Church Hymnal [Hardcover]

S. F. Coffman (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 536 pages
• Publisher: Herald Press (VA) (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836111060
• ISBN-13: 978-0836111064
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,981,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasured friend, September 12, 2003

By 

John Rose (Fishertown PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Church Hymnal (Hardcover)

I grew up with this hymnal in the back of the pew at my home congregation. Singing many of these hymns have strengthened my faith in God. As a hymnal collector I still pull this treasure out to find hymns and hymn writers. A unique feature tells a brief bibliography of most writers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeping an Old Favorite Up-to-Date, February 1, 2004

By 

Allen Smalling "Constant Reader," (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Church Hymnal (Hardcover)

In September of 2003 I wrote a very similar review of this *CHURCH HYMNAL* and filed it privately, to retain anyonymity, so as not to conflict with a study project I was working on. Since there is now no conflict-of-interest, I am now free to update information about this fascinating hymnal and freshen the review under my own name.

Although the publisher, Herald Press, is part of the Mennonite Publishing House of Scottsdale, Pennsylvania, this hymnal isn't intended for ethnically German congregations. Instead, it is a delightful hymnal dating back to the late 1920s, containing what a typical American congregation of that day might want to sing. It is bigger and fuller than the hymnals Broadman and Cokesbury were putting out at that time and betrays little, if any, regional bias. It has "How Firm a Foundation" and "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" as well as "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" and "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus."

But it is in Anglo-American hymnody (specifically British, not Scottish or Irish) that the CHURCH HYMNAL excels. (The index credits Fanny Crosby as author of eleven hymns; Charles Wesley, 32.) It has most of what we'd expect to see along those lines, such as "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name," or "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er The Sun." But it also has the lyrics we know set to tunes we might not--check out "Rejoice, the Lord is King," for example. Also LOTS of tunes rendered unfamiliar by time, some of which will probably by new for the professional, most new to the amateur or hymnal-collector. And, for your nostalgic friends, the CHURCH HYMNAL uses shaped notes!

CHURCH HYMNAL is well fabricated, uses ANSI-standard recycled paper, and is a good deal for its price. Whether the purchaser uses it as a gift for someone who remembers the "good ol' days," to a serious organist or historian of hymns, or just to look good on the spinet, there are all kinds of reasons this lovely, surprising work gets thumbs double-up-plus.

As an update, I've learned that the facsimile of the cover Amazon portrays on the screen above is just as my actual copy appears, reading "Church Hymnal" with no denominational imprimatur on the cover (and nothing at all on the spine).

The hymnal has been in print since its initial publication in the late 1920s and according to Herald Press, still sells several thousands of copies each year.

Not difficult to understand . . .
.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OLD HYMNS FROM THE PAST, February 9, 2006

By 

MMH - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Church Hymnal (Hardcover)

This hymnal contains so many of the old hymns from the past before they were dropped from our more modern hymnals, such as
"Onward, Christian Soldiers," "Amazing Grace," and many more. I bought one for my mother because she was missing those hymns, and she liked the hymnal so much that I'm back to order another for myself. Thank you, Mr. C. F. Coffman, for putting so many good hymns from the past into this collection. It is a treasure.