The Reverend Fred Pratt Green MBE (2 September 1903 – 22 October 2000) was a British

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 ...

minister and hymnodist. Born in Roby, Lancashire, England, he began his ministry in the

Filey Filey () is a seaside town and civil parish in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing ...

circuit. He was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1928 and served circuits in the north and south of England until 1969. During his career as a minister he wrote numerous plays and hymns. It was not until he retired, however, that he began writing prolifically. His hymns reflect his rejection of

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguish ...

and show his concern with social issues. They include many that were written to supply obvious liturgical needs of the modern church, speaking to topics or appropriate for events for which there were few traditional hymns available. Green also wrote poetry: his poem ''The Old Couple'' was included by

Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of poetry, ''The North Ship'', was published in 1945, followed by two novels, ''Jill'' (1946) and ''A Girl in Winter'' (1947 ...

in 'The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century English Verse' (1973). He died on 22 October 2000. His obituary in ''The Times'' of 24 October 2000 quoted him as saying of hymn singing, "It’s such a dangerous activity … you get this glow which you can mistake for religious experience". His hymns appear in hymn books of various denominations, but most notably in

Singing the Faith ''Singing the Faith'' is the current authorised hymnbook (hymnal) of the Methodist Church of Great Britain, first published in 2011. The decision to produce a new hymnbook was taken at the Methodist Conference of 2009. Since the publication of the ...

, the hymn book of the

Methodist Church of Great Britain The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical as ...

, and the

United Methodist Hymnal ''The United Methodist Hymnal'' is the hymnal used by The United Methodist Church. It was first published in 1989 as the first hymnal for The United Methodist Church after the 1968 merger of The Methodist Church with The Evangelical United Brethre ...

used in the United States. Hymnal indexes vary in alphabetizing him under 'G' or 'P'. As well as writing his own hymns, Green produced translations, notably translating one of

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...

's late poems as the hymn, "By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered". The Pratt Green Trust was set up from the royalties from his hymns. His scrapbooks and hymnbook collections are now held in the Pratt Green Collection at Durham University. The collection of related materials at the Pitts Theology Library at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

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, consists of 51 scrapbooks maintained by Fred Pratt Green from approximately 1971 until he ceased writing hymns in 1988. Green compiled an index to his scrapbooks which includes an index to the first line of each hymn, references to pieces in Hymns and Ballads by Fred Pratt Green, color-coded references to published works and translations, and information on how a hymn was used. The scrapbooks contain drafts of hymns, photographs, correspondence, bulletins and programs from services that used his hymns, announcements, newspaper and journal clippings, and handwritten notations by Green describing when a hymn was written and reprinted and why and for whom the piece was written.

List of hymns (partial)

* A Carol for Easter Eve * A Carol for Mothering Sunday * An upper room did our Lord prepare * Christ is the world's light * For the Fruits of his Creation * God in his love for us lent us this planet * God is here! As we his people meet to offer praise and prayer * How Blest Are They Who Trust in Christ * How clear is our vocation, Lord * In that Land which we call Holy * It is God who holds the nations in the hollow of his hand * Let Us Praise Creation's Lord * Long ago prophets knew Christ would come, born a Jew * Lord Let Us Listen When You Speak * Lord we have come at your own invitation * Now Praise the Hidden Love of God * O Christ, the Healer * Of All the Spirit's Gifts to Me * Rejoice in God's Saints * Seek the Lord * The church of Christ, in every age * There is a Love * This joyful Eastertide, what need is there (not to be confused with This joyful Eastertide by George Ratcliffe Woodward) * This Is The Threefold Truth * To Mock Your Reign, O Dearest Lord * When in Our Music God Is Glorified * When Jesus Came to Jordan * When Our Confidence Is Shaken * When the Church of Jesus * Whom Shall I Send? * You Dear Lord Resplendent Within Our Darkness * Yours Be the Glory

Publications

* The Hymns of Fred Pratt Green, Braley The Expository Times.2003; 114: 409-41

* The Hymns and Ballads of Fred Pratt Green. Stainer & Bell *Later Hymns and Ballads and Fifty Poems. Stainer & Bell/Hope *The Old Couple. Poems. Stockport, Peterloo Poets, 1976 *The Last Lap. A Sequence of Verse on the Theme of Old Age. London, Stainer & Bell Ltd and Carol Stream, Hope Publishing Company, 1991.

Sources

Pitts Theology Library

Notes

External links

Pratt Green TrustFred Pratt Green papers, circa 1928-1988
at Pitts Theology Library,

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates ministers, scholars of religion and other leaders. It is also o ...

Pratt Green Collection
at Palace Green Library,

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt Green, Fred 1903 births 2000 deaths People from Roby English Methodist ministers 20th-century Methodist ministers English Methodist hymnwriters Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Clergy from Merseyside