| Home | OUR FAVOURITE HYMNS |
|
| From the Methodist Recorder of 14 February 2008 | ||
| Bill Balmforth of Tibberton,
Gloucestershire, writes as the organist of a small
Methodist chapel and since the introduction of
"Hymns and Psalms" (HP) locally in 1984 he has
kept a simple check on the hymns chosen for services by
ticking each weekly selection. He writes: "Surprisingly I find that in the course of about 1 100 services and the singing of approximately 5 500 hymns, out of the 823 hymns in HP, 155 hymns remain unticked in my hymn book. Could these "unloved 155" have been neglected because the preacher considerd them too difficult for a small congregation to tackle, the preacher thought the hymns "unworthy" of selection or the original compilers chose some hymns that could never be popular? Alternatively, are the findings of a small chapel completely unrepresentative? I would be interested to know if any proper research has been carried out into the usage of Hymns and Psalms in order to decide whether or not a new hymn book is required."
Please email any comments here! |
||