Hymn writers maintain craft as contemporary worship grows 5/20/2004
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A UMNS photo by Carey Moots.
Colin Gibson, a leader in the Methodist Church of New Zealand, has written some 600 hymns.
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| Colin
Gibson, a leader in the Methodist Church of New Zealand, has written
some 600 hymns, which have been translated into at least four languages.
His hymns often reflect modern themes and the natural surroundings of
his country. A UMNS photo by Carey Moots. Photo number 04-178,
Accompanies UMNS #208, 5/19/04 |
By Amy Green Colin Gibson is a hymn composer whose material includes hair and fishbowls.
He
also writes about global conflict, environmentalism and homosexuality.
He celebrates our diverse hairstyles in a hymn about God’s inclusive
love for all. In another, he equates our feelings of inadequacy with the
image of Christians in a fishbowl yearning for the ocean. He aims for a
broad audience by pairing modern themes with traditional music, he
says.
“I’m quite sure music slips under the closed door
very often. If I can inspire conservatives to embrace a broader
perspective through my music, that makes me happy,” says Gibson, a
leader in the Methodist Church of New Zealand. He has written some 600
hymns, which have been translated into at least four languages. “Music
has no political allegiance and no theological allegiance,” he says.
“It’s open territory, so we can meet each other and discuss things in an
open field of music.”
Many composers are striving to
assert their art’s relevance at a time when hymnals and traditional
worship styles are giving way to more contemporary Christian music at
some churches. Congregations
are eager to embrace today’s youth with worship steeped in the
Christian music they hear on the radio — which continues to enjoy sales
growth in a sluggish music industry, says John Styll, president of the
Gospel Music Association.
“Churches are finding if they use this kind of music they grow, and if they don’t use it they shrink,” he says.
Methodist
hymn composers say their art is thriving. They note its long history in
the Methodist tradition and point to the hundreds of hymns penned by
Charles Wesley, whose ministry in the 1700s with his brother, John,
formed the root of Methodism. Wesley is known for “Hark! The Herald
Angels Sing,” “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” and “Christ the Lord is
Risen Today.” Composers say hymns are as much a part of worship as the
sermon and readings from the Gospels.
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A UMNS photo by Carey Moots.Colin Gibson's original hymns have been translated into at least four languages. |
| Colin
Gibson, a leader in the Methodist Church of New Zealand, has written
some 600 hymns, which have been translated into at least four languages.
His hymns often reflect modern themes and the natural surroundings of
his country. A UMNS photo by Carey Moots. Photo number 04-179,
Accompanies UMNS #208, 5/19/04. |
“It’s the heartbeat of the church,” says the Rev. Carlton R. Young,
editor of the United Methodist Hymnal. “It’s difficult to think of a
gathering of United Methodists without song.”
Many of
today’s most prolific Methodist hymn writers live outside the United
States. They include England’s Andrew Pratt, a Methodist minister who
has written the verses to more than 250 hymns and received honorable
mention in a contest seeking new hymns. The contest was organized by the
Hymn Society, based at Boston University’s School of Theology, a United
Methodist seminary.
Like Gibson, Pratt addresses modern
themes in his hymns — the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and war casualties,
for example. He believes hymns endure because they address these issues
theologically better than a contemporary Christian song can.
“Worship songs tend to have less depth and do not address doubt and difficulty in a realistic way,” he says.
Jane
Marshall, a United Methodist hymn composer in Dallas who has
collaborated on 70 published hymns, uses traditional music on some and
more contemporary music on others. She believes many of today’s youth
prefer traditional hymns to contemporary Christian music, and she cites
growing interest in Taize and compline services, contemplative services
rooted in old Christian traditions using candles, chanting and
meditation.
“It’s some of the younger people who have
tired of the praise and worship, and not all of them but some of them
want more than that,” she says. “Those young people love a formal
service. They love the reverence and silence. They love more prayer
candles and all the things you would associate with the early Roman
Catholic Church.”
The Hymn Society advances the art by
offering resource materials and organizing international searches for
hymns addressing modern themes, such as Alzheimer’s disease. After the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the society put together a collection
of hymn verses for congregations to mark the one-year anniversary. The
society also organizes an annual conference that includes a festival of
hymn performances.
“Hymns continue to be written,” says
Carl Daw, executive director of the society. “More hymns were written
both in the United States and Great Britain in the last quarter of the
20th century than were written in the first three-quarters put
together.”
Many are published in hymnal supplements that
denominations continue to churn out. Hymns thrive because they help
define a denomination’s beliefs, Daw says. For example, where would
Lutherans be without “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”?
“Hymns
have so often been the characteristic expression of various ages in the
history of various churches. What you sing helps define what you
believe,” he says. “The Methodist faith is largely expressed by what
people sing. ... ‘Non-singing Methodists’ is like a contradiction in
terms.”
*Green
is a freelance journalist based in Nashville, Tenn. News Media can
contact Tim Tanton at 615-742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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