Reprinted with corrections. ( )

"The Red Hymn Book" 1971, was jointly issued by the Anglican and United Churches of Canada, when they were contemplating a union. The collection includes a mix of traditional Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist hymns. Some have new 4-part arrangements by Canadian composers (including Derek Holman, Godfrey Ridout and Healey Willan), because copyright was not available for the more traditional settings. Some of the words were altered to include be more inclusive of women. A liturgical appendix at the end gives simple chant mass settings for the Anglican services. Indexes help to find hymns according to the Christian year, subjects, authors, composers and first lines.
A compromise, this hymn book was not universally liked, and some Anglican churches continued to use their old "blue" hymn book.. By the 1980s many churches were using supplemental hymnbooks as well with more "contemporary" hymns in modern popular idioms. The Anglican church adopted the Common Praise hymnbook in 1997 and has gradually phased this one out. The United Church moved on to the "Voices United" hymnal in the 1990s.