After years of waiting, groaning disappointment, and rekindled expectation, The Revised English Hymnal was finally launched last week, in St James’s, Sussex Gardens, in London, at a gathering of clergy, musicians, liturgists, and other devotees of what must now be called the English Hymnal tradition. The original English Hymnal (EH) was published in 1906, challenging the somewhat older Hymns Ancient and Modern. Finding the “right” words and music for worship is not just a matter of taste or preference, but of appropriateness. Perhaps the greatest virtue of The Revised English Hymnal is that it remains firmly rooted in the church year, the calendar, and the liturgy. For a Church that sometimes seems over-preachy and wearily moralistic, The Revised English Hymnal reminds us that it is still possible to be set on fire by the mysteries of the Catholic creeds.

Source: The Times December 08, 2023 06:12 UTC