I saw this today. [View all]

[sheshe2]

I was in an Episcopal Church today for my great nieces first communion. No, not much of a believer for a long time, yet active from a young age through college.

The cover caught my eye, it was so colorful. Picked it up and saw it was an African American Hymnal. I started reading the preface, which I have tried to find to post to you here. It was an amazing read of the history of this hymnal, which is your history. I was pleased to see the hymnal in every pew.




There is much at this link:https://books.google.com/books?id=UrI8HE9DQWIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lift Every Voice and Sing II: An African American Hymnal

This collection was published in 1993 by the Church Hymnal Corporation as a supplement to The Hymnal 1982. It contains 234 hymns and songs, and thirty-six selections of service music for the Holy Eucharist. The music is drawn from the following genres: Negro spirituals, traditional and contemporary gospel songs, adapted Protestant hymns, missionary and evangelistic hymns, and service music and Mass settings in both traditional and gospel styles. The Episcopal Commission for Black Ministries developed the book with the Rt. Rev. Arthur B. Williams, Jr., former Suffragan Bishop of Ohio, as chair of the editorial board. Dr. Horace Clarence Boyer was general editor, and Dr. Carl Haywood was service music editor. The volume was dedicated to the Rev. Curtis Winfield Sisco, Jr. (1958-1992), who was liturgical editor.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/lift-every-voice-and-sing-ii-african-american-hymnal

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Lift Every Voice and Sing

Many people are surprised to learn that "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was first written as a poem. Created by James Weldon Johnson, it was performed for the first time by 500 school children in celebration of President Lincoln's Birthday on February 12, 1900 in Jacksonville, FL. The poem was set to music by Johnson's brother, John Rosamond Johnson, and soon adopted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as its official song. Today “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is one of the most cherished songs of the African American Civil Rights Movement and is often referred to as the Black National Anthem.

Read the lyrics from "Lift Every Voice and Sing" below.

http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/black-authors-spoken-word-poetry/lift-every-voice-and-sing/

Please tell me more.