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Title: A New Century Hymnal: Ucc Pew Edition by Pilgrim Press ISBN: 0-8298-1050-1 Publisher: Pilgrim Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1996 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.12 (8 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Pilgrim's Regress
Comment: People had been waiting a long time for the United Church of Christ's 1995 NEW CENTURY HYMNAL. Many of that denomination's churches had quite understandably skipped the mediocre, 300-hymn denominational hymnal from 1974, which seemed mostly an exercise in even-Steven hymn choice from the two groups that merged to form the U.C.C. in 1962, the Congregationalists and the Evangelical & Reformed churches.
Then the NEW CENTURY HYMNAL came out. It is impressive. It is bulky, black, solid, and looks and feels like everything a "millenial" hymnal ought to be; but for most of us it is a severe disappointment. It's as though the professionals got shoved aside in favor of the "Original Amateur Hour" in the compiling of this hymnal.
References that automatically defer to the masculine gender had to be removed--fair enough; after all, it seems weird that only 15 years or so ago we were singing "Good Christian *Men*, Rejoice." But this passion for purity further morphed into a kind of cultural Jacobinism, so out went not only masculine terminology, but any tiniest trace of 17th Century pronouns or nouns (Thee, Thine, Blest); also metaphors of royalty, hierarchy, miltarism, individuality ("I" becomes "We") and so on. That's why "Onward Christian Soldiers" has to go, and just imagine the embarrassment caused by "God, the Omnipotent, King Who Ordainest."
As someone once said, figures of speech must serve a purpose, or what's a meta for? The complaint has been made for years that the people who administer the "oldline" Protestant denominations are insufficient in economists but superfluous in poets. Are they condescending to us poor pew-sitters? Do they think we're so dumb that we'll take "Onward Christian Soldiers" literally and feel justified in igniting some new kind of Trinitarian "jihad"? (At the risk of taking the Lord's name in vain, Sheesh!)
For those charged with representing the descendants of Yankee Pilgrims and Puritans, the compilers of the NEW CENTURY HYMNAL did a pretty good job of spitting on the one area which ought to be their custody--the Plymouth experience. That magnificent internal rhyme "may Thy congregation escape tribulation" got thrown out (was it the "Thy"?) in favor of some Cool-Whip banality written by staff. Person(s) had the arrogance to rewrite "Materna" ("O, Beautiful, for Spacious Skies") into "O Beautiful, Our Spacious Skies" followed by some very roundabout rhymes to make it more "inclusive" of "all the Americas." Wow--all of a sudden they want to make it inclusive. That sort of thing used to be called "cultural imperialism." Still is, in many, many other parts of the world. Ironic, isn't it--the more forward and progressive these authorities strain to be the more Puritan they become--dictating what is right for us to sing and think.
Indeed, while NEW CENTURY is more than happy to dictate what goes in terms of faraway languages and cultures, it's here in this country that problems arise. Part of this is inherent in the denomniation and not anyone's fault or responsibility. Because of the historic westward spread of Congregationalism, the U.C.C. is geographically mostly a "Northern Tier" denomination, restricted mainly to big cities, a few dots in the Deep South where Congregationalists founded African-American colleges 130 years ago, New England, a narrow swath around the Great Lakes, the Upper Midwest, a dip into the Central Midwest and Plains where the old German E&R Church predominated, and the Pacific Northwest. So we can't blame Hymnal for slighting the South or Mid-Atlantic hymary, and Hymnal has done quite a good job including several hymns in Spanish and that bellwether of Caucasian coolness "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Good show.
Shockingly, though, the NEW CENTURY HYMNAL is out to lunch on such phenomena as Roman Catholic plainsongs that have become quite common. Unlike other Mainline Protestant and private-market hymnals, it doesn't contain "Creator of the Stars of Night" or "Of the Father's Love Begotten." It doesn't have what is probably the Taize community's favorite chant, "Jesus, Remember Me (When You Come Into Your Kingdom)." And, it is quite resistant to the charms of the newer acoustic music like "Majesty" or "On Eagle's Wings." Too declasse, mayhaps?? Although I didn't grow up wealthy or landed in accord with the cultural stereotype, it's times like this make me ashamed to be a White and (mostly) Anglo-Saxon Protestant. I've belonged to UCC churches here in the Midwest and the members strike me as being not stuffy or hidebound, certainly liberal but not "looney left" or wedded to agendas. The tension in the UCC between the Congregational heritage--in which churches simply have no hierarchy--and modern denominationalism--is explained to some extent by the current UCC catch-phrase "responsible freedom." I do know that a lot of responsible church members--none of whom remotely resemble ignoramuses--feel betrayed by this hymnal, especially the more oddly-shafted and gratuitous cultural incursions such as rewriting "We Gather Together to Ask The Lord's Blessing" alluded to above.
In my opinion a congregational or other independent church that is still making do with the PILGRIM or a fill-in hymnal to represent the Reformed tradition would do much better eschewing this weirdity and going with one of the more flexible (and fuller-contented) private-market hymnals. VOICES IN WORSHIP from Christian Publications in Colorado Springs can claim an historic thread to the Christian & Missionary Alliance, but in point of fact the denomination is now so large and ecumenically diverse that it is just as universally useful as is the equally admirable WORSHIP & REJOICE from long-time private-market hymnal publisher Hope. Both are available thru Amazon. If I call these "Unihymnals," it's not a slur--they contain the kind of hymns so blatantly lacking from NEW CENTURY.
Unless, your congregation finds "Onward Christian Soldiers" so inherently offensive, they can RIP OUT THE PAGE and show what censorship means . . . I gave NEW CENTURY three stars instead of two because of superior binding and workmanship and acid-free paper -- and (my face is red--no amateur at work here)the hymnal does its users a true courtesy by printing a mini-history of each hymn's author and the hymn itself at the bottom of the hymn's page. Many denoms. charge a pretty penny to sell a separate book of history and anecdote surrounding the hymns in their hymnal, which then must be word-processed or otherwise imaged into the Sunday bulletin. I do honestly feel that no congregation should feel stampeded or made to feel like theological doofuses if they kick a few other hymnals' tires before deciding whether or not to go with the NEW CENTURY. They could do worse, but . . .
Rating: 5
Summary: Traditional theology in contemporary garb
Comment: What is remarkable in the controversy centering on this hymnal is that its theology is, for the most part, traditional and christocentric--"evangelical" (of the Gospel) in the original sense of the word. While some revisions into contemporary English may be irritating, for the most part the poetry is expressive and sometimes elegant. I would disagree with Michael Montgomery that this essentially is a "free church" hymnal in the tradition of the old "Pilgrim Hymnal." A comparison of the two shows the obvious difference. The New Century Hymnal fully embodies the 20th-century liturgical movement which has restored historic Christian worship to many Protestant churches: it carefully follows the historic Church Year (centered on the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany and Lent-Easter-Pentecost cycles), includes a rich selection of hymns for eucharistic worship, provides a section of responsorial psalms pointed for chant with antiphons, and is the only hymnal I know that includes a complete index of hymns for each Sunday and holy day in the three-year Revised Common Lectionary. It is very much an "ecumenical" hymnal.
Its sources are varied. Many of the old hymns beloved in the evangelical and African American traditions are here, plus the great repertory of the German and English hymn traditions. Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Hispanic and even Hungarian hymns are also well represented. The result is a satisfying diversity not only of musical but also theological styles. But one surprising feature is the rediscovery of the old Latin hymns of the fourth through thirteenth centuries with fresh translations from the original texts into contemporary English.
The theology is balanced and orthodox. Hymns faithfully express both the divine and human natures of Christ. God exists both within and beyond human history. God is companion, lover and savior; but also creator, ruler and judge. There is emphasis on social justice, but also on a personal relationship with Jesus. One side-effect of the search for inclusive language--which has resulted in a substantial reduction of masculine images of God in this hymnal--is the reappearance of neglected biblical metaphors for God.
Rating: 5
Summary: ... a superb worship resource!
Comment: The New Century Hymnal is a marvelous volume of hymns, with melodies AND texts that are a joy to sing. It does a great job of incorporating inclusive language into old hymns in a way that does not sound stilted, and also includes some entirely new pieces whose music and texts are incredibly rich, both aesthetically and spiritually. I highly recommend this hymnal for churches and individuals alike.
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Title: United Methodist Hymnal Book of United Methodist Worship: Pew Bright Red ISBN: 0687431344 Publisher: Abingdon Pr Pub. Date: 01 May, 1990 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The New Century Hymnal Companion: A Guide to the Hymns by Kristen L. Forman ISBN: 0829812075 Publisher: Pilgrim Press Pub. Date: 01 July, 1998 List Price(USD): $37.00 |
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Title: The Worshiping Church: A Hymnal by Donald P. Hustad ISBN: 0916642437 Publisher: Hope Pub Co Pub. Date: 01 October, 1990 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Baptist Hymnal 1991 ISBN: 0767321839 Publisher: Genevox Pub. Date: December, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: African American Heritage Hymnal: 575 Hymns, Spirituals, and Gospel Songs by Delores, Dr Carpenter, Nolan E., Jr Williams ISBN: 1579991246 Publisher: GIA Publications Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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