One holy Apostolic church

Authors:
Themes:
Scriptures:
  • Leviticus 11:44-45
  • Leviticus 19:1-2
  • Leviticus 20:7
  • Deuteronomy 7:6-7
  • Matthew 10:32
  • Matthew 24:14
  • Matthew 28:18-20
  • Matthew 8:11
  • Mark 13:10
  • Mark 16:15-16
  • Mark 16:20
  • Luke 12:8-9
  • Luke 13:29
  • Luke 24:46-48
  • Acts 1:8
  • Acts 2:41-42
  • Acts 4:33
  • Romans 1:25
  • Romans 10:9
  • Romans 6:3-4
  • 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
  • 1 Corinthians 12:27
  • 1 Corinthians 12:3
  • 1 Corinthians 3:9
  • 2 Corinthians 6:1
  • Ephesians 4:11-16
  • Ephesians 4:4-6
  • Philippians 2:11
  • 1 Peter 1:15-16
  • 1 Peter 2:9
  • 1 John 3:3
  • Revelation 5:9
  • Revelation 7:9-17
Book Number:
  • 574

One holy apostolic church,
the body of the Lord:
our task, to witness to his name
in full and glad accord-
one Lord confessed, one faith believed,
one baptism its sign;
one God and Father over all,
one fellowship divine.

2. By Christ redeemed, in Christ renewed,
from every tongue and race,
we live to share with all the world
the wonder of his grace:
as God is holy, we must be
above reproach and blame;
for royal service set apart,
his gospel to proclaim.

3. With apostolic faith and zeal,
the church in every land
must bring God’s love to every life
as Jesus gave command:
his partners in a common task
uniting east and west,
we serve as one to make Christ known,
in him shall all be blessed!

© Mrs M Seddon / Jubilate Hymns This is an unaltered JUBILATE text. Other JUBILATE texts can be found at www.jubilate.co.uk
James Seddon 1915-83

The Church - Character and Privileges

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Tune

  • Ladywell
    Ladywell
    Metre:
    • CMD (Common Metre Double: 86 86 D)
    Composer:
    • Ferguson, William Harold

The story behind the hymn

In a situation similar to, but not identical with, that of 568, James Seddon wrote this hymn c1980, for HTC where it was first published. There it comes in the section ‘God’s church: mission and ministry’, and it could equally well have been placed in Section 6e here. As well as the ‘Great commission’ texts, Ephesians 4:4–6 and 1 Peter 1:15–16, 2:9–12 are seminal to the hymn.

For notes on the tune LADYWELL, see 90; an alternative arrangement is given at 865.

A look at the author

Seddon, James (Jim) Edward

b Lancs 1915; d London 1983. Tyndale Hall, Bristol 1936; Univ of Durham (LTh 1939). Ordained in 1939, he was curate of parishes in Everton, Toxteth and Southport, Lancs 1939–45. From 1945 to 1955 he served with the Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Soc (BCMS, now Crosslinks) in Tangier and Demnat Marakesh, Morocco, becoming fluent in Arabic and French; here his first hymns were written for Arabicspeaking congregations. Then he returned to be Home Sec for BCMS to 1967; in preaching widely throughout UK, he felt increasingly the questionable features of the missionary hymns often chosen: ‘romantic and outdated language tending to unreal pictures and understanding of todays missionary task’—JES, 1983. So the first of several new texts were nos.616 and 866 in Praise! With 5 others, they appeared in a typewritten BCMS booklet A Collection of Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Some are included in Youth Praise (1966); Jim went on to serve on the editorial team for Psalm Praise, Keswick Praise and HTC (1973, 1975, 1982) and was for a time Sec (and senior member) of the fledgling Jubilate Hymns. 3 of his hymns feature in GH and 7 in the 2004 CH, overlapping with 7 in Praise! There are 8 in Keswick Praise and the same number in Baptist Praise and Worship (1991) and Sing Glory (1999). Until retirement he was Rector of Hawkwell, nr Southend, Essex 1967–74, then incumbent of the parishes of Peldon and Gt and Little Wigborough, nr Colchester, Essex. Nos.133A, 528, 568, 574, 616, 627, 866, 1043.