It is said “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” but I find that a glance at the indexes of a hymnal give a rapid assessment of the nature and tone of the book.  In particular, I look at the most frequently included authors and translators in the volume.

It should come as no surprise that the longest list of entries in the index of a Methodist hymnal is for the Wesley brothers, up to one-tenth of the hymns even for a current hymnal.  And while a Lutheran hymnal also has a significant contribution from the good Dr. Martin, as well as other German writers, frequently the single greatest source is Catherine Winkworth, a prolific translator of Western European hymns into English.  Likewise, an Anglican hymnal like Hymns Ancient and Modern will often be dominated by translations of classic Greek and Latin hymns by John M. Neale (such as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel).  And if you are looking at an independently published non-denominational hymnal, don’t be surprised if it comes from the revival tradition and has Fanny Crosby as its single largest source.

It is probably no surprise that in the classic 1933 Presbyterian Hymnal the single largest source is Isaac Watts, who alone is responsible for about 4% of the hymns in the book. 

All this introduction to explain why I find it significant that in the current Presbyterian Hymnal Jane Parker Huber is in the top ten individual writers of hymns in the volume with ten, just slightly behind the numbers from Issac Watts and Charles Wesley.  The recognition is mutual — her work helps define the denomination’s worship and the church recognizes her gifts and talents to God’s glory and praise.

Jane went to be with the Lord on November 15, but leaves the church with both an advocacy and literary legacy.

I will not repeat the various tributes to her — for those check out articles from the Presbyterian News Service and the Witherspoon Society.  There is also an earlier article when she was honored in 2002 for her work in the Women’s Ministries program.  She would fit the description of being a “Presbyterian of Presbyterians,” having been born to missionary parents, served the church for many years along side her husband Bill, and in her own work with Women’s Ministries, Presbyterian Women and her hymn writing.  And it is significant that her work was with the Women’s Ministries and the song writing was something that flowed out of that, originally writing many of the songs for Presbyterian Women events.

While time will be the judge of which of her hymns is the most enduring, my choice is “Called as Partners in Christ’s Service.”  This is a hymn frequently used across denominational lines that has had its first line used as the title of a book on PC(USA) missions.  I last used it as the concluding hymn of the closing worship service for our Synod Assembly meeting just over a month ago.  It is a great “sending” hymn.  But however her musical work is remembered we can give thanks for a life lived in service to God through service to the church.

[Postscript:  Various sources, including the Witherspoon article above, cite Jane with eleven hymns in the Presbyterian Hymnal.  In the index of my copy I count ten so I can’t account for the discrepancy.  In the end it really does not matter because the beauty and solid writing of her hymns make her works significant whatever the final count.]