​THE CHURCH of RECONCILIATION

Hymns in America

 

A Brief Overview of Hymnals in the Presbyterian Tradition

 

In the early days of the American colonies, the governing bodies of Presbyterians left all decisions about whether to sing hymns or psalms up to the individual congregations. This resulted in a variety of different psalters and hymnals being used by the young congregations. Most of these collections contained words only and rarely were the tunes printed. Early American church leaders and congregational members usually lacked a musical education. To correct this problem, singing schools were established which caused a growth in the desire for new tunes. By 1800 there were over 130 different collections of tune books in print. This meant that singers held two books, a tune book and a collection of texts. It was not until after the Civil War that most hymnals looked like the ones we use today with the text printed with the tune.

 

Presbyterian governing bodies resisted all efforts to form

an official hymnal committee until the PCUSA General

Assembly in 1819 finally granted approval.Psalms and

Hymns Adapted to the Public Worship was first printed

in 1830 and became the first official American

Presbyterian hymnal in 1831. Other Presbyterian

denominations continued to sing only psalms.

 

In 1874 The Presbyterian Hymnal was published by the newly reunited "Old" and "New" schools under the direction of a committee of five headed by Joseph T. Duryea. In 1895 Louis Benson, one of the foremost hymnologists in America, edited The Hymnal, published by authority of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. This hymnal was revised in 1911.

 

The General Assembly of the PCUSA authorized a new hymnal in 1933. Clarence Dickinson was the Editor of The Hymnal that is still in use in some Presbyterian churches in the United States. A statement in the Preface still rings true for the current hymnal project, some 75 years later:
     "Probably no one church will use all the hymns in the book, but the editors have earnestly sought

      to make the hymns included so representative and so varied that every church will find in it a

      sufficient number to suit its particular needs and preferences."

 

In 1949, representatives of the United Presbyterian Church of North America and the Reformed Church in America began working together on the possibility of jointly preparing a Psalter hymnal which would include metrical versions of the psalms and a selection of hymns. In 1950 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States appointed a committee to approach the group already working and inquire as to the possibility of joining in the production of the new hymnal. The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America also joined in the project, making it a cooperative project of five American denominations of the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition. David Hugh Jones served as Editor with David Kissling as Chair of The Hymnbook Committee. The Hymnbook was published in 1955.

 

In 1972 The Worshipbook: Services and Hymns was published as a joint project of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. As the title of the book suggests, it was in two parts. The Worshipbook - Serviceswas published first and was the successor to The Book of Common Worship (1946). The publication of the complete volume, The Worshipbook: Services and Hymns provided Presbyterian churches in North America with the type of liturgical collection that was first produced at the time of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. The Joint Committee on Worship did not have the intention of publishing a general hymnal. Instead their purpose was to provide musical materials which would complete the Service for the Lord's Day. The hymns in this collection were intended to provide resources for the Lectionary for the Christian Year. Robert Carwithen was Editor for the musical portion of The Worshipbook with Cecil W. Lower chairing The Committee on Selection of Hymns.

 

The General Assemblies of 1980 and 1983 directed that a hymnal be developed "using inclusive language and sensitive to the diverse nature" of the church. A committee of 18 persons began work in April 1985 and concluded the selection process in July 1989. The Presbyterian Hymnal: Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Songs was published by Westminster/John Knox Press in 1990. There have been about 2.4 million copies of The Presbyterian Hymnal sold as of April 1, 2008. LindaJo McKim served as Editor and Melva W. Costen chaired the committee.

 

This brief overview of hymnals in the Presbyterian tradition is not meant to be exhaustive, but to give large markers along the path that leads to the work just beginning on a new Presbyterian hymnal. Many collections of hymns, other than those mentioned above, have been published for use by Presbyterians. We are a singing people, and the history of hymnal publishing is rich.

(Note: Much of the above information on early Presbyterian hymnals was published in the 2005 Presbyterian Historical Society Heritage Sunday materials called "Learning to Sing: Presbyterian hymnals and psalters.")