Tuesday Tip: What to sing and when I

We are pleased to welcome Peter Moger, National Worship Development Officer for the Church of England as a contributor to this blog. Peter is playing an increasing role in Visual Liturgy and we hope that his participation in the Tuesday tips will help us move beyond the nuts and bolts of the software into the reasons we are all using Visual Liturgy anyway – worship. This week, Peter presents part one of a two part series on selecting hymns:

Visual Liturgy offers the facility of selecting hymn and song texts at appropriate points in the liturgy. For example, in the detail view of Holy Communion Order One, with a Sunday date selected, clicking on The Gathering / Hymn brings up a list of suggested hymns and songs.

These suggestions are taken from the RSCM’s liturgy planner Sunday by Sunday – a week-by-week liturgical resource for RSCM members.

What the hymn lists in VL don’t do at present is to offer suggestions as to where in the service an item might best be sung.  (A click on ‘Hymn’ at any point in the liturgy for a particular Sunday will bring up the same list.)

The rubrics in CW Holy Communion: Order One suggest that hymns or songs may be sung:

• at the entry of the ministers (Gathering)
• before the Gospel Reading (Liturgy of the Word)
• at the Preparation of the Table (Liturgy of the Sacrament)
• during the distribution (Liturgy of the Sacrament)
• and before the Blessing (Dismissal). 

The following notes give some guidance as to what criteria might be applied when choosing from the VL lists.

An opening hymn gathers the congregation in worship and sets the tone for the service.  In seasonal time, it can provide a helpful seasonal focus at the start of the liturgy; if the worship is themed, it can usefully set out that theme.

It’s best if gathering hymns are well-known – or at the very least sung to a well-known tune.  If this hymn covers processional movement (or ceremonial) it needs to be long enough to cover the time taken by the procession (a 4 or 5 verse hymn is ideal, or a 3-verse hymn in double metre). 

The hymn before the Gospel is there to prepare people to meet with Christ in the reading of the Gospel. 

It needs to focus on the person of Jesus, or on the subject matter of the Gospel, without actually giving the game away (i.e. you would probably not choose While shepherds watched before reading Luke 2:8-20). 

For this hymn, the shorter the better.  This is often the most difficult hymn to choose: the scripture indices in the back of hymnbooks are a great help here.  An alternative – which works well – is to sing a group of songs at this point.

Peter will be back with another Tuesday tip on 1 August to talk about hymns at the Preparation of the Table, during the distribution and before the Blessing (Dismissal).