"It Has Always Been in the Hymnal"

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN THE HYMNAL was an atticle I wrote while working with a church to re imagine their future, rediscover their goals and reclaim their mission. It was an United Methodist Church and the hymnal is theirs (one they used for many years). The songs disappeared in a later edition and that opens entirely other avenues of exploration contemplating why?  Iin any case, other denominations, or traditions, might explore what is hidden in their own songbooks. In my experience, churches only utilize one-third of the total content in any hymnal - so surprises may be in store! Enjoy, Marilyn A. Hudson

"AS churches contemplate the present focus on rethinking church or redefining methods and clarifying mission, they can take hope in realizing the process is not new. It was hidden in plain sight in the UMC Hymnal (1989*).

In a church facing this challenge one of the hurdles faced was convincing people that the process was ‘Methodist’ or ‘approved.’  ‘Can we do that?’ was not just a punchline in a joke but a real struggle many were confronting for the first time.  As Mike Slaughter has correctly pointed out sometimes our methods have become our mission. All along, hidden in the hymnal were musical challenges, encouragements and inspiration for remembering that change was natural, healthy and needed for forward advancement of the church of Jesus Christ.

Starting on page 567 was the section “Called to God’s Mission” that starts with a song identifying our purpose as heralds of Christ and ends with page 593 and “Here I am, Lord.”    Here too are the songs that speak about the need for change. Jeffry Rowthorn’s 1978, “Lord, You Gave the Great Commission”  (page 584) cautions, “lest we neglect its mission…”and reminds “with the Spirit’s gifts empower us for the work of ministry.”

Fred Pratt Green’s 1969 words to “The Church of Christ, In Every Age” was prophetic about the need for change as generations shifted and our culture reshaped itself.  “The Church of Christ, in every age beset by change but Spirit led, must claim and test its heritage and keep on rising from the dead” (page 589).

The primary mission of the church as an agency outward focused is clear in Green’s 1968 “When the Church of Jesus” (page 592).  “When the church of Jesus shuts its outer door…Lord make us ten times more aware that the world we banish is our Christian care.” Ben Wren’s 1985 “Christ Loves the Church” reminds that God works through “earthen vessels” (page 590).

The necessity of having a fire to share, a spiritual vitality that draws people through authentic love and faith was present in this section of the hymnal. Kurt Kaiser’s 1969 classic “Pass It On” (page 572) was a gentle call for authenticity.  “This Little Light of Mine” (page 585) was an African-American spiritual highlighting the role every person has in bringing the light of the Gospel to others; and “Let My People Seek Their Freedom” (page 586) by T. Herbert O’Driscoll (1971) proclaimed “we are called to newer ways by the Lord of our tomorrows and the God of Earth’s todays.”

So when those dreaded words about “change”, “mission”, “rethinking”, ‘reimagining”, or ‘reinventing’ arise in church do not be afraid.  The church is not veering off course, it is not running after some newfangled idea, and it is not being ‘Un-Methodist”.  

*Interestingly enough -  https://hymnary.org/hymnal/UMH does not seem to show all these titles. A .pdf of first lines and common titles can be downloaded from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/index-of-first-lines-and-common-titles-of-the-um-hymnal-1989 for those wishing to explore these truly intriguing songs of purpose and mission.

The hymnal has been pointing the way since about 1989.