Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services as a hymn writer
Ms Marnie Barrell has been contributing to hymn writing in New Zealand for more than 40 years.
Ms Barrell is a music teacher, a lay preacher and musician at St Mary’s Anglican Church in Christchurch and has been hymn writing since 1986. She has written many hymns, most of which have been published in ‘Alleluia Aotearoa’ (1993), ‘Carol our Christmas’ (1996), ‘Faith Forever Singing’ (2000), the ‘Church Hymnary’ (2005), and ‘Hope is our song’ (2009) and also posted on the United States-based Oremus Hymnal website. Her writing has reached countries including Canada, Australia, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, as well as featured in the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology in the United Kingdom. She is a featured hymnodist and writer on both the Oremus and the Hymnary.org websites. She is a current board member of the New Zealand Hymnbook Trust. Ms Barrell’s music and writing is represented in the National Library of New Zealand and New Zealand Choirs have recorded her music to be played on Radio New Zealand’s Concert channel.
