August 13, 2010
By Ben Rhodes

It's "A Mighty Fortress" for one person, "Fairest Lord Jesus" for another. They're answering the question, "What is your favorite hymn in The United Methodist Hymnal?"

More than 1,500 people recently responded to this question on The United Methodist Church's official Facebook page. They ranked "Here I Am, Lord" first, followed by "How Great Thou Art," and then "Amazing Grace."

"We had ‘Here I Am, Lord' at my mother's funeral years and years ago and friends still comment on how they love that hymn," wrote Sally Stotler Leonard. "It pretty much sums up what Christians should want to do for God, doesn't it?"

Like Leonard, many responders associate their favorite hymns with loved ones and life transitions.

"‘How Great Thou Art' – it was my dad's favorite, too," wrote Denise Conner Boyd. "He passed in ‘92, but every time we sing it, I can still hear his strong tenor voice rising above the congregation!"

For Angela Gregory-Gutierrez, "How Great Thou Art" is special for a different reason. "(It's) the one I sing when I start to get frustrated or upset, or I'm about to lose it."

Several other responders said that they rely on hymns to aid them in their daily lives. Jayne Broyles wrote, "I have about 10 old ‘reliable' (hymns) that I sing aloud or to myself for comfort, praise or worship as I go through my daily experiences. Hymns can truly make the difference when accompanied with prayer or even as a prayer to help me stay on the Christian path." The church must not forget the songs

Angela Rocena feels similarly. "Every hymn has a wonderful message, perfect for every season in life."

Perhaps that is why selecting just one favorite was a challenge for many. Beth Nicholson wrote, "That is like choosing which of my children I love most!"

Janice Snare Dupree chose "Amazing Grace" and said that she cherished singing hymns with her mother who had Alzheimer's disease. She recalled, "Oh, what a blessing it was to hear her sing. For some reason, they don't forget the songs."

Incidentally, Sharon Benton said that the church must not forget the songs.

"If we ever let these go, it will make me very sad. I love the old hymns and singing them," she wrote. "So many are my favorites: ‘Amazing Grace,' ‘The Old Rugged Cross,' ‘In the Garden,' ‘It is Well with My Soul' and more than I can write here. Please don't let them go away."

Terry Blake, who said "Wonderful Words of Life" is her favorite, finds meaning in old hymns, too. "The words of those century-or-two-old hymns amaze me with how they still speak to us today," she wrote.

Two of the oldest hymns that made the top-20 list – "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" – were written in the 18th century by Charles Wesley, the father of Methodist hymnody.

This legacy of Methodist hymnody continues, as shown by the fourth-place ranking of "Hymn of Promise" by Natalie Sleeth, a United Methodist. Approximately one-third of the hymns included in the top-20 list are by contemporary lyricists and composers. ‘Hey, that's my favorite hymn too'

The favorite hymns were tabulated from more than 200 unique hymns that users said were their favorites. The results are not scientific, which is not vital, says the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications.

"What's exciting to me is that we saw, through Facebook, people across the church excitedly engaging on a topic that's as old as the denomination itself," he said. "It strengthens the connection when a United Methodist in Topeka can reach out and, with a click of a mouse, say to a United Methodist 2,000 miles away, ‘Hey, that's my favorite hymn, too.'"

Jeannette Hunt had the experience Hollon describes. It was possible because she could read the comments that preceded her post.

"Wonderful choices," she wrote. "Just when I had decided a favorite, I read someone else's idea and changed my mind!"

The findings did not surprise Dean McIntyre, director of music resources for the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, though he cautioned that the sampling was relatively small and somewhat limited.

"I believe that all four (of the top songs in the Facebook survey) are in the top five of research I've conducted," he said. His latest survey, prepared for the 2008 General Conference, received 21,000 responses.

He was surprised that "Amazing Grace" was No. 3 in the Facebook survey, noting that in his research, that favorite "far outpaces any other hymn or song of Christians, including United Methodists."

However, he conceded, "it's a pretty good list."

United Methodist News Service
Ben Rhodes is a writer with the Public Information Team at United Methodist Communications. Barbara Dunlap-Berg, internal content editor for United Methodist Communications, contributed to this article.