Quoting from the preface of this hymnal, "Religion is a present reality; it is also an inheritance from the past, "Hymns for the Celebration of Life" is edited in the conviction that a vital faith must be a singing faith and that each generation needs to express itself freshly in its own idiom through song and the spoken word." The title of this hymnal ". . .comes from Von Ogden Vogt's definition of worship as 'the celebration of life.'" This work has a good collection of responsive readings, extensive notes on the hymns, tunes and readings contained within it. Also provided are multiple helpful indices.