Hymns We Love, the gentle, accessible evangelistic series, developed with seniors at Holy Trinity Claygate, is to be published in print form and videos on June 1st.
“I am passionate about sharing the gospel and God’s amazing love with older people, as well as helping reduce loneliness or suffering resulting from bereavement,” says Pippa Cramer, who developed the resources with her husband Steve.
Hymns We Love has been written with older ears and eyes in mind. It uses some of the church’s most well-loved hymns to explore the Christian faith in a gentle and accessible way and is flexible enough to be used by groups of any size, large or small.
“The proportion of people over 65 in the UK is growing,” says Pippa. “Many have a residual affection for Christian hymns, some of which they may have sung in years gone by. Hymns We Love uses these as a means of sharing the gospel. My prayer is that this might be a catalyst for local churches and individuals, who have a heart for evangelism and seniors’ ministry, to reach out to older people local to them and share God’s love,” she says.
This first series (others are in the pipeline) includes five main sections. Three introductory sessions (including ones for Easter and Christmas), and two Leaders’ Training Guides.
Each session tells the story of the hymn writer, how the hymn came to be and the Christian message behind it. The videos were recorded in a picturesque English village church. They feature beautiful performances of the hymns, alongside testimonies and prayers.