Hymn Festivals

"It is proposed that occasionally the pastors, choir directors and organists of a town, or in districts of cities, make plans to mass the choirs of the several churches and meet together in a community service of hymn worship. . . . Hymns of spiritual power and tested worth should be chosen. While the choirs may lead, all the people present should be instructed to join in the festival hymns. . . . Dignity, strength and power may be brought to the service if it closes with the noble strains of the 'Te Deum,' a confession of faith as well as an ascription of praise. It is also possible to have other lofty New Testament hymns such as the 'Magnificat' and the 'Gloria in Excelsis' sung by the entire congregation after some training. . . . The aim is not entertainment but worship: to teach hymns in which men hear the voice of the Eternal; hymns that awaken the spirit of 'wonder, love and praise'; that . . . drive out weak, shoddy, self-centered songs that too often are mere piffle. . . ."

Last week these observations on hymns were made public by 79-year-old Dr. Wilbur Patterson Thirkield, retired Methodist bishop and chairman of the Commission on Worship of the Federal Council of Churches. Onetime president of Gammon Theological Seminary (Atlanta) and of Howard University (Negro, in Washington), Bishop Thirkield is a doughty crusader against bad hymns and gory ones. Aware that the average congregation sings only 25 different hymns a year, Bishop Thirkield has drawn up two sample types of Hymn Festivals which include a great variety of words and music, each identified with a central theme. The Militant, Conquering Life in Christ, in nine sections, includes such hymns as: "Fight the Good Fight," "The Son of God Goes Forth to War," "Who Is on the Lord's Side?", "Onward Christian Soliers," and "0 Jesus, I have promised." Onward, Have Christian Soldiers Promised." The second Hymn Festival, The Holy Spirit, in seven sections, introduces: "Creator. Spirit! By Whose Aid," "Holy Spirit, Truth Divine," "0, For a Heart of Calm Repose" and "Breathe on Me, Breath of God."

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