Compiling a new hymnbook appears to be somewhat of a minefield. More often than not they are lightning rods for criticism and condemnation, and adding your name to such an enterprise is akin to painting a large archery target on your chest.
Remember the hoo-ha over the issue of the Praise! hymnbook?
If not, perhaps I could jog your memory.
A New Kind of Praise: Sacred and Secular Merged
If you have been following the British Christian press for any length of time, you will be aware that huge amounts of vitriol and bile, as well as meaningful debate, has been poured over the Praise! hymnbook from various authors, reviewers and interested parties. You will also be aware that Christian Hymns has been held aloft as one of the few remaining reformed, evangelical and 'sound' hymnals available in the UK.
I have no interest in taking sides in this particular blog entry.
However, this week I received a pre-release CD of the newly revised Christian Hymns, produced by the Evangelical Movement of Wales in conjuction with Evangelical Press.
I include this quotation describing the new book from their promotional website:
Consisting of over 948 hymns, of which 235 are new hymns with about 190 that were in the previous edition now omitted.
I hear the cries of sacrilege and the scraping of disembowelling cutlasses being sharpened already! Particularly when you realise that included in the collection are 11 hymns by Graham Kendrick, 7 by Stuart Townend, 2 by Dave Fellingham, and others by Dave Bilborough, Jack Hayford, and Noel Richards.
If you are interested in such things, I suggest that you sit back and wait for the hymnbooks to hit the fan.
For my part, my already substantial respect for Revs. Graham Harrison and Paul Cook has soared. No hymnbook can possibly please everybody, but in the light of the public lack of Christian grace displayed in the recent controversy regarding which hymns are permissible for Reformed Christians, their bravery should not go unnoticed. Neither of these men are even vaguely sympathetic to things wishy-washy or potentially suspect - but they have been courageous enough to put their name to a fine new hymn collection that will immediately add them, in the opinions of some, to the ranks of heresy.
Go and buy one!
Posted by pencils at February 27, 2004 03:12 PM | TrackBackI also like kittens - it doesn't mean, however, that I want one... :)
Posted by: pencils at February 27, 2004 07:42 PMBut what does it matter if you use powerpoint anyway? :-) (Or do you know something about the vote that we don't?)
Posted by: Andy at February 27, 2004 07:10 PM