Mary Nelson Keithahn

Mary Nelson Keithahn
Photo provided by Mary Keithahn
Short Name: Mary Nelson Keithahn
Full Name: Keithahn, Mary Nelson, 1934-
Birth Year: 1934

Mary Nelson Keithahn, a retired United Church of Christ ordained pastor and church educator, has been a curriculum writer-editor, journalist, and lyricist for musical dramas and anthems. She still works out of her home in Rapid City, South Dakota, as a free-lance writer. In 2016 she published Elfie: Adventures on the Midwest Frontier, a chapter book for children, and Embracing the Light: Reflectioins on God’s Holy Word, a collection of meditations for individual or small group use. Augsburg Fortress also published Sing the Stories of God’s NEW People, the third in a trilogy of Bible story-based collections of songs for young children, written with her longtime colleague, John D. Horman. The two have written over a hundred hymns together, some of which are included in these hymnals and supplements: Community of Christ Sings, God’s Mission, God’s Song, Hymns of Heritage and Hope, Lift Up Your Hearts, Sing Justice! Do Justice, Sing the Faith, Singing Our Savior’s Story, Singing the New Testament, The Faith We Sing, Upper Room Worshipbook, Voices Found, Voices United, and Worship and Song. They have also published four collections of their hymns: Come Away with Me and Time Now to Gather (Abingdon, 1998), The Song Lingers On (Zimbel, 2003), and Faith That Lets Us Sing (Wayne Leupold Editions, 2017). Mary is a Life Member and former board member of Choristers Guild and a Life Member of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. She is also a member of ASCAP. In 2006 she received a Distinguished Achievement Award from her alma mater, Carleton College in Northfield, MN, in recognition of her work in composing text for religious music. Mary was married to the Rev. Richard K. Keithahn, a U.C.C. pastor, and widowed in 1986. She has three children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

--mnk


Texts by Mary Nelson Keithahn (106)sort ascendingAsAuthority LanguagesInstances
Your Spirit, God, moves us to prayMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
You came to a world that was driven by greedMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Who was there to hear good news proclaimedMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Where lilies of the field once bloomedMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
When we lose a child or parent,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
When we are called to sing your praiseMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English4
When we are blind to the judgment of love,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
When the world is babbling 'round us,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
When quiet peace is shatteredMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
When people learned of Jesus ChristMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
When Mary heard an angel sayMary Nelson Keithahn (Autor)English2
When Jesus Was in BethanyMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
When Jesus was baptized by JohnMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
When Jesus was a refugeeMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
When Jesus came to JerichoMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
When it seemed that love was dyingMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
When Cain killed Abel in a fightMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English4
What joy it is to praise our GodMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
We walk today in darkness,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
We thank you for music inviting us hereMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
We sang our glad hosannasMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English4
We praise you, God of all creationMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
We light the candle of hopeMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
We are pilgrims on a journey To another time and placeMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Up to the temple one fine dayMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Time now to gatherMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English4
Three cheers for our friends who, with talent and timeMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Though shepherds heard the angelsMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Though despair, like deepest darknessMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
They built the church that is our homeMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
There is a need for shepherdsMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
The wedding guests were waitingMary Nelson Keithahn, 1934- (Author)English3
The people came from everywhereMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
The kingdom we inheritedMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
The kind heart of a woman failedMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
The Holy One of IsraelMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
The church is our safe haven,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Spirit-child Jesus in joyful refrain,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
Spirit, falling like a doveMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Skillful hands and nimble fingersMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Sing of a stable built on a hillMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
Sing of a people who came to rejoiceMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Send us your Holy Spirit, GodMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Risen Christ, come to our tableMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Pipe a tune and beat the drumMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
One was old, another barrenMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
One holy night in BethlehemMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English4
On Christmas Eve we celebrateMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
Now thank we all our God With heart and hands and voicesMary Nelson Keithahn (Author (sts. 3-4))English1
May you hear the angels singsMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
May the mind of Christ, our Savior, Be in all who gather hereMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Love, light a candle in my heartMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Love is enduring, bearing all thingsMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Lord, may we see by faith and graceMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Like Miriam who danced to praiseMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)3
Like fishermen who left their boatsMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Like ancient people on a questMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
Like a thief in the night, Like the pangs that herald birthMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Let songs of thanksgiving and glad psalms of praiseMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
Joyful God of youth and childrenMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
Jesus sang to fishermenMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
In the quiet of this placeMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
In Matthew's gospel there are fiveMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
How good and how joyous it is to beMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
How God, who calls us each by nameMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
How glad we are to be aliveMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
How foolish they were who came from the EastMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
How far it was to BethlehemMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
How can we sing our love for GodMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Hope for a child is a home that's secureMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Great God of all, we sing your praiseMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
Good Shepherd, our Leader, Provider, and GuideMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
Good friends, rejoice, be glad and sing!Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
God, your voice calls forth compassionMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
God, who calls us to be teachersMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
God, who called us through the prophetsMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
God of wisdom and compassionMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
God of hope, we leave this place,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
God of every generation,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
God calls us to worship with glorious soundsMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
For your wise, creating Spirit,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Faith is patience in the nightMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
Emmanuel, who walked among us here,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Creator God, how grand the earthMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Come to the table, sinner and saint,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
Come, praise God for faithful peopleMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
Come, Dayspring from on highMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Come away with me to a quiet place,Mary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English4
Brave shepherds quaked with fear that nightMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Bless the work we do todayMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Bethlehem, the House of BreadMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Before the dawn had brokenMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
Be present, God of love, draw nearMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
As we gather in the kitchenMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
As Rachel mourned her childrenMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
As of old God promised us inMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)2
As Abraham and SarahMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
"Are you the one," they asked himMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
Angel voices still are singingMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
A woman was sickMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English3
A widow of Zarephath townMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
A vacant place at the tableMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
A mother lined a basketMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English5
A long-lost lamb is in the foldMary Nelson Keithahn, b. 1934 (Author)English3
A fox has a denMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
A father came to JesusMary Nelson Keithahn (Author)English2
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