As the URC celebrates 35 years of Rejoice and Sing, Stephen Tomkins hears from David Thompson the story of creating the hymnbook at the heart of the Church

The idea of producing a hymnbook for the United Reformed Church was older than the Church. It was floated in the discussions that led up to the creation of the URC, two decades before Rejoice and Sing. It made sense: Presbyterians and Congregationalists had put aside their differences and were coming together in a new Church in 1972. Why not put aside their different hymnbooks and share a new one?

But a new edition of Church Hymnary, which English Presbyterians shared with the Church of Scotland, was due out in 1973, while Congregational Praise was only 20 years old. A new book would take a great deal of time and money, and it did not seem the best use of the Church’s resources. So, for the time being, the URC published New Church Praise, a 112-hymn supplement to Congregational Praise…

___

This is an extract from an article published in the Issue 3 – 2025 edition of Reform

Subscribe to Reform