The Rev. M. Lloyd spoke on the subject of the re-printing of the 1938 Book of Common Praise.
Suggestions for consideration
a) Endorse the red book as the official book of the Anglican Church of Canada. Encourage the promotion of it.
b) Encourage the suggestion from the Doctrine and Worship Committee that a committee be struck to produce supplement of hymns which are necessary for those occasions not adequately covered in the new book.
c) Allow a reprint of the 1938 book
i) The willingness to pay the much higher price obviously indicates a real demand for the book.
ii) It is quite evident that some congregations will not use the new book and will turn to other avenues to fulfil their needs.
Text
That the above "Suggestions for Consideration" be approved. CARRIED
Notes
Commendation was expressed to Mr. Lloyd and to all the staff for the able way material and information has been gathered and presented to NEC.
File consists of a pocket sized Book of Common Praise, being the Hymn Book of The Anglican Church of Canada, in English, with beaded sealskin cover. Taken from All Saints, Aklavik for preservation.
"[B]y Herbert O'Driscoll with 10 new tunes and arrangements by Patrick Wedd".
"This collection of twenty hymns, varying much in style and content, grew out of a period which is probably the most eventful and traumatic two decades of Christian experience in recent generations. The earliest was composed in 1963 and the latest in 1978. Two of them were in time to be included in the new Hymn Book used widely by the Anglican and United Churches in Canada. Others have been accepted for use in other hymn books produced in the last decade". -- Preface.
Most hymns have an introduction giving background and context for the hymn. Hymns 15-20 have the following introduction: "The following six hymns have a common origin and purpose and so are placed together. Each hymn is a metrical version of the central thought in the Propers of a particular Sunday in the Christian Year as we have it in the Book of Common Prayer. In all cases the form is that of three verses, for Collect, Epistle, and Gospel respectively."
Contents: Table of Contents [listing hymns alphabetically by title] -- Preface -- Hymns.
Text of 38 hymns only one of which includes music.
Includes indexes.
"The hymns in this collection represent the journey from Advent to Pentecost; from the birth of our Savior to the birth of the church. While some are written from the lections for Year C, they remain tied to the seasons of faith. Parallel passages have been identified in the scriptural index". -- Intro.
"A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Music".
"[B]y Brian Douglas Walrath".
Includes bibliographical references and bibliography, ll. 170-171.
"Even a cursory examination of the literature reveals the fact that there is a dearth of publication on the current state of hymnody in Canada. The pursuit of such information led the author to examine one of the most significant musical projects in recent Canadian church history -- the publication of a jointly developed hymnal by the Anglican and United Churches of Canada. In the course of this investigation, it became clear that a particular category of hymn -- the Gospel Song -- caused a good deal of controversy among the members of the Joint Committee. Some felt it should be entirely left out of the new hymnal and some were adamantly in favour of including numerous examples. The committee therefore treated the selection of Gospel Songs differently than it did other types of hymns. The end result of this process was a net drop in content of over fifty percent as compared with the preceeding [sic] hymnals of each church. In order to justify this result, it was strongly suggested that the Gospel Song was somehow musically inferior to other types of hymns. The intention of this project was to analyze and compare a representative sample of these hymns in order to see whether there was a significant musical difference between those which were accepted and those which were rejected". -- Abstract.
Contents: [Copyright Information] -- Abstract -- Acknowledgements -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- Historical Background -- The Gospel Song Selection Process -- The Analyses -- Summary and Conclusions -- Appendices -- Bibliography.
OTTAWA (June 9) -- The Anglican Church of Canada has emerged from a nine-day national meeting here with a new structure, new priorities and plans to publish a new hymn book.
The church's General Synod, a chief governing body of more than 300 lay and clergy members and bishops, also affirmed the presence and contributions of gay men and lesbians to the church and agreed to "deepen and extend" a three-year-old study of homosexuality.
General Synod heard presentations about the on-going work of healing and reconciliation within the Anglican Church for former students of native residential schools and approved a covenant drafted by indigenous people in which they express a desire to form a self-determining community within the Anglican Church.
The priorities adopted by General Synod call for the church to focus its energies on advocacy for social justice causes and on developing overseas partnerships. Related to those priorities, the church also approved a new national structure which is less legislative in tone and relies more on networking and consultation.
After a lengthy debate, Synod members authorized the church's Hymn Book Task Force to complete preparation of a new book which introduced female imagery of God, inclusive language and a broad range of musical styles. In addition to well-beloved traditional tunes, the new book includes popular folk tunes, gospel music, contemporary praise choruses and music from countries around the world.
In other business, the church agreed to extend use of its modern Book of Alternative Services for another three years and undertook to continue developing inclusive language for its rites. It also approved a motion to develop a eucharistic rite that includes "native spiritual traditions and other cultural traditions".
The General Synod also dealt with more than 60 resolutions on a wide variety of topics including matters of domestic and foreign policy, the Anglican Church's relationship with other churches, peace and environmentalism. Among these were:
- A resolution commending the federal government's commitment to devoting 0.7% of GNP to development assistance but expressing concern that foreign aid policy emphasizes Canada's economic assistance;
- One expressing "grief and outrage" at genocide in Rwanda and Burundi and regretting that governments, including the Canadian government, failed "to anticipate and prevent the evil that occurred";
- One reaffirming support of First Nations' struggles "to obtain justice regarding land claims through negotiations";
- One commending the Canadian Fisheries minister for his strong stand on conservation of East Coast fish stocks, and urging a similar stand with regards to the West Coast, and;
- One calling on the Minister of Immigration to exempt refugees and their families from paying a landing fee.
Nine ecumenical visitors from across Canada, the United States and overseas were invited to attend and reflect on General Synod as "partners" of the Anglican Church.
One of these visitors, Bishop Dinis Sengulane of the Diocese of Lebombo in Mozambique, spoke at a service at Christ Church Cathedral [written Cathedral Christ Cathedral], calling on the church and on all Canadians to denounce gun ownership and the shipment of arms to war-torn countries.
Bishop Sengulane is internationally-known for his role in bringing about a negotiated end to civil war in Mozambique.
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For more information, contact: Doug Tindal, Cellular : (416) 540-3653 or Sam Carriere, Media Relations, General Synod: 416-924-9199, ext. 256
2. That since the discussions in the Conferences showed the existence of much dissatisfaction with regard to certain hymns in the Book of Common Praise as being insufficient to express the spiritual aspirations of many worshippers, with an equally strong desire for the use of new hymns not included in that book - particularly in the children's section of it - the General Synod be urged to take the steps needed to meet this situation. CARRIED in both Houses.
OTTAWA (June 9) -- The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, meeting in Ottawa this week, has approved continuation of work on a new hymn book.
The 300-member body passed a motion authorizing the Hymn Book Task Force to complete preparation of the new book, which introduces female imagery of God, inclusive language and a broad range of musical styles.
Synod members had the opportunity to express their views about the book during a 90-minute hearing held earlier this week.
Although some members objected to the creation of a new book when the church already has two official hymnals, most speakers expressed support for a book with a broader and more inclusive range of material.
In addition to well-loved traditional hymns, the new book includes popular folk tunes, gospel music, contemporary praise choruses and music from countries around the world. George Black, chair of the Hymn Book Task Force, told Synod the group also tried to find material on subjects which are under-represented in the existing hymnals, such as justice and peace issues and environmental concerns.
Not included in the new book are hymns which use imagery glorifying war, such as Onward Christian Soldiers.
Work remaining to be done on the new hymn book includes the selection of music and obtaining copyright permissions. The final version of the new book will got to the Anglican Church's Council of General Synod for permission to publish for use.
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Contact: Sam Carriere or Lorie Chortyk, Media Relations, General Synod. News Room: (613) 788-2600 ext. 2040 Cellular (613) 720-1468
"This little compilation contains material that we thought might be helpful for parish leaders wanting to introduce the new hymn book." -- Preface, inside front cover.
Contents: What's in a Name ? -- Of Music and Mandate -- Once to Every Generation: Anglican Hymn Books in Canada -- Page Layout -- A Walk Through Common Praise -- Service Music -- Introducing the Collection to the Congregation -- Worship for All Ages: Including children and youth -- The Music of Taize -- John Wesley's Rules for Singing -- Tune Names -- Introduction Marks -- Ten Clues for Reading Music -- Everything You Wanted to Know About Metres (but were afraid to ask) -- Copyright -- A Blessing for the Dedication of Common Praise -- A Festival of Hymns and Readings -- Common Praise Biographies.
"This little compilation contains material that we thought might be helpful for parish leaders wanting to introduce the new hymn book." -- Preface, inside front cover.
Contents: What's in a Name ? -- Of Music and Mandate -- Once to Every Generation: Anglican Hymn Books in Canada -- Page Layout -- A Walk Through Common Praise -- Service Music -- Introducing the Collection to the Congregation -- Worship for All Ages: Including children and youth -- The Music of Taize -- John Wesley's Rules for Singing -- Tune Names -- Introduction Marks -- Ten Clues for Reading Music -- Everything You Wanted to Know About Metres (but were afraid to ask) -- Copyright -- A Blessing for the Dedication of Common Praise -- A Festival of Hymns and Readings -- Common Praise Biographies.