In all my church-going, I haven’t come across one of those board things on the front wall behind the clergyman/men like you see in small churches and on The Waltons. It appears to be poster size (2 x 3’) and I think I see writing on it, with numbers on it to one side. What is this and its purpose? Thanks.
You mean the board with the page numbers for the hymns?
It’s hard to tell, since you haven’t come across one, and therefore can’t describe it very clearly. Some churches have number boards that tell the hymns that will be sung that day. A few have last weeks attendance in services and Sunday school. I think I’ve only seen that in a small country church, and it would be alrger and have more writing on it, so I’m guessing that’s what it is. I have no idea why small country churches want you to know their attendance last week. I’ve never asked. I occasionally visit a small city church now that prints last week’s attendance in the bullitin, though, along with the attendance on the same Sunday last year for comparison. I find it depressing (since the numbers are invariably smaller than last year and MUCH smaller than a pleasant mainline congregation in that location should have).
It is called a hymn board. The numbers are the hymns to be sung during the service.
Do you mean like the board on the right here, Joe K? If so, the other peope here are right – it shows a list of hymns to be sung. The numbers correspond to numbers in a book of hymns made available when the congregation arrives at the church.
And also there are boards that give the number of membership, how many attended last week and how much the offering was.
That’s the one! I guess the numbers are standardized? Thanks!
Yes and no. The numbers correspond to the book they hand out when you arrive, so as long as everybody’s singing from the same hymn book* they can all join in. But there’s no general correlation that No.365 is always God Rest Ye Little Gentlemen or whatever in every book or every church.
*That expression is in common use over here for any general accord on policy or whatever. Is it also used in the USA?
The numbers refer to page number or hymn numbers within whichever hymnal that church happens to use. Most large denominations have official hymnals, so for example 718 will always refer to “Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending” in a United Methodest Church, since that is the page the hymn appears on in the United Methodist Hymnal. In a Presbyterian church it will refer to whatever hymn is on page 718 in their hymnal. (I don’t have a Presbyterian hymnal at hand to check.) Of course, there are always some United Methodist churches that use a different hymnal, at least for some services (same for Presbyterians), but the numbers will always refer to the pages in whatever book is being used.
Of course the same information is always in the bulletin along with the name, so I never look at the board.
Man, two simulposts in the same thread and I’m beaten each time! (Wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t spent time getting an actual example out of a hymnal.)
BTW, it’s “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman”. It’s actually not in the UM Hymnal! 365 is “Grace Greater than Our Sin,” which I don’t think I’ve ever sung. Not that you were interested!