Music minister adds to massive collection one hymnal at a time

LEWISVILLE—One of music minister Rob Veal’s latest additions to his hymnal collection arrived from an unexpected source.

A woman sent it to Veal with a note saying her father had clipped an article about Veal’s collection from the Aug. 24, 2001, edition of the United Methodist Reporter and placed it inside the hymnal with a note saying, “When I pass, send the hymn book to him.”

Veal's oldest hymnal is a tiny 1801 edition of Psalms Carefully Suited for Christian Worship, designed to fit easily into a woman’s purse. He also owns a battlefield hymnal from the Civil War.

Veal, associate pastor of worship at Northview Baptist Church in Lewisville, owns 1,434 hymnals and gospel songbooks—and he’s still looking for unique additions to his collection.

Veal started accumulating hymnals and bound collections of gospel songs soon after he began to lead church music at age 16. Some senior adults at church requested songs unfamiliar to him, and he set out hunting for the music.

“I started buying books because the church couldn’t afford them,” he recalled.

His interest in rare books was piqued when he discovered, on sale for $4 at a second-hand bookstore, a 1937 Stamps-Baxter paperback edition of Favorite Radio Songs from KRLD in Dallas, autographed by Virgil Stamps.

In the last 30 years, he has added significantly older and rarer books to his collection, the oldest being a tiny 1801 edition of Psalms Carefully Suited for Christian Worship, designed to fit easily into a woman’s purse. He also owns a battlefield hymnal from the Civil War.

In addition to The Broadman Hymnal from 1940 and copies of the 1926, 1956, 1975 and 1991 editions of The Baptist Hymnal, Veal’s collection also includes several editions of British Baptist hymnals published by the Psalms and Hymns Trust of London and a copy of the 1918 Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book.

But even a casual glance at the collection reveals its eclectic and ecumenical nature—everything from an Amish hymnal in German to an 1846 Universalist hymnal from Boston.

Rob Veal, associate pastor of worship at Northview Baptist Church in Lewisville, owns 1,434 hymnals and gospel songbooks—and he’s still looking for unique additions to his collection. (PHOTOS/Ken Camp)

In addition to a wide variety of hymnals representing many denominations, Veal’s collection also includes many collections of gospel songs from the singing conventions that once were popular throughout the South.

Veal believes preserving the wide range of hymn and gospel song collections is important because the songs tell the story of what has moved the hearts of people over the last 200 years.

“We sing the things that we feel when we encounter God in different ways,” he said.

“History unfolds in the songs we sing.”

Veal continues to add to his collection, and he is willing to pay shipping costs for any unique donations. Contact him at BRobertVeal@aol.com.