AT St Michael and All Angels, Bedford Park, we have now been holding hymnathons (hymn-singing marathons) for nearly 40 years. Not only are they joyful occasions that bring the entire community together: they can even raise 1000’s of kilos for the church. More than 220 singers took part in our latest hymnathon in March, raising £25,000 for the church’s Heritage Conservation Fund by singing 150 hymns. That number was chosen to mark the a hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Bedford Park, the world’s first garden suburb, of which St Michael’s is the parish church.
“Hymnathon 150” began at 11 a.m. on Saturday 1 March, with a soloist singing the opening verse of “Once, in royal David’s city”. It ended, almost nine hours later, with a full church singing “Guide me, O thou great Redeemer”, the hymn that raised probably the most money from donations (boosted by the incontrovertible fact that it was St David’s Day, and our Vicar, the Revd Kevin Morris, is Welsh).
The singing was led by the choir of St Michael and All Angels, with support at various times from six local choirs, including two from other Chiswick churches, one among them Roman Catholic. Six organists accompanied the singers across the day. Volunteers provided refreshments, including tea, coffee, a hot lunch, and afternoon tea, home-made cakes, muffins, and sandwiches, and a bar.
It was a joyful occasion. People got here for an hour, and ended up staying all day as they spotted one other favourite hymn coming up, or bumped into friends. The church was packed for the finale.
But how did we raise a lot money?
OUR first Hymnathon was held in February 1987, to mark the publication of a latest hymn book, The New English Hymnal. Led by the organist and choirmaster Oliver West, the choir and a small congregation sang all 542 hymns within the book. It took greater than 30 hours, and attracted national publicity, including a photograph on the front page of The Independent and one other, inside The Times, showing the choir singing during a tea break, under the headline “Praise the Lord and pass the sandwich”.
Twenty-five years later, in February 2012, we tried it again, to lift money for a latest pipe organ. We asked singers to ask their friends to sponsor them to sing for as many hours as possible, all the way through the night (with beds within the parish hall for many who wanted a nap). They were enticed to stick with proper meals — breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea — and refreshments throughout, donated by local businesses.
THE fund-raising breakthrough got here once we asked people to sponsor their favourite hymn. The one raising probably the most money could be sung because the grand finale, and it really caught people’s imagination. Donations were collated via the JustGiving website, where you possibly can name the hymn you were supporting, and why. Donors could also put money or cheques in special “Hymnathon” envelopes. We published a bar chart of the highest 20 hymns, which we repeatedly updated before — and through — the hymnathon.
Gradually, people began donating tactically, joining with others to make sure that their favoured hymn moved up the chart. We projected the highest 20 on to a giant screen, so people could track the hymns that were still within the running, and donate accordingly.
Towards the tip of the 30 hours, it became a transparent selection between “Guide me, O thou great Redeemer” and “O praise ye the Lord”. In the garden of the Tabard pub over the road, they were screening the Five Nations rugby match between England and Wales — which helped to fuel the donations.
In the tip, we declared it a tie, and sang each hymns because the grand finale. We were astonished to have raised £30,000 — it even became a news item on Classic FM.
After that, we held a few mini-hymnathons, including a Top 50; and, five years later, in 2017, we sang the entire hymn book again, raising greater than £20,000.
AND so to “Hymnathon 150”. We were in search of ways to involve the entire community in celebrating Bedford Park’s a hundred and fiftieth anniversary, and likewise raising money for the church. What higher way than one other hymnathon? And, as a substitute of singing the entire hymn book, we might sing “only” 150 hymns, which might be done in a day.
We arranged a Top 100 countdown, based on the cash raised by each hymn, and preceded this with three “curated” hours of Christmas carols and hymns with local connections, including a John Betjeman Hour, celebrating the late Poet Laureate’s love of heritage and hymns.
Once again, the success of the fund-raising trusted donors’ becoming competitive — and we weren’t disenchanted. Every week before Hymnathon Day, greater than £7000 had already been raised, and the highest place had modified 3 times in two days. “Thine be the glory” was within the lead, a whisker ahead of “How shall I sing that majesty?”, evidence that donors were keeping an in depth eye on the chart.
“Thine be the glory” held its lead, picking up substantial donations throughout the day, as challengers emerged and faded. Then, in the ultimate hour, a flurry of last-minute giving meant that the leadership modified hands several times. “Guide me, O thou great Redeemer” finally edged “Thine be the glory” into second place, with “Dear Lord and Father of mankind” third. By the time the money donations, bar takings, and Gift Aid had been added, we had hit our £25,000 goal.
Torin Douglas was the BBC’s media correspondent for twenty-four years and is director of the Chiswick Book Festival and partnerships co-ordinator for the Bedford Park Festival.
What’s needed:
- A powerful church choir and “guest” choirs
- Several organists
- Plenty of willing donors and volunteers
- Good tech support to trace hymns and donations
- A responsive donation platform
- Good PR support and social media.
We are delighted to have inspired one other hymnathon, which is able to happen, with our support, this weekend (17 and 18 May) at All Saints’, Ascot Heath (for details, and more suggestions, including Q&As, see their website: all-saints-ascot.org/hymnathon).
Further coverage is accessible on the Chiswick Calendar website and YouTube
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