October 2008

Life is full of surprises — never assume anything!

Derek Verso 

One of the matters that needs to be addressed in moving to a new church is finding out what hymns people know, or more importantly (to save on embarrassing moments), what hymns the parish does not know.

I found out to my cost on a few Sundays that hymns that were well known in my previous church were not known in the new one. On my first Sunday I imagined that the tune Diademata would be sufficiently well known within Church of Ireland circles that to put George Briggs words Word of the living God (Hymn 388) would only be a matter of watching new words. Not so — neither words nor music were particularly known. Nor were Isaac Watts words of Hymn 28, I sing the almighty power of God and the first tune set (adapted from Handel) wasn't a runner either. So we had a very busy learning session before the first service.

I think my worst assumption/disaster was to select Hymn 218 And can it be that I should gain? (as suggested in Edward Darling's Sing to the Word as being appropriate for the gospel that day). Nobody had heard of this hymn except the Rector who lasted for one verse! We looked at each other at the end of the first verse and I simply stopped playing, whereupon he kindly obliged and went on with the rest of the service!

My many years of playing this hymn to a congregation who raised the roof with its hearty singing lulled me into a false sense of ‘everyone knows this’. I was so wrong!!

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