John L. Bell
Encyclopedia
John Lamberton Bell is a hymn-writer. A Church of Scotland
minister, he is a member of the Iona Community
, a broadcaster
, and former student activist. He works throughout the world, often lecturing in theological colleges in the UK, Canada
and the United States
, but is primarily concerned with the renewal of congregational worship
at the grass roots
level.
where in 1974 he was elected President of the Students' Representative Council
. His election represented a significant development as it was the start of a few years' control by the left wing of the SRC. Bell was quite open about his Christian
religious beliefs, wearing a wooden cross-shaped pendant.
In 1977 he was elected Rector of the University, while he was still a student. This was part of a trend for student rectors in Scotland at that time (which included Gordon Brown
at the University of Edinburgh) but the rules were later changed to prevent students from standing for this post.
and two posts in church youth work, he became employed full-time in the areas of music and worship with the Wild Goose Resource Group. He is a past convener of the Church of Scotland
’s Panel on Worship and also convened the Committee to revise the Church Hymnary
.
In 1999 he was honoured by the Presbyterian Church in Canada
and the Royal School of Church Music
which bestowed a Fellowship on him, and in 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow
.
Bell has produced (sometimes in collaboration with Graham Maule) many collections of original hymns and songs and two collections of songs of the World Church. These are published by the Iona Community
in Scotland
and by G.I.A. Publications (Chicago
) in North America. Several collections of his work have been published in translation in Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Dutch, Frisian, Japanese and German.
, and often presents programmes on the BBC
, majoring on contemporary religious songs from various parts of the world. He is quite a regular contributor to Thought for the Day
on Radio Four.
In 2005, the BBC apologised for a broadcast by Bell in which he suggested that a Muslim corporal conscripted into the Israeli army had been jailed for refusing to shoot Palestinian children. The broadcast itself was a fairly innocuous plea for understanding between the two sides with conflicting claims in the Middle East, yet was interpreted by those of one allegiance as an attack. Neither the BBC nor the Israeli military were able to find any evidence supporting the story or the existence of a soldier fitting the description. It was further pointed out that Israeli Arabs are not subject to conscription. Bell acknowledged that parts of his story were incorrect and that the broadcast could have been interpreted by some parties as "furtive racism", though he countered that "such a conjecture would be completely untrue.". It was also reported that a spokesman at the Israeli embassy said, "We appreciate that the BBC has apologised; however, it is a pity as the damage is irreparable.[...]"
's Church Hymnary (Fourth Edition)
. The committee first met in 1994; the Fourth Edition was finally published in 2005. Music edition: ISBN 1-85311-613-0
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
minister, he is a member of the Iona Community
Iona Community
The Iona Community, founded in 1938 by the Rev George MacLeod, is an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church....
, a broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, and former student activist. He works throughout the world, often lecturing in theological colleges in the UK, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but is primarily concerned with the renewal of congregational worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
at the grass roots
Grass Roots
Grass Roots is an Australian television series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 2000 and 2003.The series is set around the fictional Arcadia Waters Council near Sydney, and was primarily a satirical look at the machinations of local government...
level.
Student Activism
Bell studied at the University of GlasgowUniversity of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
where in 1974 he was elected President of the Students' Representative Council
Glasgow University Students' Representative Council
Glasgow University Students' Representative Council was founded on 9th March 1886 and recognised as the legal representative body for students of the University of Glasgow by the Universities Act 1889. The SRC is responsible for representing students' interests to the management of the University...
. His election represented a significant development as it was the start of a few years' control by the left wing of the SRC. Bell was quite open about his Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
religious beliefs, wearing a wooden cross-shaped pendant.
In 1977 he was elected Rector of the University, while he was still a student. This was part of a trend for student rectors in Scotland at that time (which included Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
at the University of Edinburgh) but the rules were later changed to prevent students from standing for this post.
Music career
After a period in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and two posts in church youth work, he became employed full-time in the areas of music and worship with the Wild Goose Resource Group. He is a past convener of the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
’s Panel on Worship and also convened the Committee to revise the Church Hymnary
Hymnbooks of the Church of Scotland
Decisions concerning the conduct of public worship in the Church of Scotland are entirely at the discretion of the parish minister. As a result, a wide variety of musical resources are used...
.
In 1999 he was honoured by the Presbyterian Church in Canada
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...
and the Royal School of Church Music
Royal School of Church Music
The largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future,...
which bestowed a Fellowship on him, and in 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
.
Bell has produced (sometimes in collaboration with Graham Maule) many collections of original hymns and songs and two collections of songs of the World Church. These are published by the Iona Community
Iona Community
The Iona Community, founded in 1938 by the Rev George MacLeod, is an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church....
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and by G.I.A. Publications (Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
) in North America. Several collections of his work have been published in translation in Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Dutch, Frisian, Japanese and German.
Broadcasting
He is a frequent broadcasterPresenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, and often presents programmes on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, majoring on contemporary religious songs from various parts of the world. He is quite a regular contributor to Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day
Thought for the Day is a daily scripted slot on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7.45 each Monday to Saturday morning...
on Radio Four.
In 2005, the BBC apologised for a broadcast by Bell in which he suggested that a Muslim corporal conscripted into the Israeli army had been jailed for refusing to shoot Palestinian children. The broadcast itself was a fairly innocuous plea for understanding between the two sides with conflicting claims in the Middle East, yet was interpreted by those of one allegiance as an attack. Neither the BBC nor the Israeli military were able to find any evidence supporting the story or the existence of a soldier fitting the description. It was further pointed out that Israeli Arabs are not subject to conscription. Bell acknowledged that parts of his story were incorrect and that the broadcast could have been interpreted by some parties as "furtive racism", though he countered that "such a conjecture would be completely untrue.". It was also reported that a spokesman at the Israeli embassy said, "We appreciate that the BBC has apologised; however, it is a pity as the damage is irreparable.[...]"
Church Hymnary (Fourth Edition)
John Bell was the Convener (and music editor) of the committee which drafted the Church of ScotlandChurch of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
's Church Hymnary (Fourth Edition)
Hymnbooks of the Church of Scotland
Decisions concerning the conduct of public worship in the Church of Scotland are entirely at the discretion of the parish minister. As a result, a wide variety of musical resources are used...
. The committee first met in 1994; the Fourth Edition was finally published in 2005. Music edition: ISBN 1-85311-613-0
Partial bibliography
- And the Crowd Is Still Hungry (1978), ISBN 0-85261-154-4
- Songs of the Incarnation (1984), ISBN 0-9501351-8-6
- Poverty, Chastity and Obedience: A Vocation for Today (1985), ISBN 0-947988-00-9
- Eh... Jesus... Yes, Peter...? (1987–90)
- Heaven Shall Not Wait: Wild Goose Songs Vol. 1 (1987), ISBN 0-947988-20-3
- Enemy Of Apathy: Wild Goose Songs Vol. 2 (1988), ISBN 0-947988-31-9
- Love From Below: Wild Goose Songs Vol. 3 (1990), ISBN 0-947988-43-2
- Wild Goose Prints (1990), ISBN 0-947988-41-6
- Innkeepers and Light Sleepers: Seventeen New Songs for Christmas (1992), ISBN 0-947988-47-5
- Psalms of Patience, Protest and Praise (1993), ISBN 0-947988-56-4
- Wrestle and Fight and Pray (1993), ISBN 0-7152-0681-8
- Come All You People: Shorter Songs for Worship from the Iona Community (1994), ISBN 0-947988-68-8
- He Was in the World: Meditations for Public Worship (1995), ISBN 0-947988-70-X
- The Courage to Say No: Twenty-three Songs for Lent and Easter (1996), ISBN 0-947988-78-5
- States of Bliss and Yearning: The Marks and Means of Authentic Christian Spirituality (1998), ISBN 1-901557-07-3
- There Is One Among Us: Shorter Songs for Worship (1998), ISBN 1-901557-10-3
- Jesus and Peter: A Book of Unrecorded Dialogues (1999), ISBN 1-901557-17-0
- The Singing Thing: A Case for Congregational Song (2000), ISBN 1-901557-28-6
- One Is the Body: Songs of Unity and Diversity (2002), ISBN 1-901557-35-9
- Hard Words for Interesting Times: Biblical Texts in Contemporary Contexts (2003), ISBN 1-901557-75-8
- I Will Not Sing Alone: Songs For The Seasons Of Love (2004), ISBN 1-901557-91
- The Singing Thing Too: Enabling Congregations To Sing (2007), ISBN 1-905010-32-5
- Thinking Out Loud: Collected Scripts From Radio 4's 'Thought For The Day' (2008), ISBN 1-905010-41-7
- We Walk His Way: Shorter Songs For Worship (2008), ISBN 1-905010-55-4
- Ten Things They Never Told Me About Jesus: A Beginner's Guide To a Larger Christ (2009), ISBN 9781905010608