May we, O Holy Spirit, bear your fruit

May we, O Holy Spirit, bear your fruit. Paul Wigmore* (1925-2014). This was the first of the author’s hymn texts. It was written at Pinner, Middlesex, for the nearby Emmanuel Church, Northwood. In 1981 its clergy felt that there were very few hymns specifically or mainly about the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23); Albert Bayly*’s ‘The Spirit of God, like an orchard, bears fruit’ had been written only in 1979 and was not widely known. Richard Bewes*, the vicar of Northwood, was also a member of the words group planning HFTC; the book’s selection and compilation were nearing their final stages, and in 1982 it became the first to include this hymn. The metre is consistent but...