Shall we gather at the river and other beautiful hymns

A couple of years ago , a new minister conducted the Harvest service without " We plough the fields and scatter". There was a (polite and respectful) exchange of views after the service.
She did not make that mistake again.

25Avalon

"All is safely gathered in, free from sorrow free from sin" from the harvest festival hymn We plough the fields and scatter". I can't stop wanting to cry as I always remember my son when I hear it.

So poignant these memories.

"All is safely gathered in, free from sorrow free from sin" from the harvest festival hymn We plough the fields and scatter". I can't stop wanting to cry as I always remember my son when I hear it.

I've just remembered "Be Still and Know that I Am God". 💜 I grew up with hymns.

I feel sad that at my parents funerals it was recorded music. One song went a bit bit wonky. I seriously didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The sight of my 96 year old mother in her best clothes trying to catch up with a faulty version of a hymn.

I think, when we were children, and knew far less about the world than we do now, the words of Hills of the North conjured up romantic notions of people who lived in far off lands. Isles of the southern seas; shores of the utmost west, lands of the setting sun, etc. The world was a bigger place then, in our heads at least. Since this thread started, I’ve had it as an ear worm!!

Cabbie21

At our Advent Carol service today we had
O come, O come Emmanuel
Hills of the north rejoice
Come thou long expected Jesus
Lo he comes with clouds descending
The angel Gabriel from heaven came
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry

It is a shame not more people came.

How lovely. Good choice by whoever made it. I haven’t heard Hills of the North Rejoice since I left the Uk, early 1970s, but I can still remember the words. Funny how that happens. The Holy Spirit ??

To Be a Pilgrim(Who would true valour see)

The Spacious Firmament on High

In the Bleak Midwinter

Be Still my Soul (the tune Finlandia)

For All the Saints

Witzend

I love most of the traditional hymns and carols. A special favourite is ‘Eternal Father Strong To Save’ (for those in peril on the sea) - it was my father’s favourite - during WW2 he was in the RN and was lucky to survive 2 years of the Battle of the Atlantic. We played it at his funeral.

I lived in a deep sea fishing community and we sometimes sang it at school when someone's father or brother was lost at sea. Very moving though I've never been a believer, then or now.

At our Advent Carol service today we had
O come, O come Emmanuel
Hills of the north rejoice
Come thou long expected Jesus
Lo he comes with clouds descending
The angel Gabriel from heaven came
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry

It is a shame not more people came.

Vampirequeen do you mean The Holy City (Jerusalem)?

I never hear that nowadays, a beautiful song. My late mother in law used to sing it often.

Both my father and brother had Eternal Father at their funerals, both Royal and Merchant Navy. Love it.

I'm not religious but I have to admit I have a soft spot for a tenor singing 'Oh Holy Night', Elvis singing 'Peace in the Valley', and anyone singing 'Jerusalem'. Although I think my liking of Jerusalem is more about a teenage memory rather than the actual song. We had a music teacher who only had one leg. He would play hymns on a very old grand piano. His favourite was 'Jerusalem'. Whenever he played it he really let rip. Pounding on the keys with gusto and knocking the piano with his wooden leg. He was so engrossed in his playing that I don't think he ever noticed the piano shaking and creaking but, believe me, every teenager in that school hall noticed and we prayed for it to collapse. It never did in my time but boy, if wishing and praying had worked, that piano would have collapsed into a heap of splinters whilst leaving the teacher unharmed and still seated looking at where his piano had been. We wanted him to be unharmed because we all had a soft spot for him. He was weird and a bit dotty but he was our weird and a bit dotty

MiniMoon, I'm with you on I, the Lord of sea and sky. Amazing words, beautiful melody and a direct challenge to the singer.

Our Parish Priest commented today that the hymns this morning were too dreary. He is going to have a meeting with the choir!

We sang O love that wilt not let me go, at my grandmother's funeral. It's a beautiful hymn but it was years before I could sing it without weeping.
A favourite of mine is I, the Lord of wind and sky,
a modern hymn written in 1979 but I love the words.

youtu.be/UA2fMeXEKLA?si=DcQ70ZRhuV-B21qI

We had ‘The Day Thou Gavest’ at my mum’s funeral, as do so many others.

Yes, the ‘As O’er Each Continent And Island’ verse was very hard, as our DD in Australia couldn’t come to her dear gran’s funeral, with two little children, and I pictured her on the other side of the world, thinking of us all.

(This was long before you could video the proceedings and take part virtually).

*O help us to see:
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee*

rather apt today perhaps.

‘The day thou gavest Lord is ended’. As a child I loved the idea that while it was dark here and we were tucked up in bed, in other parts of the world it was daytime and life was going on. Also ‘Hills of the North Rejoice’ and the modern ‘Here I am Lord’. Just realised they all have a geographical element.

Father Hear the prayer we offer
Not for ease that prayer may be
But for strength that we may ever live our lives cour...age...eous...leeee

57 year old memory of the school hall.

When we sing Do You Hear What I Hear? the men in the group whistle at the beginning (the first words are "Said the night wind ...) and again at the end. I love it.

Thank you for the Bing Crosby version, I don't know it.

We also sing a rousing number called Torches. The words are "Torches, torches, run with torches all the way to Bethlehem! ..." - joyful announcement - then there's a quiet lullaby verse before we run off again with our torches (digital candles!)

Marydoll

My favourite hymn is The Servant King.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSeW6CSlUEE

One of mine, too, Marydoll.

When I was Music Co-ordinator, I used to include it in our school Carol Service and taught my Y5/6 Choir to sing the chorus in two parts in church.

'Amazing Grace' and 'Just as I am'

How sweet the sound of Jesus name, which was my mothers favourite hymn and sung at her funeral

Father Hear The Prayer We Offer is another primary school hymn that takes me back.

Also Awake My Soul And With The Sun.

(I am back standing in the school hall as I write this).

It was a C of E school, and we always had hymns, prayers and readings every day.

Not popular now, but it was how the day started, a regular routine.

Instilled a sense of order and continuity, sadly lacking in so much nowadays.