Hymns: 2019 Memories

I began this series with my Hymns: 1980 Memories post, so this is the 39th in the series 😀.

Belfast seemed very different to how I remembered it. It’s obviously much improved, but I’ve reached an age where I want everything put back the way it was in my youth – even if it means British soldiers stopping me at checkpoints 😀.

On the same holiday, we went to Wetherspoons in Lower Abbey Street, Dublin for lunch. What I like about Wetherspoons is that so many of their restaurants are located in historic buildings. This building, currently called the Silver Penny, had been used by evangelical churches in the past, including a Baptist church. It prompted me to explore the history of the Dublin Baptist scene. I remember listening to a podcast on that holiday on the history of Grace Baptist Church. It’s actually called Grace Bible Fellowship nowadays. I also dropped into Christian Publications in Middle Abbey Street. I stayed with people in the Pentecostal fellowship that met above the shop around Christmas 1981 and early 1982. It was one of several Christian bookshops that Stanley Mawhinney opened throughout Ireland, including the one in Tuckey Street, Cork, which I spent many happy hours in back in the early 1980s. Back then, though a Baptist, I mixed with many Pentecostals. In recent years I’ve become more of an introvert, but my head is full of delightful memories of so many people from the Irish and UK evangelical scene who I spent time with in my early years.

In 2019 another Baptist church, Blackrock Community Church was established in Dublin. And North Belfast Christian Fellowship, another Baptist church, was established in Belfast. It’s interesting how Baptist churches are beginning to drop the name “Baptist”. It’s not that they’re changing their belief about baptizing believers rather than babies. But it always seemed odd to name a church or denomination after a nickname based on one particular doctrine. Yet, in Ireland, I believe that “Baptist” is a good brand name.

In Ireland, unlike the UK, all Baptist churches are evangelical. And because the association has a long history, they’ve built up a lot of experience. I don’t know why so many in the UK aren’t evangelical. In the 19th Century there was a big push to make Christianity more credible by trying to strip it of supernatural elements. So, some churches did just that and others didn’t. The conservative ones were seen as fundamentalist and anti-intellectual, but nowadays, some of the most respected New Testament scholars are evangelical.

Worship songs from 2019 include the following.

I didn’t know any of these songs back in 2019, but we sing them all the time in the church that I currently attend.

In my own case, as a teenager I was back and forward in my beliefs until I finally committed my life to Christ at 18. Maybe the same could be said for people like Kanye. Hopefully, a time will come when he totally commits his life to Christ.

Anyway, here are some music, events, and films/TV shows that would have formed the background to 2019. I don’t necessarily endorse all the songs or films 😀.

10 Songs of 2019

• Giant – Calvin Harris & Rag’n’Bone Man
• Dance Monkey – Tones and I
• Señorita – Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
• Memories – Maroon 5
• Circles – Post Malone
• Vossi Bop – Stormzy
• ME! – Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie
• You Need to Calm Down – Taylor Swift
• Higher Love – Kygo & Whitney Houston
• I Don’t Care – Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber

10 Movies or TV Shows of 2019

• 1917
• Toy Story 4
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
• Captain Marvel
• The Lion King (Remake)
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Little Women
• Frozen II
• Spider-Man: Far From Home
• Aladdin (Remake)
• Jojo Rabbit

Some News Events from 2019

• Notre Dame Fire – Paris’ iconic cathedral was severely damaged by fire in April
• Greta Thunberg & Climate Strikes – Youth-led climate protests gained worldwide attention
• Christchurch Mosque Shootings – A terrorist attack in New Zealand killed 51 worshippers in March
• Sri Lanka Easter Bombings – Coordinated attacks killed over 250 people in April
• North Korea–U.S. Talks Collapse – Nuclear negotiations stalled after the Hanoi summit
• Hong Kong Protests – Millions marched against a proposed extradition bill, sparking months of unrest
• Donald Trump Impeachment – The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Trump in December
• Brexit Turmoil – Ongoing political battles in the UK, with Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister in July
• Amazon Rainforest Fires – Global concern rose as massive fires devastated the Amazon
• Ana Kriégel Murder Trial (June) – Two teenage boys were convicted of murdering 14-year-old Ana Kriégel, in the longest murder trial in Irish history

Some Famous People Who Passed Away in 2019

• Doris Day – Legendary actress and singer, died May 13.
• Peter Fonda – Actor (Easy Rider), died August 16.
• Keith Flint – Frontman of The Prodigy, died March 4.
• Albert Finney – Actor (Erin Brockovich, Skyfall), died February 7.
• Valerie Harper – Actress (Rhoda), died August 30.
• Gay Byrne (Nov 4, 2019) – Legendary Irish broadcaster and host of The Late Late Show, one of Ireland’s most beloved media figures
• Brendan Grace (July 11, 2019) – Irish Comedian and entertainer, famous for his stand-up and characters like “Bottler
• Danny Doyle (Aug 6, 2019) – Irish folk singer, remembered for hits like Whiskey on a Sunday
• Seamus Mallon (Jan 2019) – Prominent Northern Irish politician, deputy leader of the SDLP, and key figure in the peace process
• Peter Tork – Musician from The Monkees  
• Richie Ryan – Irish politician
• Sandie Jones – Irish singer
• Niall Tobin – Irish actor