What is a Sankey’s Evening?
We hope you enjoy this evening of traditional and vigorous congregational singing. We have now been holding a Sankey’s Evening for several years,and it has become a popular August event. Every year, we vary the programme slightly, while trying to retain as many firm favourites as possible. We warmly welcome you.
Whether this is your first Sankey's Evening or one of many over the years, we are delighted that you have joined us. Visitors have come from many different churches and backgrounds, yet for one evening we gather with a shared purpose: to lift our voices together in praise to God through some of the best-loved hymns in the English-speaking churches.
Some of the hymns this evening will be instantly familiar. Others may be less well known. Together they represent a rich tradition of congregational singing that has encouraged Christians for well over a century.
Moody, Sankey and a remarkable collection of hymns
The name Sankey comes from Ira D. Sankey (1840–1908), the American gospel singer and musician who worked alongside the evangelist Dwight L. Moody during the great revival campaigns of the nineteenth century. As Moody preached, Sankey led the congregational singing, often introducing new hymns alongside older favourites that had already proved their worth in Christian worship.
The growing collection of these hymns was eventually gathered into Sacred Songs and Solos, a publication that became one of the most influential hymn collections of its age. It was continually expanded and reprinted, finding its way into churches, chapels, missions, Sunday Schools and family homes throughout Britain and far beyond.
One of its great strengths was its breadth. Alongside treasured hymns by writers such as Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, John Newton and William Cowper appeared newer Victorian gospel hymns, many written in a simpler and more direct style. Some reflected deep personal faith, others expressed joyful assurance, missionary zeal or earnest invitation, but together they formed a collection that ordinary congregations loved to sing.
Why did people love these hymns?
The popularity of these hymns was no accident.
Their tunes are memorable without being trivial. Their words are straightforward without being shallow. Most importantly, they were written to be sung by congregations rather than performed by specialists.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, communal singing was a much larger part of everyday life than it is today. Families sang around the piano, chapels expected enthusiastic congregational singing, and many people learned these hymns by heart. The Sankey tradition flourished because it gave ordinary Christians music that was accessible, heartfelt and full of biblical truth.
Many of these hymns also carry a strong sense of Christian testimony. They speak naturally of salvation, grace, heaven, the Cross, repentance, hope and assurance. While their language sometimes belongs to another era, the faith they express remains recognisably the same.
A living Cornish tradition
Across Cornwall, Sankey's Evenings continue to draw people together from a remarkable variety of churches. At Gloweth Chapel, we first discovered Sankey from our friends at the nearby Baldhu Chapel, and tonight we welcome both local visitors, and those visiting Cornwall from elsewhere.
You do not have to be a Christian to attend this event. If you have never been to a Christian service, know nothing about God, and haven’t heard of Jesus, you are still welcome. If you know a little, but haven’t been to church for years, you are welcome.
For some, the evening will recall childhood memories of chapel life. For others, it is an opportunity to rediscover hymns that may have been absent from regular worship for many years. Increasingly, it is also an opportunity for a new generation to encounter this tradition for the first time.
That continuing appeal reminds us that good congregational singing never really goes out of date. While styles of worship may vary across time and location, there remains something deeply satisfying about a room full of people singing together with confidence, conviction and joy, to the glory of the unchanging God.
Singing together
This evening is not a concert, and none of us are here simply to listen.
The music before you exists to support the congregation. These hymns were written to be sung by ordinary Christians gathered together, not by a handful of experts on behalf of everyone else. Men’s voices, women’s voices and children’s voices all have their place.
So do not be afraid to sing. Join in heartily. Enjoy the harmonies if you know them, or can read them from the music. Listen to those around you when you are learning something unfamiliar. Encourage one another simply by taking part. The aim is not polished performance but wholehearted congregational praise.
Tonight
Our programme includes many well-loved Sankey favourites together with a small number of hymns and psalms beyond the original collection which share its evangelical spirit and sit naturally alongside it. We hope the words and music will serve the same purpose they always have: directing our thoughts to Christ, announcing the good news of salvation, strengthening our faith and giving us the privilege of praising God together.
Thank you for joining us. We trust you will enjoy the fellowship, the refreshments, and above all the opportunity to sing these wonderful hymns with a full heart and a full voice.
Dedication of our worship to God
To the glory of the almighty and everlasting God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.