CFP: ‘A more profound alleluia’: new perspectives on Fred Pratt Green’s hymns and their legacy
Martin Clarke
‘A more profound alleluia’: new perspectives on Fred Pratt Green’s hymns and their legacy
Luther King Centre, Manchester,
Thursday 14 November 2024, 10.30–5.00
https://prattgreentrust.org.uk/a-more-profound-allelulia/
The Pratt Green Trust was founded by Fred Pratt Green MBE (1903-2000) in 1984 as a means of deploying the royalty income from his hymns for the benefit of authors, composers and users of hymnody. It exists to further the cause of hymnody. As part of its fortieth anniversary celebrations, the Trust is holding a one-day conference to explore Fred Pratt Green’s hymns and their legacy. A British Methodist minister, Fred Pratt Green wrote most of his hymns in retirement; since the late 1960s, they have been included in a wide range of English-language hymnals, especially in the UK and North America. His hymns cover many topics and themes: texts such as ‘For the fruits of all creation’ and ‘God in his love for us lent us this planet’ indicate a keen concern with the stewardship of creation; ‘An upper room did our Lord prepare’, ‘Jesus in the olive grove’ and ‘After darkness, light’ all reflect on Christ’s passion and resurrection; ‘The church of Christ in every age’ encourages a commitment to social justice. The hymn from which this conference’s title is taken, ‘When in our music God is glorified’ invites reflection on the purpose and use of music-making in Christian devotion.
The conference invites 20-minute papers on any aspect of Pratt Green’s work or his legacy as a hymnwriter. Possible topics may include, but need not be limited to:
- Literary and theological analyses of Pratt Green’s hymns
- The reception of Pratt Green’s hymns
- Words and music in Pratt Green’s hymns
- Pratt Green and Methodism
- Pratt Green’s influence on other hymn writers
- Contemporary hymnody’s engagement with the environment, ecology, social justice
- Hymnwriters furthering the cause of hymnody
To propose a paper, please send the following to Gil...@prattgreentrust.org.uk by 1 June 2024.
- An abstract of 250 words
- A brief biography of 100 words
- Contact details: name, institutional affiliation (if applicable), email address
The conference committee’s decisions will be communicated by 21 June 2024.
The conference will be held at the Luther King Centre, Luther King House, Brighton Grove, Manchester, M14 5JP. See https://www.lutherking.ac.uk/contact-us for details on the venue, travel and accommodation. The conference will be mainly in person, but with the facility to include remote contributors and participants.
Conference Committee:
The Rev’d Dr Graham Adams (Luther King Centre)
Dr Martin V. Clarke (The Open University)
Dr Gillian R. Warson (Pratt Green Trust)
The Rev’d Dr Janet Wootton (Pratt Green Trust)