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.

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 Andrew.Pratt. or send items for the main collection to singmethodist@aol.com.

Barbara Bircumshaw
Chair Music Resource Group