Funeral reading
How Great Thou Art
Stuart K. Hine (English text, 1949)
“How Great Thou Art” by Stuart K. Hine (English text, 1949) is a hymn read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 5 minutes read aloud, usually by everyone together. It is still in copyright, so the words are not reprinted here — the reader brings a printed copy.
Why the words are not printed here
The Swedish original is old but the English words most congregations sing are Hine’s 1949 text and still in copyright. The venue’s hymn books or license covers the singing; do not reprint the words in an order of service without checking the license.
Pieces still in copyright are listed by title and author only — we name them and tell you where to get them, but we do not reproduce the words. Public-domain text is printed in your script in full.
What it is about
Big and well loved. Watch the reprint license if there is a printed order of service.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: big sound · a full church · praise · popular.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “How Great Thou Art” take to read aloud?
“How Great Thou Art” takes about 5 minutes read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “How Great Thou Art”?
Everyone together, rather than one reader. “How Great Thou Art” runs about 5 minutes and needs the words in front of the room — in an order of service, on a screen, or led line by line by the officiant.
Can “How Great Thou Art” be printed in a ceremony script?
Not by us. It is still in copyright, so we name it and point you at a copy rather than reprinting the words. The Swedish original is old but the English words most congregations sing are Hine’s 1949 text and still in copyright. The venue’s hymn books or license covers the singing; do not reprint the words in an order of service without checking the license.
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.