesting thought. I imagine she could have been a blogger or someone on You tube. Love this perspective.
thank you jean….she was very gifted and accomplished her mission at a very young age…hard to understand her short time here but as we are all pilgrims on our way…she got there ahead of us and left us a great meal for our journey…peace
Yes she did live such a short life but left a long legacy.
Those lyrics you shared a the beginning of your post DO touch the heart! Sylvia captured beautifully the contrasts we experience on our road of faith–sometimes through desert or over mountains, often beside still waters, as we put our trust in God. The hymn you included, “You, Lord, Are Both Lamb and Shepherd,” we used to sing occasionally in the churches my husband pastored. Such an expressive tune, and her lyrics, poignant. Thank you so much for sharing Sylvia’s story, Jean!
She was quite the writer. Wouldn’t it been fun to meet her in person?
I’m so glad to know Sylvia’s story, too, Jean. Such a shame for one to die so young, but she is an inspiration to all of us to live each day fully for God’s glory.
so young yet reminds us we can learn from people of all ages and times.