Ideas For Your Church: A Hymn Writer Program

We live in a day when many churches seem to eschew the hymn book and its precious contents in favour of choruses projected on the wall. This effectively robs the younger generation of a depth of teaching no repetitious chorus can deliver. So many of our hymns are based on the deep spiritual experience of the writers. They provide a richness of reflection on the Scriptures and a language for worship that is irreplaceable.

One way to spark more interest in the use of hymns is to plan an occasional service in which the hymns of a particular author are featured. You can tell folks a little about the writer’s life, or explain the background of several hymns. You may also be able to organize the hymns around a theme, or in some logical order. Then you can add in some Scripture readings and perhaps a message on a related topic.

Fanny Crosby is a fine one to start with since so many of her hymns are found in the average hymn book, and information on her life is more easily available. However there are others to consider. Here are some suggestions, by century. From the 20th century: Charles Gabriel, Lelia Morris, John Peterson; from the 19th century: Philip Bliss, Fanny Crosby; from the 18th century: John Newton, Charles Wesley; earlier still, Isaac Watts (called the father of English hymnody because of his important contribution early on).

Check a hymn book which includes an Index of Authors and Composers and you will see a list of hymns by each of these. Then, check out the writings of Ken Osbeck for material on hymns and their authors. He has written: 101 Hymn Stories, and 101 More Hymn Stories. We talked about another significant work of Osbeck’s last week. On the Web, The Cyber Hymnal (www.hymntime.com/tch/) lists some 5,500 hymns, and often has photographs of the writers. (It will even play the tune for you, if that is unfamiliar.)