Born of Adam, torn from Eden

In the autumn of 1995 the Fellowship of Christian Writers (later ‘Association …’, or ACW), which had regularly organised poetry competitions, announced its first Hymn Competition for the following year. There was no required theme and from 118 entries, assessed anonymously, Hilary Jolly’s hymn was judged the winner. She had been ‘coaxed by Christopher Hayward’, and wrote it ‘1996-ish, while walking the dog’. It is rare to encapsulate so many great biblical themes in a single stz as the opening lines do here, but these are all clearly related to their fulfilment in Jesus, and the hymn moves on to its future orientation from his coming. The author received her prize, and the hymn was first formally sung, at the FCW annual conference at Hothorpe Hall, Leics, in Nov 1996. It was also sung at her home church of St Andrew the Great, Cambridge, and is published here for the first time in a main hymnal. Her emergence as a hymnwriter was further confirmed when she later won a more prestigious international competition; see note to 789 which ends on a similar climax.

Although the author originally had the tune CLEMENTINE in mind, CROSS OF JESUS (see notes at 504) was used at Hothorpe Hall and soon became the established partner to her words.

b Watford, Herts 1945. Watford Girls’ Grammar Sch and Ecole d’Etudes Bilingues du Lycée Français de Londres. Following a ‘Damascus Rd’ conversion to Christ, she became a member of St Andrew the Great Ch, Cambridge, worked for the church part-time 1994–2002, and also from 1999 as a charity shop manager for a Christian youth and community centre. She has also been involved in supporting sufferers from schizophrenia. Encouraged by Christopher Hayward (qv) she began writing hymns, often as she walked with her dog on Cambridge’s Coe Fen. Her first published work was the prizewinning text (1999) for the St Paul’s Cathedral Millennium Hymn Competition, Through the darkness of the ages, though other texts had already come 1st and 3rd in a smaller-scale competition run by the Association of Christian Writers. Her best-known hymn now features in Sing Glory (1999) and elsewhere; one not included here is the carol-like text, O Mary, rock your little boy. In 2005 she joined the Jubilate Hymns ‘Text Advisory Group’ (TAG) for the assessment of new hymns. See also the survey and appreciation by Brian West in HSB 19.10, April 2011. Nos.685, 789, 861, 1163.