Hymns: 1995 Memories

1995 was the year that Ireland failed to win the Eurovision song contest 😀. We won three years in a row from 1992 to 1994. My favourite was In Your Eyes, by Niamh Kavanagh, which won in 1993. And 1994 will be remembered for Riverdance, which was introduced to fill the gap between the performance and the voting. But Norway’s 1995 winning song is by far my favourite of all the Eurovision songs. I often play it in my mind when I remember the Summer of 95. And around the same time, I bought Stanley Road by Paul Weller, which is one of my favourite albums.

Some hymns first published in 1995 include the following:

We sang How Deep the Father’s Love for Us quite regularly in Tipperary Christian Fellowship, but we were never into the Hillsong stuff, which has become dominant since the mid 1990s. I generally prefer the old hymns, but I do try to take an interest in the modern music. Perhaps some gems will emerge that will be sung for many years to come. Some churches are reluctant to go anywhere near the modern stuff because of their associatians with megachurch scandals etc. But at a personal level, if I like a song, I’m not really all that concerned about who wrote it or where it came from. I might be more careful introducing new songs in church because it can change the whole culture of a church, or even align it with a sinister movement. Maybe the Reformed Presbyterians are wise to stick with singing Psalms only 😀. But then again, you could just make it clear that you don’t necessarily endorse all the teachings of the churches that produced the new worship songs. It’s the same with secular music.

I have very happy memories of family life in 1995, with our two children aged 1 and 2. We’d regularly visit Smyths toyshop in Henry Street, Limerick. Many years later, it closed and is now the home of Abundant Life, a Pentecostal fellowship that was formed in 1995. In fact, the fellowship has roots in the late 1970s. I remember spending a weekend with them in Kilmoganny, Kilkenny in 1982. There, I learnt three wonderful worship songs;

• We Are a Chosen People
• Your Love is To Me Like An Ever-flowing Stream
• My Heart Overflows

Other memories of 1995 are a United Christian Broadcasting (UCB) meeting in Jury’s hotel in Limerick. I think they were introducing the station to Ireland at that time. I haven’t made much use of Christian radio or TV, but I do remember listening to Trans World Radio (TWR) Monte Carlo back in the 1970s. And when I worked with London City Mission (LCM), some of us participated in a TWR broadcast, which was recorded in the LCM headquarters on Tower Bridge Road. Two other Christian stations in Ireland that I am aware of are Spirit Radio and Life FM, which broadcasts from Cork.

Another memory of 1995 is a visit to Limerick by members of Operation Mobilization. These were young people who went around the world on ships, visiting various countries and evangelizing. I don’t remember the ship visiting Limerick, but the team did help us with our open-air preaching. Generally, Mallow Street Christian Fellowship organized such visits. I do remember visiting their ship in Cork in 2009.

In 1995, I visited the following Baptist Churches:

May

• Tobermore Baptist Church
• Carndaisy Baptist Church
• Magherafelt Baptist Church
• Jamestown Road Baptist Church, Dublin
• Ballykeel Baptist Church
• Larne Baptist Church

November

• Carr Baptist Church
• Craigavon Baptist Church
• Ballycrochan Baptist Church
• Haypark Avenue Baptist Church – now closed but Village Church use the building
• Orangefield Baptist Church – new closed
• Omagh Baptist Church
• Ballymoney Baptist Church
• Portrush Baptist Church
• Carrigfergus Baptist Church

1995 was the centenary of the Baptist Union of Ireland (now called the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland (ABCI)) and the centenary of Limerick Baptist Church. Baptist churches began in Ireland with Cork (1640), Dublin (1642) and Waterford (1650). But it was only in 1895 that they formed the Union. I think of it as similar to an association of corner shops. Each church is independent, but they cooperate on various initiatives. Century of Grace by Joshua Thomspon, was published in 1995.

Interestingly, two other Tipperary churches named themselves Baptist churches in the mid 1990s; Thurles Baptist Church and Clonmel Baptist Church. Thurles Baptist Church also chose to join the Baptist Union. The Tipperary town fellowship settled on Tipperary Christian Fellowship in 1998, but recently, they changed the name to Tipperary Bible Church.

But, whatever the name, most of the newer fellowships are essentially Baptist in their theological outlook. They only baptise people when they become believers and make local decisions at the congregational level rather than looking to a higher body.

An exception in the evangelical scene in Ireland is the Reformed Presbyterian Church. It’s a relatively small denomination, but like the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, it is thoroughly evangelical. The big difference between Reformed Presbyterians and Baptists is that Reformed Presbyterians baptize infants. I think they do it in the hope that they’ll later come to personal faith. It doesn’t make them Christians. Another difference is that they sing Psalms rather than hymns in their worship services. But in other respects, they are very similar to Baptist churches. And both believe that people need to come to personal faith rather than rely on their heritage. In 1995, I remember visiting Galway to speak at the Covenant Fellowship, which is a Reformed Presbyterian Church. They also ran a Christian bookshop in the town; Aisling Books. The Reformed Presbyterian Church recently started a little fellowship in Limerick, named Solas Church.

Another presbyterian denomination is the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. And, there’s the Free Presbyterian Church, which was founded by Ian Paisley. Paisley was much criticised for mixing religion with politics. And for many, his outlook was seen as more fundamentalist than evangelical, but they are an evangelical denomination, and they have worked in the Republic over the years. Then, you do get some evangelical churches in the mainline denominations. A good example is Kilkenny Presbyterian Church.

1995 was the year of the divorce referendum. Some see it as the beginning of a change in attitude to the Roman Catholic Church that has been evident in referendums since. However, we have no reason to believe that people just blindly follow church teaching in the voting. And it should also be remembered that in all cases, a significant minority vote the other way. Here are the results of some recent referenda:

Issue	Year	Yes	No	Turnout
Divorce	1995	50.28%	49.72%	62.15%
Same-sex Marriage	2015	62%	38%	61%
Abortion	2018	66.4%	33.6%	62%

It’s highly unlikely that any of these would have passed back in the 1980s or earlier.

One of the songs of the summer of 1995 was Search for the Hero by M People. I didn’t particularly like the song, but when I hear it now, it brings me back to 1995. Some Christians might criticize it because you should be searching for the hero outside yourself. But perhaps it’s about achieving your full potential, which you can begin doing when you come to Christ. The same can be said for Hero by Mariah Carey from 1993.

Phil 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I was quite surprised to see lead singer, Heather Small on Songs of Praise many years later, in 2007, singing Rise Up.

Finally, here’s some music, events, and films/TV shows that would have formed the background to 1995. I don’t necessarily endorse all these, but thinking of them takes me back to 1995.

10 Songs

• Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead
• U Sure Do – Strike
• I’m in Chains – Tina Arena
• Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me – U2
• Kiss from a Rose – Seal
• Waterfalls – TLC
• Runaway – Janet Jackson
• Fairground – Simply Red
• Light of My Life – Louise
• Free as a Bird – Beatles

10 Events

• Kobe Earthquake​
• Troops end daytime patrols Belfast​
• OJ Simpson trial starts
• Chechen conflict​
• Oklahoma bomb​
• Bill Clinton visits Northern Ireland
• Rory Gallagher RIP
• Bosnian War Ends ​
• Nerve Gas Attack in Tokyo​
• Princess Diana interview​

10 Films or TV Shows

• Reality on the Rocks​
• Sophies World
• The Buccaneers​
• Brittas Empire
• Mrs Merton ​
• The Tales of Parahandy​
• Braveheart
• Pride and Prejudice
• Beatles Anthology​
• Toy Story​

10 Famous People Who Passed Away

• Dean Martin – Crooner, actor, and member of the Rat Pack
• Donald Pleasence – Actor known for roles in Halloween and James Bond’s You Only Live Twice
• Ginger Rogers – Iconic dancer and actress from Hollywood’s Golden Age
• Junior Walker – Saxophonist and frontman of Junior Walker & the All Stars
• Charlie Rich – Country singer known for “The Most Beautiful Girl”
• Rory Gallagher – Irish blues-rock guitarist and singer
• Peter Cook – British comedian and satirist
• Neil Blaney – Long-serving Fianna Fáil TD and MEP from Donegal
• Brian Lenihan Sr. – Fianna Fáil TD and Cabinet Minister
• Frank Hall – Satirist and broadcaster, known for Hall’s Pictorial Weekly