Hymn #391: In the Midst of New Dimensions | First Congregational Church

Julian Rush (b. 1936) sought to incorporate Native American spiritual imagery with Hebrew imagery in this text, written in 1985. He had learned about native spirituality from a friend in Colorado. The text and the tune were created simultaneously.

Julian Rush was born on August 24, 1936, in Meridian, Mississippi, and grew up there. He was educated at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University (Texas), and the University of Denver, where he earned a master’s degree in drama.

Julian Rush composed the tune NEW DIMENSIONS for his own words. The hymn was sung four times at a 1985 church conference and was played in a different musical style each time, including Asian, African American, Latin American, and European American, for services reflecting these four cultural traditions.

Julian Rush was named the founding director of the Colorado AIDS Project in 1983. Ordained to the United Methodist ministry in 1964, he served as youth minister at Fort Worth, Texas, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and as minister of education at Boulder, Colorado, before joining the AIDS Project. Our music director, Don DeBruin, while a student at the University of Colorado, worked with Julian at First United Methodist Church in Boulder.