Garland, F. Richard

The Reverend F. Richard Garland is a retired United Methodist pastor. He and his wife, Catherine Sprigg, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, live in North Kingstown, RI.

Dick was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is a lifelong Methodist. A graduate of Garrett Theological Seminary, he interned in Chicago and then served churches in Indiana, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. He remains involved in the Walk to Emmaus movement. He continues to preach on occasion, provide coverage in emergency pastoral situations, and write a monthly essay, "From Where I Sit" for the newsletter of the North Kingstown UMC. He has been a contributor to The Upper Room.

Dick is a lifelong hiker who still climbs in the mountains of New Hampshire. At home, he spends a great deal of time in his flower gardens. He has sung with the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra and is a member of the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts.

Dick wrote his first hymn, a children's song, in a seminary music class with Austin C. Lovelace, and he has written poetry for many years. He began writing hymns for use in his churches about twenty years ago, but did not submit them for publication until 2006, after being encouraged to do so by a classmate and friend.

Many of his texts are inspired by the seasons of the church year, particularly Christmas and Easter, and by Scriptures from the Lectionary. In April of 2007, an appeal from a clergy colleague for a memorial hymn in response to the shootings at Virginia Tech University resulted in the creation of his hymn, In Grief and Aching Sorrow, set to the tune, Passion Chorale by J.S. Bach. Once, his pastor, frustrated in trying to find enough hymns to go with the Good Samaritan story in Luke 10:25-37, asked him to write a new hymn for a service. The result was his hymn, "When We Would Neighbor Be." On a dare from a colleague, he revealed a whimsical side by writing a hymn for Groundhog Day, "Praise the Lord for Woodland Creatures." His hymn, "I Have a Dream," was written to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the address by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is currently working on a series of texts based on the selections from the Letter to the Ephesians found in the New Revised Common Lectionary and on an occasional series of texts on the theme of "Health and Healing for Those Who Serve."

Contact Information:
The Rev. F. Richard Garland
80 Grant Drive
North Kingstown, RI 02852
Phone: 401-294-5215
Cell Phone: 603-560-7672
E-mail: [email protected]

Hymns by F. Richard Garland on the Discipleship Ministries Website:

1. A Litany of Healing and Hope for September 11, 2011
2. A New Advent of Joy
3. A Stranger Joined Them As They Walked
4. A Star Shone Bright (Advent/Christmas Eve Hymn)
5. Before an Open Empty Tomb - Easter Hymn
6. Build Up the Saints in Love
7. Called by the Word
8. Child Will Lead the Dawn Of Grace
9. Christ Is Our Peace
10. Christ Is Raised, a Living Witness
11. Christ Modeled Faithfulness
12. Come Humbly Seeking How to Live
13. Come to the Light Of Hope
14. Come to the Mountain Peak - Transfiguration Sunday Hymn
15. Come to the Table - Communion Hymn
16. Come With Rejoicing
17. Come with Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving Hymn
18. Dear Jesus, in Whose Life I See - New version
19. From Creation's Timeless Word
20. Fulfill the Joy of Faithfulness
21. Gather Your People To Comfort And Love
22. God Calls Us from Darkness
23. God Envisions Full Redemption
24. God, Who Is Rich in Mercy’s Grace
25. Go Now Into the World
26. Heart Of Love With Grace Abounds
27. Heaven Waits with Eager Longing - Earth Day Hymn
28. He Comes to Us as One Unknown
29. He Knelt to Wash the Feet of Friends
30. Help Us, Lord, When We're Scared - Based on I Kings 19:1-15a
31. He Stands Outside the Doors We’ve Closed
32. He Stood Before the City - Palm Sunday Hymn
33. How Full Is God's Great Love - Advent Hymn
34. Hush! Then Heed the Silences - Health and Healing for Those Who Serve
35. Hymns on Twelve Ephesians Texts
36. I Have a Dream
37. If You Would Have New Life
38. In Christ Is blessedness
39. In Christ We Find New Life
40. In Grief and Aching Sorrow - Written in Response to the Virginia Tech Tragedy
41. In This Is Love- Based on 1 John 4:7-21
42. In This Night We Hear Rejoicing - Christmas Eve Hymn
43. In Righteousness Stand Firm --based on Ephesians 6:10-20
44. Jesus Conquered Death and Darkness - Easter Hymn
45. Let Us Kneel Before Our Maker
46. Lord, Be To Us A Source Of Joy
47. Majestic Mountains (Also see "Reflections on a Theme: Majestic Mountains.")
48. May the God of Hope So Fill You
49. O Lord, Our Lord - New Year Hymn
50. On the Day of Pentecost
51. Out Where the Stars Are Born - Health and Healing for Those Who Serve
52. Praise the Lord for the Woodland Creatures
53. Promise Of The Lord
54. Push Out Into the Deep - Based on Luke 5:1-11
55. Save Us, Lord, from War's Illusions (Beachspring)
56. Save Us, Lord, from War's Illusions (Beecher)
57. Shepherd, Source of Our Contentment
58. Sound the Alarm, the Lord Is Near - Ash Wednesday Hymn
59. Source of Faith - A Hymn on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral
60. Source Of Hope
61. Spirit Of The Lord
62. Stand in the Spirit's Grace
63. Take Care in How You Live
64. The Lord is Near
65. The Shepherds Heard the Angel's Voice
66. They Found Purpose for Their Living
67. Through the Universe, a Story
68. The Way of Life in Christ
69. Welcome Home, Precious Child
70. We Live in Hope - World Aids Day Hymn, December 1
71. We Stand Before the Cross - Good Friday Hymn
72. What Would You Sell?
73. When God Envisioned Love's Birth
74. When Prophets Come
75. When The Lord Comes
76. When the Seeds Of Love Are Sown (Kolby)
77. When the Seeds Of Love Are Sown (Ratisbon)
78. When Thomas Heard the Easter News
79. When Weary Times Confront the Soul
80. When We Would Neighbor Be - Based on Luke 10:25-37, Micah 6:8
81. Will You Fulfill the Vow
82. With Humble Grace - Remembrance for All Who Quietly Serve
83. Within the Shadow of the Cross
84. World Did Dwell in Dark and Fear, The - Advent Hymn
85. Would You Build A Home?

Articles and Essays by F. Richard Garland on the Discipleship Ministries website:

• Look for the Story Behind the Song
• The Gift of the Universe
• Advent Wreath Meditations, Year C (2012)
• Advent Wreath Meditations, Year A (2013)