Watch for further changes in the lyrics of hymns. Just recently in church we sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Instead of “As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,” the words had been changed to “let us live to make men free.”
We have seen United Church of Christ Hymnals. You should see the lyrics in songs such as ‘America’. It is all about the ‘Americas’ meaning North and South. Many of the hymns have had the lyrics changed.
At our Independent Christian Church we use old and new. We hit the middle ground years ago after a bit of struggle. I don’t worry too much about those not singing because you can only lead a horse to water. We all have our strengths. Our primary problem is a severe lack of folks under 40. Using contemporary music in our area has not been a draw for any of the churches of the younger set.
It is a historical hymn. What gives some stupid committee the idea that it is their place to be revising a historical hymn that generations of Americans have been singing since the Civil War? The chutzpah is astounding!