Articles - From the Curate

At most services at St Edmund's we sing hymns. We each have our favourites, those we would be happy to sing regularly; whilst we may also have those we prefer less, be it for reason of words, tune or association. Sometimes a hymn is unfamiliar or has been modernised and we are required to concentrate a little more on what we are singing rather than let the words simply flow through us.

One of the tasks that has fallen to me during Simon's study leave is to select hymns for the various services held in Church each month. This might appear to be an ideal opportunity to choose all ones favourite hymns but this simply is not so! Hymns have to suit the season, to fit with the type of worship and serve a particular purpose within a service. It may interest you to know that in April we sang 45 different hymns and selecting them took a great deal of time and deliberation. Many were hymns that I am not naturally disposed towards, but I did manage to include a few that I particularly enjoy singing!

There is an adage that 'the old hymns are the best' and there is much truth in this, hymnody has supported our Christian faith throughout many centuries and there are some hymns that will remain forever at the heart of our worship. It is also true that newer hymns and worship songs also have their place in our services; their words and tunes can speak to us in fresh ways, giving us new insights into our faith in the context of today's world.

Hymns are one of the ways through which we offer our worship to God and it is our good fortune to have a splendid organ, piano, choir and music group to support this. These are privileges that not all churches are able to enjoy and a good reason why we should try and extend our repertoire of hymns and be deeply thankful for the musical ministry that we have to support us. So whether it is a hymn you know well or one that is unfamiliar, sing to God with a thankful heart and may each hymn speak to you and help you grow in faith.

© St Edmund's Church, Roundhay