The report of the Liturgical Advisory Committee has been presented to Synod. The report was proposed by the Revd Dr Peter Thompson (Armagh) who highlighted the varied work of the LAC.

He focused in particular on the production of ‘Thanks & Praise’, the new hymnal supplement which will be available in September. He paid tribute to those who served on the committee for the time and the effort and range of tasks they have undertaking in carrying out this project.

“Initially I thought it was a simple task of reading through a few hundred hymns and keeping those we liked or which were already established as popular. With over 1500 suggested items it was no mean feat keeping focused on analysing and comparing texts. Because of the limitations of space many fine hymns could not be included, and tough decisions had to be taken – none were taken lightly,” Dr Thompson.

Alongside the production of the music and words editions, there are several other editions – there are two electronic editions, a kindle and an e–pub edition; there is a Braille edition; there are recordings of most of the hymns made available through the new Recorded Church Music Committee; there is a Companion, a book which gives the background, the story behind the hymn; and, Bishop Ned Darling has completely revised and updated his Sing to the Word to include the hymns from Thanks & Praise alongside material for the second service lectionary

Over the next few weeks the LAC is going on the road with local ‘come and sing’ events in towns and cities across the island. The formal launch will take place in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin on Friday September 11.

The report was seconded by Dean Nigel Dunne (Cork) who spoke about the other work of the LAC which included meeting various outreach and church plants. The committee serves the many liturgical needs of the Church of Ireland, he said and added that requests could be submitted for liturgy on particular themes which might help the wider church.

Points raised in discussion included:
• Bishop Harold Miller praised Dr Thompson for the enormous work he had put into the production of ‘Thanks & Praise’.
• There was a suggestion that the LAC could produce a form of Holy Communion by extension to suit the elderly.
• The new volume of contemporary hymns was welcomed.
• It was suggested that the new hymns should be added to new technology.
• The LAC was asked to consider recording the new hymns and putting them on the internet to enable people to learn them quicker.
• Bishop Harold Miller’s book ‘The Week of All Weeks” was praised.

The report was accepted by Synod.

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