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Jerusalem, one of the country's best-loved hymns and the favourite of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has been banned from services at one of Britain's foremost churches.The verses, which were written by William Blake more than two centuries ago, cannot be sung by choirs or congregations at Southwark Cathedral because the words do not praise God and are too nationalistic, according to senior clergy.Last week the Dean of Southwark, the Very Rev Colin Slee, advised guests at a private memorial service that the hymn would not be sung because it was "not in the glory of God". A spokesman for the Diocese of Southwark disclosed that the Dean had not allowed the verses to be sung during services for some time. "The Dean, on common with all other cathedral deans, has the authority to decide what material is used in liturgy in the cathedral," he said."The hymn Jerusalem is often used on national occasions, although rarely in Southwark, even on such occasions."The Dean of Southwark does not believe that it is to the glory of God and it is not therefore used in private memorial services."The hymn, which begins with the words "And did those feet in ancient time", was first composed by William Blake in 1804 as an introduction to one of his most famous poems Milton.The words were later written to music in 1916 by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, an English composer.The verses are thought to have been based on a legend that Jesus came to England as a young boy and visited the town of Glastonbury, Somerset, where he established a second Jerusalem.Christians have subsequently interpreted the meaning of the hymn in different ways and some believe that the word "Jerusalem" could be a metaphor for heaven.It has been suggested that the hymn refers to Jesus coming to England and creating heaven amidst the "dark satanic mills", the line at the end of the first verse, which has been interpreted as the industrial revolution.Jerusalem has been banned before by clergymen who do not believe Blake's poetry to be Christian.In 2001 it was banned from the wedding of a couple in Manchester because the vicar deemed it to be too nationalistic and inappropriate to a marriage ceremony.According Rev Donald Allister, Vicar of Cheadle, the hymn was a "nationalistic song that does not praise God."Meanwhile, St Margaret's, in Westminster, the parish church of Parliament has refused to allow the hymn in the past because its clergy deemed the "dark satanic mills" discriminated against people living in the city.In 1996 Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a memorable appearance on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in which he listed Jerusalem amongst his ten favourite records.In 2000 the hymn was made the official anthem of the England football team in the Euro 2000 tournament in Belgium and the Netherlands.As in the days of Noah...
