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Reviews

Church Hymnary Fourth Edition (Canterbury Press 2005)

Reviewed by Rev Sharon Ensor, Wellington.

The Church Hymnary fourth edition follows on from its predecessor, fondly known as CH3, which was published in 1973.

In the preface, John Bell (of Iona Community fame), the convenor of the committee that selected and prepared its contents, says: “this book has been long in the making. The patience, exasperation, goodwill and determination of many people accompanied it from its inception to its publication.” Thank goodness they persevered, because this is a wonderful resource for worship.

This hymnary contains 825 hymns and songs, and as well as retaining many of the solid and much-loved hymns of our past, there are a significant number of new hymns and songs. These newer hymns and songs reflect the issues we face in the twenty-first century, such as environmental concern, social need, political involvement and community building. They also address those things that we perhaps have shied away from giving voice to in the church in the past: issues of suffering, injustice, grief, naming the powers that dominate our society, and the longing for healing.

There is also a significant selection (more than 40) of “multi-cultural and worldchurch songs”. Their inclusion acknowledges the energy and richness they can add to our worship.

A good selection of shorter songs at the back of the book can be used as sung responses in prayers, after Bible readings and as reflective singing.

It is good to see New Zealander Shirley Murray having a significant contribution to this volume, with 22 of her hymns listed in the index. I see other Kiwi authors and composers in there too - as they ought to be!

The first section of this hymn book is devoted to the Psalms. Then the music is ordered “according to aspects of faith and life which closely corresponded to the three persons of the Trinity”: the Living God, Life in Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Each of these major sections is divided into aspects of the work and nature of that person of the Trinity as well as our response. As a worship planner, I found this as helpful and logical a way to order a hymnary as any other.

The information about copyright holders for words and music is printed in a tiny font and squeezed into the centre margin of the book, which makes it extremely difficult to read. There is an awkward placement of words and music for some songs, with the music for verses, the words for verses and the music for the chorus printed on different pages. This makes it tricky for a keyboard player or guitarist.

It is great to see guitar chords printed with the music where that is appropriate. It is an acknowledgment that the accompaniment to our singing in worship is no longer restricted to an organ.

There is a detailed topical and Biblical reference index as well as the usual “first lines” metrical index, tunes, and authors’ index at the back of the hymnary. Unfortunately the topical index only lists the hymn numbers, not first lines as in some other hymnaries, so you have to trawl your way through every hymn listed under a particular topic to find one that fits.

Altogether I think that this is a great collection of the hymns and songs that have our attention in the church at this stage of our history. It has been worth the long wait and will provide a rich resource of music for a good time to come.

The melody and words edition will be available later in the year; the full music version is available now.