A new hymnbook collection
Singing has always been
important to the Methodist people and from our earliest days we’ve used
an authorised hymnbook; the most recent is Hymns and Psalms published
in 1983. Now we’re to have a new collection. The 2007 Conference in
Blackpool has given the go-ahead for a new book to be published in 2010
and the draft list of hymns and songs will come before Conference in
2009 for authorisation following a period of consultation which will
begin in the autumn this year. Conference has also commissioned a
rolling resource to be available first in 2011 and after that annually.
This would include material which might date more quickly than the main
collection and be a resource for new hymns and songs.
The Music Resource Group has been
authorised to carry out this major
task.
Who are we? -
a
representative, diverse group of people appointed
by Conference and among our number there are writers and musicians,
circuit ministers and lay people, members of the Faith and Order
Committee and Youth Conference and a member of the Connexional Team.
We’ve embarked upon our task
with enthusiasm, excitement and
commitment. Indeed some of us have been looking at new material since
2004 when the Loughborough Conference asked us to explore a new hymn
book supplement. Now we are authorised to go further and publish a new
collection.
Why should we have a new book?
Our present book does not
reflect the developments in hymns and songs
over the past thirty years which has seen an explosion in the material
written to be sung in worship. As well as the increase in quantity,
there’s also a greater diversity of style in terms of words and music.
Many churches now use a supplementary book and with the advent of data
projection some churches are no longer using books at all.
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Very few collections are
now representative of contemporary hymnody and there is some concern
that the most widely used supplementary material tends to come from a
rather narrow range of theological perspectives.
Our hymns and songs are an
important means of transmitting our tradition and contain much of our
theology. When an item is included in an authorised collection; it is
assumed that it’s consistent with our Methodist doctrines and the
majority of congregations have used authorised hymnbooks as their
normal book.
We also hope the new
collection will be used for private devotion as well as congregational
worship.
What is the Music Resource Group doing?
We have been reviewing more
than a hundred collections published since
Hymns and Psalms,
including individual and international material. This
has been a mammoth task and is ongoing as new collections continue to
be published. We are also looking at unpublished material.
We have been reviewing Hymns
& Psalms and deciding which hymns
should be kept and which excluded. If this is really to be new
collection we believe that only about a half to a third of the present
collection will be retained. We have a group looking at texts and
another concerned with musical arrangements.
Our aim is to keep the best of
the old and include the best of the new.
We’re seeking to reflect a diversity of theological and musical
traditions with hymns and worship songs. We’re very aware of the need
to be sensitive in our use of language in relation to gender and race
and ethnicity. We’re also mindful of themes and aspects of worship not
well resourced in Hymns & Psalms
which need to be included.
We anticipate that the new
collection will be available in printed and
electronic forms and there will be backing tracks particularly for less
familiar material.
We are working to produce
a
draft list which will be publicised in the
autumn for consultation around the Connexion. We are also producing a
DVD presentation of our work for Conference this year and for the
Autumn Synods.
In the meantime we have a
website which can be accessed through the
Methodist Church site. New material is being posted on the site which
is applicable to the liturgical seasons of the year and to respond to
particular circumstances. If you would like the Group to consider a
hymn/song for the
Website please send it to
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