O Come, Light's Dawning

Added Tuesday 21st October 2014

​This version of the well known Advent hymn, O Come, O Come, Emanuel, was penned by Gretta Vosper, and forms part of 'Sing it Forward', a book of recast and rewritten hymns for religious and humanist communities which she produced with her husband, musician, Scott Kearns.

The original hymn was a plea for the coming of a saviour who could 'ransom' Israel and set her free from exile, from the dominion of evil, and open the way to the gates of heaven and victory over the grave. Gretta rejects the imagery of the enslavement and tyranny replacing it with a burning desire to see this world in a new light. Instead of banishing Satan's tyranny and death's dark shadow, she seeks freedom from fear, anger and privilege. She keeps the notion of darkness in the sense of ignorance and instead of appealing to God/Emanuel, the hymn is a prayer for the light of truth about the way things can be. The original words of O Come, O Come, Emanuel, are in Latin, of unknown authorship. They were translated in 1851 by John Mason Neale.

More information on, or to purchase Gretta Vosper's books

Gretta Vosper led meetings at two venues in the UK during 2014. You will find articles about her in the Blog section of this website.