What is Newhymn.com?

 

The author

Hello, my name is Brenton Prigge: Methodist Minister, Singer-Songwriter, Wannabe actor, Scuba Diver, Husband, Father, nature lover and disciple of Jesus. 

Why New Hymns?

Newhymn.com was emerged during a sabbatical in 2005.  I was born out of a desire to provide new, relevant and relatable words to much loved hymn tunes, not as a replacement to traditional hymn lyrics, but an alternative.  As a preacher and worship planner, I was very familiar with the week-by-week challenge of finding relevant hymns to the sermon theme for the week.  So I started writing new hymns for those times I couldn’t find a suitable one.

As a songwriter who has spent hours teaching new songs to worship bands, and also faced the challenge in more traditional worship settings of being told “this tune is just not suitable to be played on the organ” or “I don’t have time to learn a new tune by Sunday” I soon realised the benefit of having the “ready made” tunes of well-loved  hymns and simply setting new lyrics to those tunes.  The musicians simply play what they already know, the congregation sing the tune they already know.  

New words have impact

Possibly the most consistent feedback I get whether people “like” the hymn or not, is that having new words to an existing hymn tune draws specific attention to the words.  It is sadly possible to enjoy singing a hymn and allow the meaning of the words to go in one ear and out the other, so to speak.  It is also possible when singing a new song to be so focused on learning the unfamiliar melody that the meaning of the words are lost.  New words to familiar tune seems to strike the best balance when you want the words to have maximum impact, such as when you are looking for a hymn that will complement the theme of the scripture readings and the message being preached.

Revised Common Lectionary

It is my dream to one day get to the point where I have a hymn available for any given Sunday, that in some way related to a theme or themes found in that Sunday’s readings (based on the RCL).  Of course, not every hymn is created equal.  There are many hymns on this site – all written by me – that I don’t really like any more.  Some written in a rush to meet the deadline of a Sunday’s preaching theme, some written in an earlier stage of my evolving theological understanding of God and of scripture.  So even as I write new hymns, I am also re-writing old ones.

 

I always value feedback and input.  I am also up to the challenge of being commissioned to write to a specific theme, whether you want ew lyrics to traditional tunes or a bespoke tune as well.  Please do Get In Touch