The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal is the official hymnal of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is widely used by English-speaking Adventist congregations. It consists of words and music to 695 hymns including traditional favorites from the earlier Church Hymnal that it replaced, American folk hymns, modern gospel songs, compositions by Adventists, contemporary hymns, and 224 congregational responsive Scripture readings. Published in 1985 by Review and Herald Publishing Association, the hymnal has been through multiple printings and is available in various binding colors.

History

Although Adventist hymnals seem to have a lifetime of about it 25 years, by the early 1980s the existing hymnal had been in service since 1941. The General Conference Music Committee created a diverse 19-member Church Hymnal Committee chaired by C.L. Brooks with Wayne Hooper as secretary. As part of the process more than 3000 Adventist ministers were asked to rate the hymns of the then existing Church Hymnal. Those that were commonly used were retained. Songs that were added to the new hymnal include those of a more diverse and contemporary nature.

Earlier Adventist hymnals

The hymnal was preceded by the following:

Adventist songs

There are 695 songs and 225 scripture readings (SR).

Worship

Trinity

God the Father

Jesus Christ

Glory and Praise

Holy Spirit

Holy Scriptures

Gospel

Christian Church

Doctrines

Early Advent

Christian life

Christian home

Sentences and responses

Worship aids

Companion book

Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (ISBN 0-8280-0425-0) was authored by Wayne Hooper (musical co-editor of the hymnal) and Edward E. White. It contains the history of each hymn in the hymnal and biographical information on the composers and authors.