AT St Michael and All Angels, Bedford Park, we have been holding hymnathons (hymn-singing marathons) for almost 40 years. Not only are they joyful occasions that bring the whole community together: they can also raise thousands of pounds 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 150th anniversary of Bedford Park, the world’s first garden suburb, of which St Michael’s is the parish church.
“Hymnathon 150” started 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 the most money from donations (boosted by the 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 of 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 came for an hour, and ended up staying all day as they spotted another favourite hymn coming up, or bumped into friends. The church was packed for the finale.
But how did we raise so much money?
OUR first Hymnathon was held in February 1987, to mark the publication of a new hymn book, The New English Hymnal. Led by the organist and choirmaster Oliver West, the choir and a small congregation sang all 542 hymns in the book. It took more than 30 hours, and attracted national publicity, including a photograph on the front page of The Independent and another, 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 raise money for a new pipe organ. We asked singers to invite their friends to sponsor them to sing for as many hours as possible, right through the night (with beds in the parish hall for those who wanted a nap). They were enticed to stay with proper meals — breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea — and refreshments throughout, donated by local businesses.
THE fund-raising breakthrough came when we asked people to sponsor their favourite hymn. The one raising the most money would be sung as the grand finale, and it really caught people’s imagination. Donations were collated via the JustGiving website, where you could name the hymn you were supporting, and why. Donors could also put cash or cheques in special “Hymnathon” envelopes. We published a bar chart of the top 20 hymns, which we regularly updated before — and during — the hymnathon.
Gradually, people started donating tactically, joining with others to ensure that their favoured hymn moved up the chart. We projected the top 20 on to a big screen, so people could track the hymns that were still in the running, and donate accordingly.
Towards the end of the 30 hours, it became a clear choice 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 end, we declared it a tie, and sang both hymns as 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 couple of mini-hymnathons, including a Top 50; and, five years later, in 2017, we sang the whole hymn book again, raising more than £20,000.
AND so to “Hymnathon 150”. We were looking for ways to involve the whole community in celebrating Bedford Park’s 150th anniversary, and also raising money for the church. What better way than another hymnathon? And, instead of singing the whole hymn book, we would sing “only” 150 hymns, which could be done in a day.
We arranged a Top 100 countdown, based on the money 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 depended on donors’ becoming competitive — and we were not disappointed. A week before Hymnathon Day, more than £7000 had already been raised, and the top place had changed three times in two days. “Thine be the glory” was in the lead, a whisker ahead of “How shall I sing that majesty?”, evidence that donors were keeping a close 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 final hour, a flurry of last-minute giving meant that the leadership changed 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 cash donations, bar takings, and Gift Aid had been added, we had hit our £25,000 target.
Torin Douglas was the BBC’s media correspondent for 24 years and is director of the Chiswick Book Festival and partnerships co-ordinator for the Bedford Park Festival.
What’s needed:
- A strong church choir and “guest” choirs
- Several organists
- Plenty of willing donors and volunteers
- Good tech support to track hymns and donations
- A responsive donation platform
- Good PR support and social media.
We are delighted to have inspired another hymnathon, which will take place, with our support, this weekend (17 and 18 May) at All Saints’, Ascot Heath (for details, and more tips, including Q&As, see their website: all-saints-ascot.org/hymnathon).
Further coverage is available on the Chiswick Calendar website and YouTube
