The United Methodist Hymnal
The United Methodist Hymnal is in the USA common hymnal of the Methodist Church . It was first published in 1989 after the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1968 . The 960-page work made changes to numerous hymns with the aim of modernization.
history
Before the work was published, members of the United Methodist Church used the pre-merger hymn books of the Methodist Church and Evangelical United Brethren Church . The Methodist Church mostly used the Book of Hymns ( The Methodist Hymnal ) or a new edition from 1982, the Evangelical United Brethren Church its own The Hymnal , which was first published in 1957. Some communities use other hymn books based on their national origin.
The publication of the United Methodist Hymnal in 1989 followed the revision of the hymn books of other denominations, such as the Lutheran Book of Worship 1978 and the episcopal The Hymnal 1982 . The United Methodist Hymnal was drawn up by a 20-member committee, edited by Carlton R. Young (who had previously been the editor of The Methodist Hymnal ) and led by Bishop Rueben Philip Job .
The editors made numerous changes to the lyrics in the sense of a political correctness in the US-American understanding. Numerous masculine nouns have been changed to “gender-neutral” nouns. However, they were reluctant to modify male references to God such as “Master”, “Father” and “King”, and a hymn “Strong Mother God” was not included. The editors also tried to avoid “militaristic” references. During the preparation of the work in 1986 a controversy arose when the editors announced that Onward Christian Soldiers would not be included and that some stanzas of The Battle Hymn of the Republic should be dropped. After more than 11,000 letters of protest, they refrained from doing so. In the song Nothing but the Blood of Jesus the line “white as snow” was changed to “bright as snow” with the symbolism of “black” and “white” for “sin” and “redemption” to avoid any reference to skin colors .
A line from O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing with references to blindness , deafness, and dumbness has been marked with an asterisk to indicate that it should be omitted. In addition to the songs traditionally used by the US white population, some international songs, including some from Spain and Asia, as well as Native American songs and black spirituals, have been recorded. Duke Ellington's Come Sunday was also included. In the traditional compositions of John Wesley , many of the text changes made by his brother Charles Wesley were discarded and most of the uses of "thee" were replaced with "you".
The hymn book contains four forms for the rites of Holy Communion and Baptism , plus several musical frames for both occasions. It also contains chants for marriage and funeral , morning and evening praise, and a psalter based on the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible with some changes.
Prior to publication, the publisher United Methodist Publishing House sent a 73-page excerpt to several churches. On July 31, 1989, more than three million copies had been sold, ten years later more than four million. Two supplementary hymnbooks were later published: The Faith We Sing 2000 and Worship & Song 2011.
There are also two other official United Methodist Church hymns : Mil Voces Para Celebrar: Himnario Metodista (published 1996) and Come, Let Us Worship: The Korean-English United Methodist Hymnal (published 2000).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Hymnal winning acceptance . In: Deseret News . October 7, 1989. Retrieved June 10, 2009. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d Tim Tanton: Ten years later, United Methodist Hymnal still sings . In: Worldwide Faith News . May 25, 1999. Archived from the original on November 14, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Ari L. Goldman: New Methodist Hymnal Is Shorn of Stereotypes . In: The New York Times . June 20, 1989. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- ↑ | The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2008. , 1114.3
