Singing From the Same Hymn...Board?

 

1 We are pilgrims on a journey,  fellow travellers on the road;

we are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.

2 Sister, let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you;

pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.

3 I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear;

I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.

                                                    595 Voices United 

Ruth has wanted a hymn board for years and has different ideas of how one could be used in our home, none of them involving church music. There aren't many congregations that still post the hymns for Sunday worship in this way because they project music on screens along with everything else that takes place in the service. I do have memories of those who would dutifully take the board down each week and juggle the numbers for the upcoming service. 

Perhaps I might have said "there aren't many congregations..." and stopped there given the closure of United Churches at an alarming rate. We heard of one that was selling off its "holy hardware"before the building became a downtown city hub for various services provided to those living on the margins of society. The hymn boards weren't on the list of available items but when asked the folk given the monumental task of dispersing everything took one down for our benefit. 

The last service for this congregation, with a history going back more than 150 years, took place in April of this year and we were told that the hymn numbers on the board were from that final worship experience I'm tempted to offer a prize for anyone who can name the hymns just from the numbers, but how could I ensure your honesty? I assume that they are all from Voice United:

262 A Mighty Fortress is Our God

274 Your Hand O God Has Guided

236 Now Thank We All Our God

258 O World of God

I have to say that these venerable hymns would not have been my choices, but I know from experience that hymn and tune favourites are highly subjective. I was puzzled by 990 because there is no such animal in Voices United but there is a 960, the oldie-goldy sung version of the Lord's Prayer. One of those nines an inverted six?

As you can see, there isn't a contemporary hymn in the bunch even though there are a fair number of VU and lots in More Voices. Along the way this congregation began a drop-in ministry which became the multi-faceted community outreach now taking over. In the former mission statement we find: 

We feed the hungry, clothe the naked, advocate for the downtrodden, befriend the lonely, heal the sick, and all with a song of praise in our hearts.

A powerful statement, and I might have chosenThe Servant Song (three verses above) as a departing hymn, a reminder of faithful Christian witness through the generations and passing the torch to those who will continue the work of compassion and love.Of course, there would have been reasons for the ones those present sang as a farewell.

Now, what to do with our old/new hymn board!