Praise for Peace is Her Song

Praise for Peace is Her Song

Here's a selection of independent reviews and endorsements for

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"There is much in this book of the history of our times. Shirley Murray gave us songs for a new social awareness. I had not appreciated the extent to which she was a hymn writer of international renown."
Emeritus professor of history, Massey University,  Peter Lineham 

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"This book is an important tribute to Shirley Erena Murray, one of the most significant and prolific of modern hymn writers, Anne Manchester writes with clarity honouring Shirley with a beautifully written, well organised and set out book. It highlights Shirley's deep understanding of the issues facing Aotearoa and the importance of peace as a gift to a troubled world."
Roger Wiig

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“I have just finished reading your wonderful book and must tell you how much I enjoyed it. So well researched, organised into different sections and perspectives (what a headache that must have been!) and liberally sprinkled with the lyrics of her many hymns.

I found myself singing along as I read, remembering the good times with Shirley and marvelling at her talent and determination. I applaud you for taking on, and more than rising to, the challenge of that enormous task.

Congratulations! You have done her proud, and also demonstrated your own exceptional way with words. Bravo 👏👏👏.”
Sue McRae

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“Biography is no easy art but you have got it so right. Reading it has given me great pleasure bringing both Shirley and of course John back to life. You have really understood them, personally and politically. Thank you.”
Paul Oestreicher

Bishop John Bluck shares his insights on the posthumous biography of renowned Pākehā hymnwriter Shirley Erena Murray.

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Pākehā hymn writers are a rare breed, all the more so since losing Shirley Erena Murray in 2021 and her musical collaborator Colin Gibson in 2022.

But their music lives on, and with 400 hymns to her credit, Shirley Murray leaves an indelible legacy.

Anne Manchester’s new biography explores the formation of a musical vision locally grounded in Aotearoa, yet universal in its appeal. Her hymns feature in 30 different hymnals in the USA alone.

This book traces the birth of that vision from school days in Invercargill, university in Dunedin, marrying John and beginning a lifetime of shared ministry with him around New Zealand, from Taihape to Christchurch,  but most enduringly for eighteen years at St Andrew's on the Terrace in Wellington.

Anne draws on Shirley and John’s own words to tell part of the story, from parish life to protest marches, and enlists a range of Shirley's friends and fellow musicians to unravel what makes these hymns so enduring.

Why does singing from Alleluia Aotearoa shape discipleship here in ways that Hymns Ancient and Modern can’t provide?

Archbishop Paul Reeves is quoted as saying the issue for local hymn writers is to “match the energy and vibrancy of the world and give us something real to sing about”.

Shirley does that.

Karl Barth was not her favourite theologian, but she liked to quote him where he says, “the community that does not really sing...can at best be a troubled community that is not sure of its cause.”

The hymns she leaves us serve to focus our faith and ground it uniquely in this place, “where mountains rise to open skies”.

“If you don’t sing it, you don’t believe it” she says.

Let her have the last word.

“Who will there be to sing
If we do not sing well,
if all we know as true
has no sounding bell?”

Rt Rev John Bluck is the retired Bishop of Waiapu.”

Review in Anglican Taonga, 30 Aug 2024. https://anglicantaonga.org.nz/news/tikanga_pakeha/bio_shirleymurray

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“As a Presbyterian Choir member, I have looked forward to this biography and I am not disappointed. Reading and humming a much loved hymn now and then – a joy. I am giving this copy to our Choir Director.”
Beverley Smith, Gisborne

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“Peace is Her Song: The Life and Legacy of Hymnwriter Shirley Erena Murray

Adrian Skelton reviews a new book by Anne Manchester that documents the life and legacy of New Zealand's greatest hymnwriter.

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Without friendly rivalry between a Methodist and a Presbyterian, there might not have been that powerful partnership between Shirley and John Murray. They met at Bible Class and competed for a prize which Shirley won. The girl also got the boy! Anne Manchester’s lively exploration of Shirley and her hymn writing, Peace is Her Song, inevitably turns on her relationship with John and their ministry at St Andrew’s on the Terrace.

Sir Lloyd Geering, a close friend of both, says that for all John’s brilliance, it is Shirley who will be remembered – through her hymns. They provide the motivation for the book – a celebration of New Zealand’s greatest hymnwriter.

At Shirley’s funeral in January 2020, Colin Gibson gave a stirring eulogy. As another gifted hymnwriter and friend, he was the best person to celebrate Shirley’s life in its immediate aftermath. We learn from Anne, a former ecumenical journalist, that the genesis of this book was at that funeral, with Colin asking who would write Shirley’s biography … He need not have worried. Anne has assembled a life portrait that draws on Shirley’s own words, sets her hymns in their socio-political context, and explores some of the key texts. Among the appendices is Colin’s eulogy.

My introduction to Shirley’s hymns was through fellow minister, Brian Wren, who had been Shirley’s mentor. At his suggestion, she engaged with Hope Publishing, resulting in the collections: In Every Corner Sing, Every Day in Your Spirit, Faith Makes the Song, Touch the Earth Lightly, A Place at the Table, and Life into Life.

Her sustained support for the peace movement and Amnesty International was central to her faith. Her empathy with marginalised groups, including the LGBT community, was also a feature of John’s ministry in the PCANZ.

Shirley pioneered the celebration of the natural world on show in Aotearoa. Carol our Christmas liberated Christians in this land from snowflakes and reindeer. Her exultation in our landscapes in hymns such as Where mountains rise to open skies led the way in finding praise in creation.

Anne documents Shirley’s later life more closely, as she and John (retired but still active) garner deserved honours. Their joint role in the New Zealand Hymnbook Trust is well set out by Anne.

Shirley began Methodist, continued as Presbyterian (and ended in Quaker friendships) but the common thread was an openness to evolving faith. Anne Manchester has done a fine job in documenting a committed life and in representing the wonderfully warm and generous person that was Shirley Murray.”
Adrian Skelton in NZ Methodist paper Touchstone Aug 2024.

https://hail.to/methodist-church-of-new-zealand/publication/8C0NLiu/article/WJP6IN4

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“This biography is grounded in Aotearoa  New Zealand, anchoring Shirley’s hymns in the life and the faith that inspired them. It will ensure the woman who wrote them is remembered as she deserves to be. Shirley's work continues to have a huge impact on the way Christianity is experienced in Aotearoa. She gave us something to sing that captures what shalom is about within the contours of our landscape and our churches.”
John Bluck, retired Anglican bishop and writer

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“Shirley’s works display the concern she has for people, for peace, and for the planet. It is God’s truth that compels her writing, and we are pleased to be part of her wider ministry.”
Scott Shorney, Vice President, Hope Publishing Company, United States

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“Anne Manchester presents many rich sources of material on Shirley’s life and legacy. Shirley’s own recollections, together with those of her colleagues and friends, paint a fascinating picture of her emergence as a leading poet of the church in Aotearoa New Zealand and the world.

This book is a fine tribute to a woman who has given us the words and images we need today to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.”
Hymn writer Marnie Barrell, MNZM, board member of the New Zealand Hymnbook Trust

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