Hymns: 1997 Memories

In January 1997, the first divorce occurred in Ireland, following the referendum in 1995. It seemed quite a momentous change at the time, but since then, so much else has changed.

Here are some of the Christian hymns published in 1997. I do remember Before the Throne of God Above being particularly popular in the subsequent years. We used to use Mission Praise in Tipperary Christian Fellowship, but we added Christian Hymns in later years, and, though it featured more traditional hymns, it also included some modern songs, including Before the Throne of God Above and several others by Stuart Townend.

Two key memories of 1997 were visits from two Welsh preachers, Simon Bowkett and Geoff Thomas. Not only did Simon Bowkett come and speak at Limerick Baptist Church, but he also later brought a little team from Gravesend in Kent to help with our evangelism. And then, in the Autumn, Geoff Thomas spoke at Clonmel Baptist Church. It was my first time hearing him, but in later years, I frequently downloaded his sermons from the Web.

Another 1997 memory was some sort of special event in the Old Ground Hotel Ennis, which was the home of Ennis Evangelical church. I remember the young people singing Shine Jesus Shine. I also remember speaking at Carrigaline Baptist Church in the summer and Clonmel Baptist Church in the autumn. I first dropped into the Clonmel fellowship back in 1982. Over the years it grew and was always quite influential. Tipperary has no cities, but it does have churches in Clonmel, Thurles, Tipperary Town, Nenagh, and Roscrea. And there was a little fellowship that met in the Irish Bible School, when its home was Coalbrook. Later it became the Irish Bible Institute and moved to Dublin.

My Baptist Missions church visits for 1997, which I still fondly remember, included the following:

April

• Coagh Baptist Church
• Hamilton Road Baptist Church
• East End Baptist Church
• Mountpottinger Baptist Church
• Dundonald Baptist Church
• Carndaisy Baptist Church

November

• Cavan Baptist Church
• Glengormley Baptist Church
• Londonderry Baptist Church
• Holywood Baptist Church
• Glenarm Baptist Church
• Bloomfield Baptist Church
• Armagh Baptist Church
• Cookstown Baptist Church

1997 was the year our third child, a boy, was born. We went to the UK on holiday for the first time and visited Legoland in Windsor, Cheddar Gorge, Lynmouth and many other beautiful spots. 1997 was the first year that I accessed the Internet. Back then, it was dial-up and there was little in the way of Christian resources. But that all changed in the 2000s. And of course, YouTube arrived in 2005, which is full of excellent resources at our fingertips.

Another memory of 1997 was driving down to Midleton Evangelical Church and speaking about Christmas one night coming up to Christmas. That was probably my last time visiting that church, but it’s a great joy to see that it’s still thriving and there’s now other Baptist churches nearby in Carrigtwohill and Youghal.

And here are two excellent books that I remember reading in 1997:

These were quite sophisticated books on apologetics. Even with all the web resources available, I still re-read these a couple of times since.

Finally, here’s some music, events, and films/TV shows that would have formed the background to 1997. I don’t necessarily endorse all these 😀, but thinking of them takes me back to 1997.

10 Songs

• Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro)​ – Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli
• Bitter Sweet Symphony​ – The Verve
• Tubthumping​ – Chumbawamba
• The Drugs Don’t Work​ – The Verve
• Karma Police​ – Radiohead
• Candle In The Wind​ – Elton John
• Spice Up Your Life​ – The Spice Girls
• A Life Less Ordinary​ – Ash
• Perfect Day​ – Various Artists
• Angels – Robbie Williams

10 Events

• Mary McAleese elected President
• Bertie Ahern became Taoiseach
• Tony Blair’s Labour Party won a landslide victory
• Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris
• Hong Kong was handed back to China
• Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal
• Luxor massacre in Egypt
• Pol Pot put on trial
• European Union announced plans to expand
• Severe earthquake struck Iran

10 Films or TV Shows

• Titanic
• Men in Black
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park
• As Good As It Gets
• Air Force One
• Anastasia
• Hercules
• Starship Troopers
• My Best Friend’s Wedding
• Full Circle (Michael Palin TV Show)

10 Famous People Who Passed Away

• Princess Diana – British royal, humanitarian, and global icon
• Mother Teresa – Nobel Peace Prize-winning missionary and saint
• James Stewart – Legendary Hollywood actor (It’s a Wonderful Life)
• John Denver – Folk singer-songwriter (Take Me Home, Country Roads)
• Jeff Buckley – Singer-songwriter known for his haunting voice
• Robert Mitchum – Classic film actor (Cape Fear, Out of the Past)
• Jacques Cousteau – Marine explorer and inventor of the Aqua-Lung
• Red Skelton – Comedian and TV personality
• Dodi Fayed – Film producer and partner of Princess Diana
• Jim Kemmy – Irish Labour Party politician and founder of the Democratic Socialist Party, known for his progressive views and work in Limerick