Emma Turl › Hymnals

Emma Turl lives in Essex. After studying English language and literature and completing teacher-training in Oxford, she spent 12 years in Africa - first in Uganda and then in Ghana with her husband, John, initially teaching and later staying at home to look after their two growing children. She had gradually become blind at an early age and has additional disabilities. She enjoys a variety of activities including playing saxophone in a small band at her local church.

Emma's interest in the psalms was awakened through singing them in traditional worship as a child, and this led to exploring ways of expressing them in present-day language. Since then she has been increasingly struck by their relevance to life and faith. Time to Celebrate, a collection of hymns and Bible lyrics, was published in 1999 with some of its items set to music by her friend Gill Berry and others by John Turl. Lyrics of hers also appeared in Praise! (2000) and Come Celebrate (2009). A selection of these (at times radically revised) is among her lyrics published on this website, and others can be found at Praise! (together with Gill Berry's music) and Hymmetry.

Used by permission of Emma Turl, from www.jubilate.co.uk