Vicar ditches ‘offensive’ Christian Soldiers hymn

IT HAS been sung at their Remembrance Day service for at least half a century.

But the hymn Onward, Christian Soldiers has been ditched by a new vicar in case it offends worshippers of other faiths.

The decision has prompted some Royal British Legion members to boycott the service, which will now feature All People That On Earth Do Dwell instead.

Veterans in Leicester have been backed by non-Christians in the Legion who have been puzzled by the move. Members had already suffered a setback when their annual parade route from St Peter’s Church through the town and back was cut in half as police cannot spare the officers to marshal the march next month.

Now Pete Green, a committee member of the Oadby RBL branch, said he will ‘refuse to step foot in the church’ in protest at Rev Steve Bailey’s ban on Onward, Christian Soldiers.

‘I have been going to this service ever since I joined the Legion in 1967 and that hymn has always been sung,’ he said.

‘We have many different religions within our 400 members here and no one has ever complained to me about it. The new vicar has created a lot of ill-feeling with this.’

Ramanlal Anand, 77, a Hindu member of the Legion, said: ‘I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with it.’

A source at the Church of England parish insisted that Onward, Christian Soldiers was ‘inappropriate’. The insider said the order of service was changed to reflect the town’s multicultural population.

Rev Bailey said: ‘We want people of all faiths paying respect to those from their own faiths and cultures who served and gave their lives to feel welcome in the service.’