25th ANNIVERSARY EVENT - COVENTRY CATHEDRAL
Over 600 people from all over the country gathered in Coventry Cathedral recently to honour the memory of the Methodist hymn writer Fred Pratt Green and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Trust he set up on his name to administer and disburse his royalties in the cause of hymnody. People had travelled from Dundee and Devon, from North Wales and mid-Kent, and a coach load came from Bristol.
Following a welcome by the Precentor of Coventry Cathedral, Canon Adrian Daffern, and an introduction by the Rev Brian Hoare, Chairman of the Pratt Green Trust, the day began with a keynote address by Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith, seen by many as 'the father of modern hymnody'. In a stimulating fifty-minutes he offered a masterly survey of hymnody over the past twenty-five years under the title 'Past, Present and Future - Hymns and Songs in Christian Worship'. The developments and challenges of contemporary hymn writing were explored, and the Bishop concluded that despite setbacks both hymn writing and hymn singing were still alive and well. [A full transcript of his talk in PDF format, can now be found here]
The afternoon began with a tour of the cathedral for the 250 people who had booked to do that, and this was followed by a choice of group sessions. Singer songwriter Graham Kendrick addressed a packed Chapter House on 'The Rise and Role of the Worship Song'; the popular Roman Catholic writer Bernadette Farrell's topic was ‘Songs from the World Church and the Catholic Tradition’; Janet Wootton, herself a hymn writer and the editor of Worship Live which publishes new hymns and songs by a wide range of writers known and unknown, spoke on 'Spotlight on Contemporary Hymnody'; Andrew Pratt explored the topic 'Broadening our Horizons in Worship', illustrating it by a demonstration of the HymnQuest CD-ROM produced by the Pratt Green Trust; and Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith took part in a question-and-answer session. Meanwhile another ninety people opted to rehearse with the Coventry-based Saint Michael's Singers under the baton of Paul Leddington Wright (the well known arranger and conductor for BBC Songs of Praise) for the closing act of worship.
This final celebration was an inspiring 75-minutes of worship as the Saint Michael's Singers with Alistair Reid (Assistant Director of Music at Coventry) on the organ and the Coventry Cathedral Brass led the great congregation in a feast of hymn singing - mostly written by the day's speakers and some of the Pratt Green Trustees. Graham Kendrick contributed two of his own songs, the scriptures were read by former Trust chairman Canon Alan Luff, the Precentor gave a challenging brief address and the whole was linked together by the Rev Brian Hoare. BBC Radio 2 recorded the music for future broadcast on the popular Sunday Half Hour and interviews with many of the hymn writers present will be featured on future editions of Sunday Live.
The event was clearly enjoyed by the many people present as subsequent comments have indicated: "Thanks for an absolutely splendid day"... "That was one superb day"... "What a joyous day!"... "What an inspiration the whole day was. It will ever remain in our memory as a great spiritual experience". What better tribute to the lasting legacy and influence of Fred Pratt Green!
Here is a small selection of photographs taken on the day (click on the images to enlarge):
