Description
John Wesley's A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, published at Charles town, South Carolina, in 1787, was one of the first hymnals in the English language prepared for use in public worship. Wesley's own concern for the publishing and singing of hymns continued until his death. American Methodists have perpetuated the Wesleyan concern by compiling new hymnals in each succeeding generation.
In 1960 the General Conference of The Methodist Church authorized the Commission on Worship to appoint a committee to prepare a revised edition of the hymnal. The Hymnal Committee was duly appointed and in cooperation with laymen, pastors, musicians, hymnologists, bishops, and staff members of various boards and agencies of our church prepared its report for the General Conference of 1964, meeting in Pittsburgh. The conference unanimously adopted the report. The hymnal is respect fully submitted to Methodism.
In the present hymnal, the Hymnal Committee desires to provide all Methodists with adequate aids to the worship of almighty God. In brief, this revision attempts to do three things: (1) to draw upon the rich heritage of ecumenical hymnody, including our own Wesleyan traditions; (2) to bring to our people for use in worship a hymnal of sufficient diversity to allow for the variety of religious experiences, thus meeting the needs of the present age; and (3) to reach into the future with a hymnal that will serve the religious needs of the next generation. We attempt to do for our generation what our predecessors sought to do for theirs: to provide a hymnal that makes it possible for us to sing our common faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.
