Christ the Word who spoke creation

The Association of Christian Writers (ACW, formed in 1972 as the ‘Fellowship …’ or FCW) holds regular competitions for its members and others. In 1996 it held its first hymn competition, open to any topic (see 685, note); while Veronica Zundel’s hymn did not gain a ‘top 3’ award, it was judged an unofficial 4th—hindered more by her chosen tune than by any deficiency in the text. Some small changes were made following comments by the competition’s judge.

HELMSLEY, then, was the writer’s choice (511); ‘I loved the tune and thought it deserved some new words … This is my first and so far my only hymn’ (VZ, Feb 1997). For this text, however, the editors prefer James Tilleard’s under-valued LEWISHAM, often listed as KENSINGTON NEW and a strong alternative for 350, Angels from the realms of glory. It appeared in the 1887 Congregational Church Hymnary (‘Barrett’). Lewisham and Kensington are now both London Boroughs, SE and W respectively, both with their advocates; the former was the composer’s birthplace. Whichever tune is chosen, the pacemakers (whether musicians, singers or conductor) must try to ensure that the hymn is taken thoughtfully enough to do justice to the words, but briskly enough to avoid weariness.

Born Coventry, 1953, of Austrian refugee parents; Barrs Hill Girls’ Grammar Sch, Coventry, and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Univ (English, BA 1975). She is married to Ed Sirett, an engineering graduate now working as a property manager, plumber and gas fitter. Together they set up the property maintenance business ‘Make Do and Mend’ which reflects their commitment to a simple lifestyle. Both former Anglicans, they live in Muswell Hill in N London and belong to the nearby Wood Green Mennonite Ch (founded in 1976, the only one of its kind in the UK), being attracted by its commitment to equitable living, social justice and peacemaking. This also has links with Christian Peacemaker Teams UK. Veronica is a published and prizewinning poet and Christian journalist who has written Going Out—real questions (and some answers) about dating (1990); The Time of our Lives: Journeying with the Bible (2007, including ‘Why I am a Mennonite’), compiled The Lion Book of Famous Prayers (1985) and Faith in Her Words: 6 centuries of women’s poetry (1991), and contributed to BRF Bible Reading notes, a Mennonite symposium Coming Home, and periodicals including New Daylight and Woman Alive. She has written on Anabaptist and Mennonite history and challenged evangelicals to be more biblical, notably in rejecting an inherited individualism. Her verse appears in several poetry collections including those from Lion Publishing (Lion Hudson) and the Assn of Christian Writers (ACW); she was a member of the Board of Directors of the Arts Centre Group in London and is a trustee of the Christian feminist charity ‘Men, Women and God’. No.290.