Grassroots Hymnal Effort Commended by College of Bishops

By Mark. K. Williams, Hymnal Editor.

Good news! At the June 2025 College of Bishop’s meeting, the College consented to recommending Sing Unto the Lord, a new Anglican liturgical hymnal, for the use of the Province. This superb hymnal is birthed from within the ACNA as a grassroots project of two sister churches, Christ Church Anglican (1733), Savannah, and St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral, Tallahassee, who knew that many of the finest resources of our Province have come out of local projects like this one. When we began this enormous undertaking, some three years ago, we had grown tired having older Episcopal hymnals in our pews sitting next to the new ACNA Prayer Book. We desired a quality option that reflected our distinct Anglican tradition, so we created one.

Sing Unto the Lord is the final result of our many labors, brought to life in the joy of the Lord and the sustaining grace of the Holy Spirit. Throughout this process, we have been mindful of ACNA Canon I.6.1: The fundamental agency of the mission of the Church to extend the Kingdom of God is the local congregation. The chief agents of this mission are the people of God.

We believed then, and believe now, that this is an endeavor worthy of our best efforts as unto the Lord, and one that represents the finest new hymnological publication of North American Anglicanism.

We worked diligently to make the Service Music section responsive to the variety of worship needs of our churches, including ten Holy Communion settings spanning from the sixteenth century to the present day. Several are newly composed by gifted church musicians from across the Province. In addition, the topical sections of the Service Music section, aligned with the 2019 BCP, are dynamically represented by the Lord’s Prayer, the Magnificat, the Nunc Dimittis, the Canticles, etc., with a Gregorian Chant version, a Simplified and/or full Anglican Chant version, a traditional Anglican composed arrangement, a metrical hymn, and a folk/contemporary arrangement for each topic.

Additionally, we have included 740 hymns representing the best of The Hymnal 1940, The Hymnal 1982, and Hymns Ancient and Modern, along with many often-unused but fine texts from those hymnals now married to better known and more singable tunes. Newer hymns are included by composers John Rutter, Dan Forrest, David Ashley White, Keith and Kristyn Getty, David Willcocks, Simon Dixon, George Mims, Alice Parker, Carl Daw, Stewart Townend, Dru Brooke-Taylor, myself, and many others. Chris Garven, Canon Precentor at St. Peter’s, not only served faithfully on the Hymnal Committee, but also contributed a lovely new Communion setting to the hymnbook.

We believe that this is the best American Anglican hymnal in print today and invite you to order a copy and peruse one for yourself. Please check out our website at singuntothelord.org for ordering information and contents as well as an excellent free 3-year hymnal planner.