I was inspired to write this article after reading John Ahern’s The Case for Shorter Hymnals first published on Theopolis Institute’s website on November 16, 2021. Mr. Ahern and I are writing with different audiences and emphases in mind. I am thankful we both share a mutual desire to see more thoughtful shepherding of the types of psalms, canticles, and hymns our congregations sing on the Lord’s Day in worship. I hope both John Ahern and the reader find my distinction of hymnody and hymnal to be useful.
When we talk about church music, we should distinguish hymnal from hymnody. Every hymn-singing church will have a hymnody—how they sing hymns, what they define as a hymn, how often they sing these hymns, which ones they deem appropriate for various occasions, and so forth.
Maybe the pastor and elders lead in this area, or perhaps a musician primarily leads under the oversight of the pastor/elders. Either way, hymnody does not have to be tied to a specific hymnal.
Hymnals have mainly been denominational projects in recent history (i.e., The Lutheran Hymnal, The Baptist Hymnal, etc.). But hymnody is a pastoral activity and, therefore, a local practice even if the hymn selections come from a particular denomination’s hymnal.
There is room for heartier hymnals and heartier hymnody with this distinction of terminology in mind.
While a church’s hymnody manifests primarily in the church’s worship, a hymnal has a broader use and purpose than Sunday worship only. Historically, the church has used hymnals outside of weekly Sunday services. These uses include less formal worship services, Psalm and Hymn singing, Sunday School, Christian education, chapel services, family gatherings, weddings, funerals, and so on.
For this reason, hymnals have had sections of hymns to be sung “for informal occasions” beyond weekly formal worship gatherings. These sections have included children’s hymns, patriotic hymns, seasonal carols, and other special-purpose hymns. Again, this highlights the helpfulness of the distinction between hymnal and hymnody.
In other words, a church’s hymnody comprises the songs they will or will not sing in their times of worship. That churches do better or worse jobs in picking hymns for worship is more directly tied to hymnody than hymnal compilation.
Furthermore, we live in a time when technology allows churches to publish their own customized hymnals, and I am all for it. The advent of self-publishing and on-demand printing has made it possible for churches like mine to prepare their own hymnal. Companies like Dan Kreider’s Hymnworks.com have given churches the ability to customize their body of songs. I see no reason to discourage churches from pursuing their own custom hymnal endeavors where feasible.
If churches publish their own hymnals, what are the benefits of putting more songs in those hymnals rather than limiting them to a tight number of songs? First, heartier hymnals give space for a more catholic or ecumenical collection of songs. Denominations used to drive hymnal compilation, not the music publishing industry in Nashville, as it appears now.
The church has a rich history of hymns that are not limited to one time or place or even one denomination. Why not reflect the church’s immense treasury of hymns in the compilation of our hymnals? Why not include hymns like, “Lift thy head, O Zion weeping, still the Lord thy father is,” which is a weighty Hungarian galley slave hymn composed in 1674? Why not sing through William Billings’s “Let tyrants shake their iron rod… we fear them not, we trust in God” that was written after the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolution and echoes Psalm 2. These songs can be available to rehearse and remember what God has done for our forefathers in the faith.
Second, heartier hymnals give space for growth in musicianship and taste. People with different strengths, backgrounds, and abilities sing hymns. There should not be a one-size-fits-all approach to the composition of our hymnals.
Also, the congregation’s ability to sing a song right now should hopefully differ from two years ago. Allowing room for growth means having songs you can grow into, as well as songs that fit your people currently.
Church leaders can exercise discernment in the timing of selections without omitting songs that may not be wise for a congregation at present. Different families in the church will sing with varying levels of skill. Why not leave room to accommodate that diversity of singing ability?
Third, heartier hymnals encourage music literacy and a culture of singing in the same way that a robust library encourages a voracious reader to move from book to book. We should not want our church families to only sing together within the confines of the church walls on Sunday.
Why not give them a corpus of songs that also includes songs they can sing after dinner, during Christmas caroling, and during the various seasons of the church year? Why not encourage a “get to” approach in singing a heartier corpus of songs instead of a “got to” approach by limiting ourselves to “only the best” hymns? We have the great privilege of being stewards of hymnody from a vast number of hymns. We should see that as a substantial gift to be enjoyed.
In conclusion, a heartier hymnal can be a blessing to you and your family, whatever your particular church situation is currently. The heartier it is, the more broadly useful a tool it is.
The size or scope of a hymnal does not free church leaders from the responsibility to shepherd the hymnody of their congregations. In fact, a heartier hymnal and hymnody will less likely conceal this responsibility.
Much like the scriptures remind us that God has given us all things richly to enjoy, let us in that spirit take hold of and give thanks for the rich legacy of hymns handed down to us through the centuries. May the Lord teach us to be wise and thankful stewards in our hymnody and hymnal endeavors.
Jarrod Richey lives in Monroe, Louisiana, with his wife and seven children, where he does in-person music work for both Geneva Academy and Church of the Redeemer in West Monroe, LA. He also remotely works with the New Saint Andrews College Conservatory of Music in a part-time administrative role. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Church Music and Worship from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. You can track his work and writing projects over at jarrodrichey.substack.com where this article first was published.