Baptized into Christ Jesus

This hymn goes back a little further than the two previous items and its text is virtually inextricable from its tune. When Psalm Praise was in preparation, copyright restrictions prevented the use of the DAMBUSTERS MARCH with Richard Bewes’ paraphrase God is our strength and refuge (see 46B and note). In 1972 editor Michael Baughen therefore composed this tune to fill the page, fearing it might never be used. It was later named DEVA after the ancient Roman name for Chester, of which the composer became bishop in 1982; he further explained, ‘Psalm 46 is a fortress Psalm and Chester means fortress.’ So at Poplar, E London, where Christopher Idle was then ministering, he wrote this item in 1974, explaining in turn in 1998: ‘Two factors prompting this were a song without words, and a subject needing work … We also saw the need for some fresh baptismal hymns; surprisingly few baptists had written any, and most of the extant Anglican ones were about babies (and ‘the sign of the cross’) rather than baptism—or even water! Things have now improved.’ This one uses mainly Romans 6:1–14 and 1 Peter 3:21–22; by its placing of the word ‘baptism’ (awkward for scansion purposes) it tries to make it singable. After discussion it was revised (notably stz 2) for HTC, provisionally accepted, but not finally included; further revisions were made for Praise! (1.5–6), and the tune adjusted in order to begin on the 2nd beat of the bar. The words were included in Light upon the River (1998) but this is their first appearance in a hymnal, as it is of Linda Mawson’s new arrangement of the tune.

b Bromley, Kent 1938. Eltham Coll, St Peter’s Coll Oxford (BA, English), Clifton Theol Coll Bristol; ordained in 1965 to a Barrow-in-Furness curacy. He spent 30 years in CofE parish ministry, some in rural Suffolk, mainly in inner London (Peckham, Poplar and Limehouse). Author of over 300 hymn texts, mainly Scripture based, collected in Light upon the River (1998) and Walking by the River (2008), Trees along the River (2018), and now appearing in some 300 books and other publications; see also the dedication of EP1 (p3) to his late wife Marjorie. He served on 5 editorial groups from Psalm Praise (1973) to Praise!; his writing includes ‘Grove’ booklets Hymns in Today’s Language (1982) and Real Hymns, Real Hymn Books (2000), and The Word we preach, the words we sing (Reform, 1998). He edited the quarterly News of Hymnody for 10 years, and briefly the Bulletin of the Hymn Society, on whose committee he served at various times between 1984 and 2006; and addressed British and American Hymn Socs. Until 1996 he often exchanged draft texts with Michael Perry (qv) for mutual criticism and encouragement. From 1995 he was engaged in educational work and writing from home in Peckham, SE London, until retirement in 2003; following his return to Bromley after a gap of 40 years, he has attended Holy Trinity Ch Bromley Common and Hayes Lane Baptist Ch. Owing much to the Proclamation Trust, he also belongs to the Anglican societies Crosslinks and Reform, together with CND and the Christian pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation. A former governor of 4 primary schools, he has also written songs for school assemblies set to familiar tunes, and (in 2004) Grandpa’s Amazing Poems and Awful Pictures. His bungalow is smoke-free, alcohol-free, car-free, gun-free and TV-free. Nos.13, 18, 21, 23A, 24B, 27B, 28, 31, 35, 36, 37, 48, 50, 68, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 85, 89, 92, 95, 102, 108, 109, 114, 118, 119A, 121A, 125, 128, 131, 145B, 157, 176, 177, 193*, 313*, 333, 339, 388, 392, 420, 428, 450, 451, 463, 478, 506, 514, 537, 548, 551, 572, 594, 597, 620, 621, 622, 636, 668, 669, 693, 747, 763, 819, 914, 917, 920, 945, 954, 956, 968, 976, 1003, 1012, 1084, 1098, 1138, 1151, 1158, 1159, 1178, 1179, 1181, 1201, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1209, 1210, 1211, 1212, 1221, 1227, 1236, 1237, 1244, 1247, 5017, 5018, 5019, 5020.