Singing the Faith is the current authorised hymnbook of the Methodist Church of Great Britain, first published in 2011. [1]
Singing the Faith is the latest in a line of hymnbooks going back to A Collection of Hymns for the Use of The People Called Methodists [2] (1779) by John Wesley and Charles Wesley. [3]
The decision to produce a 21st-century hymnbook was taken at the Methodist Conference of 2009. Since the publication of the previous authorised hymnbook, Hymns and Psalms , in 1983, many new hymns and contemporary worship songs had appeared, reflecting current concerns and forms of expression. The objective was to produce a book that represented both modern and traditional hymnody while reflecting the doctrines, beliefs and emphases of Methodism in the 21st century. The opportunity was taken to remove non-inclusive language, especially by using gender-neutral language as far as possible. The new hymn collection was authorised by the Methodist Conference in 2010. [4]
Out of the 748 hymns and songs in the collection, 89 were written by Charles Wesley (1707–88), one of the founders of Methodism. The most represented hymnwriter of the 20th and 21st centuries is John L. Bell (b. 1949), who has 43 hymns included. [5]
Singing the Faith Plus is an electronic hymn resource "designed to support and complement" the published book. [6] As well as a comprehensive index of hymns and songs, it allows members to submit their own works.
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named Methodists for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement in the Church of England in the 18th century and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide.
John Wesley was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day.
William Williams, Pantycelyn, also known as William Williams, Williams Pantycelyn, and Pantycelyn, is generally seen as Wales's premier hymnist. He is also rated among the great literary figures of Wales, as a writer of poetry and prose. In religion he was among the leaders of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival, along with the evangelists Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland.
Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", the carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", and "Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending".
"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" is a Christian hymn by Charles Wesley on Christian perfection. Judging by general repute, it is among Wesley's finest: "justly famous and beloved, better known than almost any other hymn of Charles Wesley." Judging by its distribution, it is also among his most successful: by the end of the 19th century, it is found in 15 of the 17 hymn books consulted by the authors of Lyric Studies. On a larger scale, it is found almost universally in general collections of the past century, including not only Methodist and Anglican hymn books and commercial and ecumenical collections, but also hymnals published by Reformed, Presbyterian, Baptist, Brethren, Seventh-day Adventist, Lutheran, Congregationalist, Pentecostal, and Roman Catholic traditions, among others including the Churches of Christ. Specifically, it appears in 1,328 of the North American hymnals indexed by the online Dictionary of North American Hymnology, comparable to Newton's "Amazing Grace" (1,036), Wesley's "O for a Thousand Tongues" (1,249), and Watts' "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" (1,483), though still well short of Toplady's "Rock of Ages" (2,139) or Wesley's own "Jesu, Lover of my Soul" (2,164).
Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing a cappella or accompanied by an organ.
"O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" is a Christian hymn written by Charles Wesley. The hymn was placed first in John Wesley's A Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists published in 1780. It was the first hymn in every (Wesleyan) Methodist hymnal from that time until the publication of Hymns and Psalms in 1983.
The Presbyterian Church of Wales, also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church, is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales.
The Covenant Renewal Service, or simply called the Covenant Service, was adapted by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, for the purpose of the renewal of the Christian believer's covenant with God. Wesley's Directions for Renewing Our Covenant with God, first published in 1780, contains his instructions for a covenant service adapted from the writings of Richard Alleine and intended for use in Methodist worship as "a means of increasing serious religion." The first such service was held on 11 August 1755, in London.
"Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" is a Christian hymn associated with Easter. Most of the stanzas were written by Charles Wesley, and the hymn appeared under the title "Hymn for Easter Day" in Hymns and Sacred Poems by Charles and John Wesley in 1739. The hymn eventually became well known for the "Alleluia" sung as a melisma after each line, which was added by an unknown author, probably to fit the commonly used hymn tune, "Easter Hymn". It remains a traditional processional hymn on Easter Sunday.
Aldersgate Day, or Wesley Day, is an anniversary observed by Methodist Christians on 24 May. It recalls the day in 1738 when Church of England priest John Wesley attended a group meeting in Aldersgate, London, where he received an experience of assurance of his New Birth. This was the pivotal event in Wesley's life that ultimately led to the development of the Methodist movement in Britain and America.
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical associations.
Hymns Ancient and Modern is a hymnal in common use within the Church of England, a result of the efforts of the Oxford Movement. The hymnal was first published in 1861. The organization publishing it has now been formed into a charitable trust, Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd, and as of 2022 it publishes a wide range of hymnals as well as other theological and religious books and magazines, under imprints such as the Canterbury Press and SCM Press.
Hymns and Psalms was the primary hymnbook of the Methodist Church of Great Britain from 1983 until 2010. The hymnbook was first published by the Methodist Publishing House in 1983, to replace the Methodist Hymn-Book, which was published soon after the unification of the Methodist Church in 1933.
Methodist Union was the joining together of several of the larger British Methodist denominations. These were the Wesleyan Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, and the United Methodists. The process involved many years of negotiation and discussion, as well as a vote by the members of each denomination to approve the union. In 1932 a Uniting Conference met on 20 September in the Royal Albert Hall, London. It adopted the Deed of Union as setting forth the basis of union and declaring and defining the constitution and doctrinal standards of the Methodist Church, and a new Model Deed was executed.
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley. More broadly it refers to the theological system inferred from the various sermons, theological treatises, letters, journals, diaries, hymns, and other spiritual writings of the Wesleys and their contemporary coadjutors such as John William Fletcher.
"Soldiers of Christ, Arise" is an 18th-century English hymn. The words were written by Charles Wesley (1707–1788), and the first line refers to the armour of God in Ephesians 6:10–18.
The history of Methodism in the United States dates back to the mid-18th century with the ministries of early Methodist preachers such as Laurence Coughlan and Robert Strawbridge. Following the American Revolution most of the Anglican clergy who had been in America came back to England. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, sent Thomas Coke to America where he and Francis Asbury founded the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was to later establish itself as the largest denomination in America during the 19th century.
"Lo! He comes with clouds descending" is a Christian hymn by Charles Wesley (1707–1788), based on an earlier hymn, "Lo! He cometh, countless Trumpets" by John Cennick (1718–1755). Most commonly sung at Advent, the hymn derives its theological content from the Book of Revelation relating imagery of the Day of Judgment. Considered one of the "Great Four Anglican Hymns" in the 19th century, it is most commonly sung to the tune Helmsley, first published in 1763.
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