DIANE PAQUETTE
STAFF WRITER
Printing delays mean copies of the new hymn book, Common Praise, may not be available in time for its official launch in Toronto on Nov. 15.
The launch will instead be a “special service of celebration and appreciation,” said Doug Tindal, director of information resources for the Anglican Church of Canada.
“If the books are there, it will be a bonus.” There will be at least one copy for people to look at.
“This will be a celebration,” he said. “A lot of people have worked very hard on it … The Primate will express thanks to all the people who worked on the book.”
The launch date was chosen because the Council of General Synod meets in Toronto that week.
Mr. Tindal said staff felt it was important to go ahead with a special service because so many people will be in town, some of whom worked on the book.
The hymn book was sent to the printers, Best Book, in early September and proofs were produced shortly afterwards.
But serious errors were found in the proofs that were not the fault of the printing company, said Robert Maclennan, publishing manager at Anglican Book Centre. Musical notes were incorrect, words were misspelled and some copyright information was inaccurate.
“These were things that hadn’t been caught earlier,” he said.
Ten years in the making, the book is 1,000 pages with 676 hymns, 93 selections of music and nine indexes. All corrections deemed important have now been made and 50,000 copies of the hymn book will be produced. But the printer can’t guarantee they will be done by Nov. 15.
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