Songs to teach the faith: songs to keep the faith

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'We have a gospel to proclaim…' 1

Guideline Recommendations for Churches and Schools

Songs to Teach Keep the Faith: Songs to Keep the Faith has raised a number of issues which, if they are to reach a satisfactory resolution, require action on the part of both churches and schools. Here, those issues are revisited to offer recommendations as to how they might be addressed, thus highlighting the best practice identified over the course of the study. These recommendations will then be distributed to the schools and churches that took part in the study, and disseminated to a wider audience through the appropriate channels 2.

It was difficult to decide how to set out these recommendations, as though the central issues affect both churches and schools, some of the suggested remedies are specific to one setting or the other. The most positive outcome of this project would be that churches and schools decide to work together to actively enable their young people to participate in sung worship. With this in mind, the following guidelines are presented as a single document designed to be distributed to churches and schools, so that each may be made aware of what has been suggested to the other, and to increase understanding of the issues addressed on both sides.

Guideline Recommendations for Churches and Schools is intended to be a stand-alone document, presenting the proposed actions in the context of a succinct overview of the project and the principle findings of the research. It has been designed in such a way that it might be read and understood by those with no prior knowledge of the project, as well as serving as an aide memoir to those who took part in the study.

Here follows the text of that document, set out according to the university's dissertation regulations. (It will be re-formatted before distribution to the schools and churches).

Burns, E. (b1938) 'We have a gospel to proclaim', No. 486 in The English Hymnal Company Ltd. (compiler) (1986) The New English Hymnal. Norwich: Canterbury Press Back to text
Church Music Quarterly, journal of the Royal School of Church Music, has already commissioned an article about this project for the September 2006 issue. Further publication is planned but not finalised. Back to text