The Kneeling, or Communion, Hymn
Sung while kneeling -- a definite departure from the usual "stand to sing" element of the service that I grew up with, and I noted last Sunday while seated in the pews (Fr. Daniel spared me from serving, I was a bit too tired from this virus) that we had some confusion about whether to sit or kneel for the hymn. My voice was beginning to come back, and I'd have to say "kneel" if only because I had better voice/breath control kneeling than sitting.
But I simply do not remember the "Communion Hymn" from way back, and a quick look around the province's websites tells me some churches have it, some don't.
As an aside: Our habit (I can't quite call it tradition yet) has centered around Hymns 196, 197 Picardy (we sung this one Sunday and this raised the question), 199 Pange Lingua, 203 Rockingham, 204 Adoro Devote, 208 Penitentia, 209 Martyr Dei, and 211 Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring. Personally, my absolute favorites are 197, 199 (vs 1-4), 203, 204 (which I don't quite have committed to memory yet), and 209 (verse 1 I have).
The rubrics in the 1928 BCP certainly don't even mention this hymn, but it is at the very least a nice touch, even if it breaks the "rule" of standing to sing.
What do other Anglican churches do?
posted by Continuing Home @ 4:57 PM
3 Comments:
At 9:12 PM,
Texanglican (R.W. Foster+) said…
Kneeling is certainly the norm today for the communion hymn in the diocese of Fort Worth. And I do not think I have ever been to worship in a Catholic leaning ECUSA parish in the state of Texas where it wasn't sung kneeling. But my experience begins unitl my conversion in 1990, so I do not know if this is a recent innnovation or not.
At 5:54 AM,
J. Gordon Anderson said…
Every traditional Anglican parish I have been in has knelt during that hymn too. I don't know that the BCP appoints a hymn there, but I know that one of the minor propers in the missal is the "commuion verse", so I guess it is based on that (just as a "gradual hymn" is done where the gradual verse is read).
At 10:54 AM,
Anonymous said…
The first Liturgical Index in The Hymnal (pp. 804-806) provides a Communion Hymn, although it may be intended for use BEFORE communion, where the BCP rubric indicates "Here may be sung a Hymn". The Hymn that we usually sing at this spot is "Agnus Dei". Physiologically it may seem difficult (although not impossible) to sing while kneeling. I am always interested in removing non-sensical accretions to the Prayer Book Rite, and a shorter Service is sometimes better. Does anyone think we should do away with the "Kneeling Hymn" in order to preserve the original flow of the Service and to place more emphasis upon the Prayer of Thanksgiving and the singing of the Gloria?
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