Christ, stitch us in.

Tailors bend low as the city hums,
Chalk lines are drawn as the morning comes;
Christ walks beside us through the waking streets,
Shaping our days with a quiet grace,
Stitch us in, stitch us in.

Christ, stitch us in,
Shape us with mercy as the streets wake;
Light our way now,
Guide us in your love.
Christ, stitch us in,
Tailor our lives with all your grace;
Shine through us now,
Christ, stitch us in your love.

Gulls wheel and cry over City Hall,
Pigeons parade where the shoppers call;
Christ in the flutter of the wings above,
Found in the fox and the stray cat moving,
Stitch us in, stitch us in.

Christ, stitch us in,
Shape us with mercy as the streets wake;
Light our way now,
Guide us in your love.
Christ, stitch us in,
Tailor our lives with all your grace;
Shine through us now,
Christ, stitch us in your love.

Lagan flows slow as the breezes bless,
Saints left their prayers in our wilderness;
Christ threads the daylight with a gentle fire,
Kindling our labour with hope restored now,
Stitch us in, stitch us in.

Christ, stitch us in,
Shape us with mercy as the streets wake;
Light our way now,
Guide us in your love.
Christ, stitch us in,
Tailor our lives with all your grace;
Shine through us now,
Christ, stitch us in your love.

Linen lies stacked where the old mills stood,
Threads hold the tales of a neighbourhood;
Christ in the warp and the weft of every seam,
Guiding our hands as we shape the hoped‑for dream,
Stitch us in,
Stitch us in.

Christ, stitch us in,
Shape us with mercy as the streets wake;
Light our way now,
Guide us in your love.
Christ, stitch us in,
Tailor our lives with all your grace;
Shine through us now,
Christ, stitch us in your love.

Reflection

I called into Chris Suitor’s tailor’s shop one afternoon when I was up in Belfast. What I expected to be a quick hello turned into one of those unexpectedly rich conversations that stays with you. We moved from cloth and craft to music, and then to Trance — how its lift and pulse can be genuinely uplifting, even spiritual, in a way that can catch you off guard. Chris said that although he isn’t particularly religious, the piece of music that moves him most is Shine, Jesus, Shine by Graham Kendrick. There was something wonderfully honest about that.

Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, he asked whether I could write something for him — something that imagined Christ in the tailoring trade, something inspired by the tune he loves. That suggestion stayed with me. After thinking about it, I found myself replacing “Shine, Jesus, Shine” with the phrase “Christ, stitch us in,” and from that single thread the whole piece began to take shape.

What emerged is not a hymn in the strict sense, but a poem — one that carries the imagery of tailoring, the rhythm of the city, and the quiet grace of everyday work. And while the original tune may have sparked the idea, the poem now stands on its own. If anyone ever wanted to set it to music, it would need a new melody, something with the same sense of lift and light, but entirely its own.

For now, though, it remains simply a poem born from a Belfast conversation, a tailor’s kindness, and the gentle surprise of being asked to make something sacred out of an ordinary moment.

Copyright

© Michael McFarland Campbell. 2026. 
Permission granted for local church or parish use with attribution. Not for commercial reproduction.