Amen!
By: Sharon LeDuc
As the granddaughter of a Methodist preacher, I grew up in the Methodist Church. My husband Dick and I have always gone to the Methodist Church and we joined Central shortly after moving to Asheville in 2001.
As a child “Amen” meant “the end” to me. The prayer or hymn was over. Time to look at the worship bulletin and move on. Every hymn I sang as a child and young adult ended with “Amen”. We used 1935 and subsequent printings of The Methodist Hymnal.
Then a strange thing happened to our hymns in the 1966 edition of The Methodist Hymnal. Some of the hymns did not end with “Amen”. In the 1989 edition of The United Methodist Hymnal all hymns were without a final “Amen” – except for the Doxology.
What happened? What does “Amen” mean? Why were Amens removed. I had never bothered to investigate. Did theology change? Did the meaning of “Amen” change? Turns out that musical style of hymns of 1800s was the issue. Hymns were composed for the meters of the poetry of the texts and “Amen” with two short syllables did not fit added to the final stanza. The meter of the hymn tune did not accommodate “Amen”.
Click here to read more about why we don’t sing Amens anymore.
What about the spoken “Amen” which is in both Old and New Testaments, is in many of Paul’s letters, is attributed to Jesus dozens of times and is the very last word in the Bible. “Amen,” derived from a Hebrew word, and is used by Jews and Muslims. “Amen” may be the most widely known word in human speech.”
Click here to read more about the word Amen from our Jewish siblings.
After my long-delayed investigation. When I say “Amen” now, I will give thought to the history and meaning. I will understand those in congregations who shout “Amen” during worship. To me, “Amen” now means “hope” for what was just expressed.
God be with you! Amen!
