• Unique class hymns welcome Baylor freshmen to campus each fall

    Class hymn performance

    While it’s common for incoming freshmen to be welcomed to college by campus leaders, it’s not so common for that encouragement to come in the form of a hymn — but that’s what we do at Baylor.

    Since 2008, each class of freshmen has received its own unique message of encouragement and hope written by University Chaplain Burt Burleson, BA ’80, and Associate Chaplain Ryan Richardson, MDiv ’04. Each class hymn reveals the heart and hopes Baylor has for its students. The hymn is performed within the first hour of Orientation, giving students that come from so many different backgrounds a common song and message. After Orientation, the hymns are also performed at chapel and worship services across campus.

    “Music has the ability to inspire us, to change us, to heighten our awareness of ourselves and how we interact with the world,” says Richardson, Baylor’s director of worship and Chapel. “Melodies have been written and sung for generations upon generations to celebrate, to mourn, to endure hardship, to acknowledge truth and to worship God.”

    You can listen to some Baylor class hymns dating back to 2008 on iTunes, and starting with 2015’s hymn, you can also enjoy a music video shot by Baylor Spiritual Life to complement the music. The 2016 video featured numerous students, joined by Interim President David Garland, singing “Gift of Grace” in beautiful Elliston Chapel. (See 2015’s hymn here.)

    “Gift of Grace” is a song, Burleson says, that “expresses some of the hope we have for all Baylor students and the elements we believe to be a part of the Baylor experience. Ultimately, it’s about the journey we make as Christians.”

    While the lyrics to “Gift of Grace” (and all class hymns) were written with a specific class in mind, they’re a welcome reminder to the entire Baylor family that in times of change, we can trust God to guide, sustain and transform us:

    Every love lets go…everything moves on.
    Every plan gives way…to the next day’s dawn.
    Every change that leads…to a new path found,
    It’s all a gift of grace…on this way unbound.

    CHORUS:
    So with Your wisdom deep within,
    As prayers are being prayed,
    We will trust all that has been,
    And the promises You’ve made,
    To be the light before us,
    To be the hand beside.
    Let us trust again and in Your heart abide.

    As renewing breeze…as a peaceful stream,
    As the Spirit’s fire…to a dreamer’s dream,
    As the sun that shines…on a mystery known,
    It’s all a gift of grace…for the journey home.

    In this moment now…in the coming day,
    In a great amen…to the sacred way,
    In the call that claims…all a life can be,
    It’s all a gift of grace…for a soul set free.

    Sic ’em, Dr. Burleson, Dr. Richardson, and Baylor Class Hymns!

    [7/14/17 update: The final recording and video for the summer 2017 hymn is still being finalized; stay tuned!]