The title of this hymn by Fred Kaan (1929- ; see Biographies) is “Work and Worship,” showing the close relation between factors that often are considered to be unrelated. It was written in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1970, to be sung at the regular meeting of staff members of organizations that had their headquarters in the Ecumenical Center there. It was the custom that start the working week each Monday morning with an ecumenical worship service; on June 8, 1970, the theme for consideration was “Questions From a Reading Worker.” Kaan’s original words reflected the particular duties associated with life in the center, or “house” as it was called, and were written specially for this topic. 

In this hymn, Kaan helps us to pray for love, the “grace to listen,” and to realize the responsibility of the Christian both to live a holy life in “kitchen, office, shop,” and to follow the example of “the servant Christ” in our community relations.

The hymn has since been slightly revised in order to make it of wider use for work and workers in general, bringing practical Christianity into the daily working life. In stanza 1, line 1, the original “house” has become “world.” Stanza 3 had “wing and floor,” which are altered to “room and yard”; “meeting room” has become the more general “lecture hall”; and the local “cyclostyle and store” have been adjusted to become “office, shop, and ward.”

The tune WHITWORTH was named by the Canadian composer Walter Louis MacNutt, who was born June 2, 1910, in Charlottetown, Ontario. He attended Toronto College of Music, winning a prestigious scholarship. He studied organ and composition with Healy Willan and piano with Reginald Godden. From 1931 to 1953 he was organist-choirmaster at churches in Barrie, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Windsor. In the latter city he conducted the Windsor Singers for two years in Canadian Broadcasting Company programs. He served St. Thomas’ Church, Toronto, for 23 years, and retired in 1977. Compositions include works for piano, choir, and orchestra, besides a significant body of music written especially for the Anglican Church. One of his most popular publications was the solo song settings of poetic works by William Blake. This unison melody keeps repeating the opening rhythmic pattern, yet it has only a small amount of exact repetition. The development of the theme is logical and easy to master. The composer’s adventuresome harmonic changes make this hymn a delight to play and sing. 

📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.