New Apostolic Church Cape

BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL: THE NEW CHILDREN'S HYMN COLLECTION

A massed children's choir of some 240 voices comprising children from the Lentegeur, West Coast and Kuilsriver bishop areas gathered in the Silvertown auditorium on Saturday afternoon 6 May 2006 for a concert performance to mark the launch of the new Children's Hymn Collection entitled Bright and Beautiful. This collection of some 120 hymns consists mostly of new compositions or re-arrangements of existing, well-known anthems. While the majority of the pieces are in English, the local languages of Afrikaans and Xhosa are also catered for.

The need for such a publication has been growing as the children participate more and more in choral performances and there is a dearth of material for them to present. In addition, it is foreseen that with a hymn collection of their own the transition from the children's choir to the adult choir in the congregation will be easier.

The performance of the children at the concert was both moving and invigorating. Hymns such as You gave me a name, For the unborn and Shall I meet you at the fountain caused many in the audience to blink away the moisture in their eyes. In contrast, arrangements of pieces like All things bright and beautiful, Joy-bells ringing and He's got the whole world in His hands uplifted the spirit and brought a smile to all present.

A rousing applause greeted the children as the last tones of the last hymn faded away. This was truly a fitting prelude to a special divine service, which would take place the following day.