Return to Home Page

The Rev. F. Richard Garland, Still Climbing Mountains and Not 'Retiring' Any Time Soon

By Larry Price

Published April 7, 2009 

F. Richard Garland is a retired minister who apparently never embraced the traditional concept of retirement. He’s a singer (RI Civic Chorale and Orchestra), story teller, poet, photographer, gardener, avid hiker, columnist, member of the advisory board of The Progressive Christian journal, still preaches occasionally, is active in the Walk to Emmaus, and according to www.Gbod.com, has now authored over 30 published hymns—all of them published since 2006. I had lost count of the number and was amazed when I looked it up the other day.

His latest works include He Stood Before the City, written for Palm Sunday and an Earth Day offering entitled, Heaven Waits with Eager Longing. He began writing hymns while he was still shepherding churches, but only began submitting them for publication when encouraged by a friend. His inspirational wave of creation has not stopped since.

His hymns cover a wide array of events, including Lent, Advent, Christmas, Easter, the New Year, Bible scripture, Communion, war, world AIDS day, and the shootings at Virginia Tech. There’s even a hymn for Ground Hog Day, Praise the Lord for the Woodland Creatures. Dick’s first hymn was a children’s song, written in a seminary music class.

Dick Garland was born and raised a Midwesterner in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He graduated from Garrett Theological Seminary, interned in Chicago, and was a pastor in Indiana before moving to New England to lead flocks in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, until his so-called retirement.

Richard once told me one of the joys of retirement after a preacher's life of moving from one church to another is having his own home and his flower garden.

To all of us at North Kingstown United Methodist Church, Dick Garland’s best retirement move was choosing to become a member of our church where we have been blessed by all his spiritual creativity. His monthly essays for the church newsletter and our website always are thought provoking, often deeply moving, and frequently reflect the beauty of the arts—always tied to a message of faith.

His writings and his sermons, when he pinch hits from the pulpit, are as much poetry for the eyes and ears as prose for a spiritual mind. Yet, he seems at ease in all settings, as just one of the guys at the monthly men’s breakfast, or sitting on the floor and telling funny stories to a group of young people at a church talent night. He has been an active and faithful member of our church, a teacher during our Spiritual Foundation workshops, a compassionate voice for social justice, and always an inspiration to follow Christ.

The hymns he has written are wonderful, but for many of us, I think Dick Garland is best known for his memorable and eloquent line whenever he calls us to prayer concerns: “And, as you pray for others, remember also to pray for yourself because you are a precious child of God.”

Did I mention he climbs mountains in New Hampshire every year? Witness his email address: RevHiker@aol.com. F. Richard Garland leads an active life and if you look up ‘Renaissance Man’ in the dictionary, you may find his picture there. Though, I must remember to ask him, “Where the lone and mysterious letter ‘F’ comes from in his name?” Hmm. Could be: “Foremost,” “Friend,” “Faithful,” “Follower.”

Complete list of Richard Garland's hymns | Rev. F. Richard Garland's Palm Sunday hymn MORE | Rev. Garland's new hymn for Earth Day (April 19): Heaven Waits with Eager Longing | More about Richard Garland

#

The Rev. F. Richard Garland's Latest Hymns

Photo, bio, contact information, and links to other hymns by F. Richard Garland on the GBOD website are available at Dick Garland  

An Ash Wednesday hymn: http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=45943&loc_id=17,823   

A Good Friday hymn: http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=46097

New words to a familiar hymn: http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=46090

FOUR ADVENT HYMNS WITH LECTIONARY TEXTS (Year A)
By F. Richard Garland
Link to Dick Garland hymns

F. Richard Garland has composed these four Advent hymn texts set to familiar tunes, closely relating them to the Lectionary readings for Year A. He writes, “Remembering how often I struggled to choose hymns that fit the scriptures of the Lectionary, I thought, ‘I wonder if it would be possible to write a series of hymns focused on those scriptures.’ I began to read and reflect on the Advent Scriptures, immersing myself in core meanings of the texts. What has emerged is a quartet of hymns, written for the first four Sundays of Year A. Each hymn is keyed in on the Lectionary Scriptures for that particular day. Further, the often used progression of Advent Candle themes, of Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy is acknowledged.”

Photo, bio, contact information, and links to other hymns by F. Richard Garland on the GBOD website are available at Dick Garland  

Return to Home Page