Four entities of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) responsible for publication of the new Presbyterian hymnal, “Glory to God,” have issued a statement in response to extensive media coverage of the absence of one hymn, “In Christ Alone,” from the new book.
Media outlets such as the Huffington Post, the Nashville Tennessean (whose story was picked up by Religion News Service and subsequently by Presbyterian News Service), and radio talk show host Glenn Beck have all published stories about the absence of “In Christ Alone,” from “Glory to God.”
Mary Louise Bringle, who chaired the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song which developed the new hymnal, recently wrote an article for The Christian Century and now the committee, the Office of Theology & Worship, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, publisher of the new book, have issued a formal statement.
The full text of the statement, dated Aug. 9, 2013:
There has been a great deal of conversation this week about the absence of the Getty/Townend hymn “In Christ Alone” in Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal.
The Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song had hoped to include a previously published version of “In Christ Alone” that altered a line in the second stanza from “the wrath of God was satisfied” to “the love of God was magnified.”
Read more at http://www.pcusa.org/news/2013/8/9/presbyterian-hymnal-producers-respond-misinformati/
Additional information can be found at http://layman.wpengine.com/no-gospel-without-wrath/ and http://layman.wpengine.com/63162/
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This is one of the most beautiful contemporary hymns, which has grown out of today’s younger generation. How on earth could the committee stop its inclusion within the hymnal? It makes no since. It was because of God’s wrath that Jesus went to the cross to die for our sins. I don’t blame God for being upset. We are sinners, and we needed a way in which we could be reconciled to the Father. It never ceases to amaze me at some of the bizarre things that come out of Louisville. Sometimes I think the Louisville decisions come from a fantasyland. For those who are still in the PCUSA (and the numbers are growing smaller), they are losing out on a very beautiful hymn. The lyrics are wonderful. Shame on you who made the decision to do this.
I misspelled “sense.” It is late, and I am tired.
Hymn selection and wordings are an ongoing issue for an hymnal committee. The church I serve does not use a Presbyterian Hymnal, but uses “The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration.” In the Spiritual, “Let us Break Bread Together,” it changes “wine” in the second verse to “the cup,” I presume so as to no offend teetotalers. It includes Fosdick’s “God of Grace and God of Glory,” but leaves out the wonderful verse “Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore; Let the search for Thy salvation be our glory evermore.” Go figure. I love the old hymn, “Gracious Spirit dwell with me,” but have not seen it in any hymnal since the 1955 “The Hymnbook.” Anytime I get an offer for a new hymnal from any publisher for an “introductory price” I order one copy. It may contain that one hymn somebody wants at a funeral (it’s happened).
I am sure there will be hymns I wish were in the new hymnal, and others I will wonder why they were included. That’s life and human preference. So I see no need to get upset about one hymn. As the old saying goes, “There’s people starving to death in the world…”
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