Source and Sovereign, Rock and Cloud
Source and Sovereign, Rock and Cloud. Thomas Troeger* (1945-2022).
Written in 1987 for the Hymnal Revision Committee of the United Methodist Church, and included in UMH, this hymn was a response to a call for texts that would use multiple images for God. Thirteen authors were contacted with a list of words and phrases, and Troeger responded with this hymn, which in three verses incorporates 39 of them, ending each verse with the refrain:
May the church at prayer recall
that no single holy name
but the truth behind them all
is the God whom we proclaim.
The tune, GOD’S NAMES, is by Carol Doran*, Troeger’s collaborator. Tune and words appeared in New Hymns for the Church: to make our prayer...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "Source and Sovereign, Rock and Cloud."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 24 Jan. 2026.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/s/source-and-sovereign,-rock-and-cloud>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "Source and Sovereign, Rock and Cloud."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed January 24, 2026,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/s/source-and-sovereign,-rock-and-cloud.