The ''Australian Hymn Book'' () was published in 1977, and was the culmination of almost ten years' work by an

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

committee, chaired by

A. Harold Wood Alfred Harold Wood OBE (4 May 1896 – 27 August 1989) was a 20th-century Australian Christian minister, educator, writer, hymnologist and advocate of church union. Early life A. Harold Wood was born in Geelong, Victoria, the son of Alfred Wo ...

, intent on producing a new, contemporary and inclusive

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

book that could be used in worship by the varied

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

congregations across Australia. The first meetings were held in 1968 amongst representatives of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

(Church of England),

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

churches. A draft list of hymns was circulated in 1972, and in 1974, the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

asked to be included and two versions of the hymn book were eventually published: the ''Australian Hymn Book'' (containing 579 items) and the ''Australian Hymn Book with Catholic Supplement'' (adding a further 25 items). The new hymn book was taken up widely, especially with the union of the Congregational, the Methodist and most of the Presbyterian parishes that created the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

in 1977. In its international edition, the hymn book is known as ''With One Voice'' (not to be confused with the 1995 work published by the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

as a supplement to the ''

Lutheran Book of Worship The ''Lutheran Book of Worship'' (''LBW'') is a worship book and hymnal used by several Lutheran denominations in North America. Additional hymns and service music are contained in the companions, ''Hymnal Supplement 1991'' and ''With One Vo ...

''). The hymn book contains indexes to first lines, tunes,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

s, subjects,

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

and the religious calendar. A companion book, ''Songs of the People of God'', by Wesley Milgate, was released in 1982, and contains notes on the sources and history of each tune and hymn text, along with short biographies of all authors and composers. After a survey conducted in 1990, it was decided that a new edition of the ''Australian Hymn Book'' was needed. ''

Together in Song ''Together in Song: Australian Hymn Book II'' () was published in 1999. It is a book of 783 psalms, hymns and spiritual songs for use in Christian worship in Australia and elsewhere. It is a significant revision of The Australian Hymn Book publi ...

: Australian Hymn Book II'' was released in 1999. The major changes were the modernisation of the texts (particularly the use of inclusive language), the removal of hymns that had fallen out of use, and the addition of more modern musical settings, worship songs and psalm settings. A companion volume with notes on songs, lyrists and composers compiled by Rev. Dr. H. D'Arcy Wood is also available.

External links

* {{christian-book-stub Protestant hymnals Catholic hymnals 1977 books 1977 in Christianity 1977 in music Christianity in Australia Anglican liturgical books

See also

External links