Hymnathon Top 50 At St Michael And All Angels

And there's a new Number One in the charts

The 50 hymns that will be sung at St Michael & All Angels' Hymnathon have been announced - and there's a new No 1 in the Top 50 chart!

Dear Lord and Father of Mankind has overtaken Guide me O thou great Redeemer to take the top slot, after a burst of last-minute donations took its total to over £1,250. The Top 50 closed at 10pm on Wednesday night, but the public's donations will continue to influence the chart placings until all 50 hymns are sung this Friday, February 28th, starting at 6pm.

 In third place currently is O Praise Ye The Lord (£1,010), followed by Lord of All Hopefulness (£789) and And did those feet in ancient time (£670). You can see all Top 50 hymns on the St Michael's website:

http://smaaa.org.uk/news_events/documents/Hymnathon_Top_50_26th_Feb_FINAL_000.pdf

Two years ago, the church sang all 542 hymns in the New English Hymnal and there was a tie for first place between Guide me O thou great redeemer and O Praise ye The Lord. The 2012 Hymnathon took more than 30 hours, right through the night, and raised over £50,000 for St Michael's Organ and Parish Rooms Appeal.

To celebrate the installation of the  Organ, the church will now sing the Top 50 as chosen by the public's donations. It will take just over three hours. More than £100,000 has still to be raised for the Appeal.

Donations in support of favourite hymns can be made online at www. JustGiving.com/top50 or on Gift Aid forms available in the church.

The event will begin with a Schools Hymnathon at lunchtime on Friday February 28th. At 12.45pm, Orchard House School will sing their own Top Ten hymns till 1.30, followed at 2pm by Chiswick & Bedford Park Preparatory School. Parents and others will be very welcome to watch and join in.

At 4.30pm, it's the Hymnathon Tea, with home-made cakes for sale in aid of the Organ and Parish Rooms Appeal. Bidding will continue right through till 8pm, when the Top 10 placings will be finalised.

At 6pm, the Hymnathon Top 50 will begin with the Friday evening Mass, in which the hymns placed 50 and 49 will be sung. All are welcome to come and sing at any time during the evening, and to bring their friends.

From 6.30 to 7pm, the singing will be led by singers from the Arts Ed schools, who opened St Michael's two previous Hymnathons in 1987 and 2012. Other local groups and choirs, including the Addison Singers, Chiswick Choir and St Michael & All Angels Choir, will lead at other times.

After the Grand Finale at about 9.30pm, there'll be a Hymnathon Celebration in the Michael Room, in St Michaels Parish Hall, with drinks and sandwiches. Donations will still be welcome for the Appeal!

February 27, 2014