Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#325

325. Go Forth for God

Text Information

• First Line: Go forth for God, go to the world in peace
• Title: Go Forth for God
• Author: John R. Peacey (1968, 1970)
• Meter: 10 10 10 10
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Scripture:
  1 Thessalonians 5:14-18
  ;
  1 Thessalonians 5:18
• Topic: Close of Worship; Walk with God
• Source: English Praise, 1975, (rev. in), alt.
• Copyright: By permission of M. E. Peacey

Tune Information

• Name: ANIMA CHRISTI
• Composer: William J. Maher (1863)
• Meter: 10 10 10 10
• Key: F Major

Text Information:

"Go Forth for God" is a wonderful parting hymn of encouragement. It exhorts believers to "go forth for God" to the world in peace (st. 1), "in love" (st. 2), "in strength" (stanza 3), and "in joy" (st. 4), using phrases from Romans 12:9-21 and 1 Thessalonians 5:13b¬22-biblical texts containing Paul's instructions about how Christians should act in the world.

John R. Peacey (b. Hove, Brighton, Sussex, England, 1896; d. Brighton, Sussex, 1971) wrote the original text to this hymn in 1968. The 1987 Psalter Hymnal version of the text, however, is a result of revisions made by Peacey in 1970 and by the editors of the English Hymnal supplement, English Praise (1975). Educated in theology at Selwyn College, Cambridge, Peacey was ordained in the Church of England in 1923. In addition to serving several churches in England, he was also headmaster and principal of the Bishop Cotton School in Simla, India (1927-1945), and principal of Bishop's College in Calcutta, India (1935-1945). Peacey concluded his career at Bristol Cathedral (1945-1966). Written mainly during his retirement years, his hymn texts were published posthumously in Go Forth for God (1981).

Liturgical Use:
Dismissal; especially effective for a profession of faith or commissioning service.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

ANIMA CHRISTI became popular in the latter half of the nineteenth century in British Roman Catholic churches, where it was used for evening benediction services. It is believed that Jesuit priest William J. Maher (b. Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, 1823; d. Paris, France, 1877) composed the tune around 1863 for a fourteenth-century Latin hymn, "Anima Christi sanctifica me." The obscure British collection Mission Hymns (1864) first published ANIMA CHRISTI for use with an anonymous English translation of this Latin text. Maher both studied and taught at Stonyhurst College. He entered the Jesuit Order in 1841, was ordained in 1856, and became an evangelist in London. The editor of Francis Trappes's Hymns for the Liturgical Year (1865), Maher died in Paris while en route to Lourdes to seek a cure for his cancer.

ANIMA CHRISTI builds slowly to its high point in line 3. Try singing the first line of each stanza in unison and all other lines in harmony. Each succeeding stanza should build in intensity. Accompany the hymn with some sense of marcato so that the music supports the text. Try the organ trumpet stop or, better yet, a trio of real trumpets playing from different balconies or church corners.

For more rousing tunes, use WOODLANDS (478), MORESTEAD (295), or the more familiar TOULON (521) with this text.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook