0:00:08 > 0:00:12These photos bring back such lovely memories, but I bet I'm not alone
0:00:12 > 0:00:18in thinking that my hymn book also reminds me of many special moments.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21You try opening yours and I reckon you'll find that whatever
0:00:21 > 0:00:25the milestone in life, there's a hymn for every occasion.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33This week, hymnologist and author Gordon Giles, his parishioners
0:00:33 > 0:00:35at St Mary Magdalene in Enfield
0:00:35 > 0:00:38and congregations from across the nation with
0:00:38 > 0:00:42a selection of traditional hymns we can turn to whatever the occasion.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Every single hymn in this book was written for an occasion.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59A special event or something momentous in the writer's life
0:00:59 > 0:01:04that made them want to reach out to God in prayer and praise.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Well, today is Father's Day,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12so it's a lovely occasion to draw a parallel between the love
0:01:12 > 0:01:15we feel for our fathers here on earth
0:01:15 > 0:01:18and the wonderful love of our father in heaven.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02It's a time of great rejoicing
0:04:02 > 0:04:06when a baby is brought to church for baptism
0:04:06 > 0:04:09so that their family can join with the family of the church
0:04:09 > 0:04:13to dedicate that child's life to God's care and service.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Gordon Giles is vicar of St Mary Magdalene in Enfield
0:04:20 > 0:04:24and the author of several books on hymnody.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Baptism is about committing our lives to God for
0:04:27 > 0:04:30the length of our lifelong journey, really.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33So it begins with the presence of the Lord early in life.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Be Still For The Presence Of The Lord is a very good hymn
0:04:36 > 0:04:37to have at a baptism.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39This idea of standing on holy ground
0:04:39 > 0:04:42when the Holy Spirit descends on us even now.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48We have a treasure store of hymns in our lives and we plunder them and
0:04:48 > 0:04:52we take out the shiny bits and look at them and sing them and enjoy them.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54And so this really does help us lift ourselves up.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56We lift our voices to the Lord in praise
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and that's what we're called to do in worship.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Worship is the offering of worth.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Weorthscipe, in old English, it was called,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09and it was about offering the work of prayer to God, to his glory.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11And that's a really upbeat thing.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16And so there's this sense of our whole lives being consecrated to God.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20And the hymn, Take My Life, And Let It Be, of course, is all about that.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23About the consecration of all of our lives,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26every part of our life, as we go through the journey of life.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Getting started in the morning can be challenging at any age
0:07:57 > 0:08:00as we face whatever the day has in store for us.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05And so, a hymn that asks for God's blessing on our working day
0:08:05 > 0:08:08can be both prayerful and reassuring.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16The hymn that gets me through the working day is Amazing Grace.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18The words are incredibly powerful and it is, of course,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21by God's grace that we do get through our day,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23the empowering and the filling of the spirit that keeps us
0:08:23 > 0:08:27close to God and helps us to do all that's good in our lives.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32My most favourite hymn is Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36And it seems to sum up for me my pilgrimage journey,
0:08:36 > 0:08:37really, with Christ.
0:08:37 > 0:08:44It talks of praising God, exalting God, it talks of deliverance,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48it talks of truth and it also talks of service.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50And at the end, acknowledging the Trinity
0:08:50 > 0:08:54that we believe in, God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Perhaps the lines,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00"Drop thy still dews of quietness till all our strivings cease
0:09:00 > 0:09:03"take from our souls the strain and stress,"
0:09:03 > 0:09:06I think that maybe the words I would think were the most
0:09:06 > 0:09:09appropriate on occasions when you're worried about something.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13All Things Bright And Beautiful.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Because that just lifts me
0:09:15 > 0:09:20and it makes me think of all the things I'm grateful for.
0:09:20 > 0:09:27My favourite hymn is the hymn that my daddy wrote the words to.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29And it's called, You Are The Vine.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32# You are the vine
0:09:32 > 0:09:36# And we are the branches... #
0:09:36 > 0:09:43It's about that Jesus and God are the leaders and we are his children.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47I remember that lovely phrase, that advert when I was a child,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51"A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play."
0:09:51 > 0:09:56And I like to think that a hymn a day helps you work, rest and play.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59And this hymn, Lord Of All Hopefulness, takes us through the day
0:09:59 > 0:10:04and reminds us that God is with us all day, at any point in the day.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07And we can pray to him at any point of the day.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09And this hymn sums up that idea.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28Singing that hymn for us was the congregation in Cockermouth,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30a local community that pulled together
0:12:30 > 0:12:34after the 2009 Cumbrian floods devastated their area.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Some disasters touch hearts on an international scale,
0:12:40 > 0:12:45like the sinking of the luxury liner the Titanic just over 100 years ago.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52We have a rather nice link with the Titanic here in this church
0:12:52 > 0:12:54because we've discovered that one of the people who painted
0:12:54 > 0:12:59the walls in fact went on to work on the bar of the Titanic
0:12:59 > 0:13:03which, of course, his work only lasted a few days, sadly.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07There is a story that as the Titanic was sinking, the band played on.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09This has been immortalised in films and so on,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and that they played Nearer My God To Thee.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14There is a debate over which tune they used,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17whether it was the tune that we tend to use in England
0:13:17 > 0:13:20or the tune they tend to use in North America.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23The problem is the story probably isn't true.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Exactly the same story exists in relation to the sinking
0:13:27 > 0:13:32of the SS Valencia in 1906 so we have to be a bit dubious about this story.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Great hymn as it is and lovely as the idea
0:13:35 > 0:13:37that as the ship was sinking,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40the people were thinking, "Nearer My God To Thee."
0:13:41 > 0:13:45What we do know is that Easter had just happened
0:13:45 > 0:13:49when the Titanic sailed and there was an Easter service.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54100 people gathered and they sang Eternal Father, Strong To Save,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58which is perhaps ironic, and a hymn called On The Resurrection Morning,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01which is not one we know nowadays.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04But there was worship on the Titanic before it sank
0:14:04 > 0:14:07but whether they really sang Nearer My God To Thee
0:14:07 > 0:14:11as the ship was sinking, I think we have to have an open mind about that.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28As a nation we don't only sing hymns in times of trouble,
0:17:28 > 0:17:33we delve into our hymn books when we have got something to celebrate too.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39And we had so much to celebrate last year - our Queen's Diamond Jubilee,
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Britain hosting the Olympics
0:17:41 > 0:17:45and of course, this year is the Coronation anniversary.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Some hymns have become really popular and famous
0:17:50 > 0:17:54and much used and much loved because they've been used
0:17:54 > 0:17:58at great occasions in the life of our nation or our Royal Family.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02The hymn I Vow To Thee, My Country was used both at the wedding
0:18:02 > 0:18:07of Princess Diana and the Prince of Wales and of course at her funeral.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Two very different kinds of occasions, of course.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13That hymn united those occasions and united the nation.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18The Lord's My Shepherd was used by the Queen
0:18:18 > 0:18:21and Prince Philip at their wedding,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25and again at the service commemorating their 60th wedding anniversary.
0:18:25 > 0:18:26People often do that.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29They have their favourite hymns that they use on occasions
0:18:29 > 0:18:31that punctuate their lives.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36Some of these famous hymns take us out of church,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38sometimes even onto the football terraces,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42the great hymn Abide With Me, we all know, is associated with the FA Cup final
0:18:42 > 0:18:46and some people only sing that hymn in Wembley Stadium
0:18:46 > 0:18:48or perhaps at home on television.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Some of the great royal events, the great celebrations,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54people do join in at home and sing the hymns too.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57This can help us join in the celebration,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59we can feel part of it by singing along.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05But it seems to me that a hymnody involves three things.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07You need words, of course you do.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10You need music, of course you do.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11But you need people.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14A hymn is not a hymn unless it is sung.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16It's all very well on the page,
0:19:16 > 0:19:17it is all very well having a lovely tune
0:19:17 > 0:19:19and you can play the tune without the words,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21you read the words without the tune
0:19:21 > 0:19:24but what you need to have a proper trinity of hymnody
0:19:24 > 0:19:28is the words and the music together with the people
0:19:28 > 0:19:32and in that way, the Spirit worships in us and through us
0:19:32 > 0:19:35and is working of God the Trinity.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41And the regal setting for our next hymn of joyful celebration
0:19:41 > 0:19:44is Christopher Wren's magnificent chapel
0:19:44 > 0:19:46at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Our Queen's reign has been graced by the very special partnership
0:21:34 > 0:21:37she shared with her consort, Prince Philip.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40In 2012, during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year,
0:21:40 > 0:21:45the Royal couple also celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52And for many people, a Christian marriage is another of life's major milestones.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58On our wedding day we had Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03We thought everybody would know it and join in and unify together.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07And Love Divine, I think, for obvious reasons -
0:22:07 > 0:22:09our love and God's love for us.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13My favourite hymn that we had at the wedding was
0:22:13 > 0:22:16The King Of Love My Shepherd Is.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19And I think the melody of that one is so beautiful,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23the lilting melody and the words are so special.
0:22:23 > 0:22:29Traditional hymns to me remind me of the contents of a treasured locket.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Something like this one, that's my wedding locket.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36As we have in the locket, there is something
0:22:36 > 0:22:39of a loved one in the hymns.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44We have the story of the love of God and it comes to life.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52My favourite hymn, especially written for a Christian marriage,
0:22:52 > 0:22:57was featured in the Songs Of Praise programme from All Saints Church in Evesham
0:22:57 > 0:23:03to mark the day dedicated to the life of the patron saint of love and marriage, St Valentine.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22It is a fact of life that we all lose people we love.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Parents, partners, friends.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Jesus, Lover Of My Soul.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35I think that's a lovely, soft hymn,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38more spiritual than some of the other hymns.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42I find that they fetch back memories to me, good and bad,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45and it makes me think of people that have passed,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49you know, and the communion of saints.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52For All The Saints was played at my mother's funeral which,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54whenever I hear that, it creases me up.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56I can't really...
0:25:57 > 0:25:59..listen to it without having emotions.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Seek Ye First is my favourite hymn.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06We sang it when we went to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and it became our theme tune.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13I remember the people that were away with us
0:26:13 > 0:26:17and sadly, some of those folks are no longer with us.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20So that's why it is so dear to me.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22My family love Eternal Father.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25I had it at my wedding and my husband was in the Navy
0:26:25 > 0:26:29and we had it at his funeral and whenever it is sung in church,
0:26:29 > 0:26:33my daughter, if I look over towards her, she's crying.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36She loves that one.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40A hymn that is very important to me is The King Of Love My Shepherd Is.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44My husband spent two years in an Alzheimer's ward.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47He didn't recognise anybody, he didn't know us at all
0:26:47 > 0:26:49but you only had to sing that hymn to him
0:26:49 > 0:26:51and there was immediate recognition.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54and that lasted almost to the end of his life.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55May the king of love, who keeps and guides us,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58save us from our sins, hear our prayers
0:29:58 > 0:30:03and fire us with his word that we may live for Christ alone.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father,
0:30:06 > 0:30:12the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14CONGREGATION: Amen.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20Whether for grand public occasions
0:30:20 > 0:30:24or for much more private moments of joy or sorrow,
0:30:24 > 0:30:28hymns speak to us of the ups and downs of everyday life
0:30:28 > 0:30:33and how God's presence is constantly with us our whole lives through.
0:33:14 > 0:33:20Later this year we will reveal the UK's top ten favourite hymns
0:33:20 > 0:33:23but to find out what they are, we need you to cast your vote.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27Go to the Songs Of Praise website.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32Look at the list of 100 familiar hymns and choose your favourite.
0:33:32 > 0:33:33It couldn't be simpler.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37The ten most popular will be sung at the Big Sing at the Royal Albert Hall.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41Next week, join me for some more hymns
0:33:41 > 0:33:44that suit every season in the Christian calendar.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd