My First Hymnal

My first hymnal is very special to me. Not just because (as a kid) I got it for free. Not just because it celebrated the end of my first (of many years) as a choir member. Not just because in later years it was often the only music book in my residence. But also, of course, because of the wonderful music within it.

The frontpiece proudly proclaims it as

THE HYMNAL
OF THE
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH
IN THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1940

I received the book nearly 40 years ago, in the spring of 1967. At the church we attended — St. Paul in the Desert — it was the reward for children completing their first year in the choir. In my case, my choir service in 1966-67 coincided with 4th grade at Cahuilla Elementary School, our only full year in Palm Springs. The parish has changed dramatically in the intervening decades, but my hymnal and its value have not.

Of course, most of the PECUSA (er, TEC) churches have long since abandoned this classic hymnal, but it lives on in the various continuing Anglican parishes. While PECUSA no longer wants it, because the The 1940 Hymnal is 12 years younger than “Steamboat Willie,” given the Mickey Mouse copyright extension act and whatever Disney pays to replace it in 2023, the hymnal may never fall into the public domain.