We pray for peace
We pray for peace. Alan Gaunt* (1935-2023).
First published in New Hymns for Worship (1973), Gaunt’s companion volume to his New Prayers for Worship (1972), in five stanzas. It was written for the tune HERSTMONCEUX by Ebenezer Prout (1835-1909), printed in many Congregational Church books. Gaunt subsequently revised the text and added a stanza (stanza 4) beginning ‘We pray for peace/ holy communion…’. In this form, though with further revisions, the hymn appears in RS. It is a powerful antidote to sloppy thinking and complacency in the first half (‘We pray for peace/ But not the easy peace’), with a vision of the risen Christ and the love of God in the second. One of the earliest hymnals to...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "We pray for peace."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 13 Feb. 2026.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/w/we-pray-for-peace>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "We pray for peace."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed February 13, 2026,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/w/we-pray-for-peace.