The decision to produce Hymns & Psalms was taken at the Methodist Conference of 1979 and the book was authorised for use in all Methodist Churches in the Connexion at the 1982 Conference in Plymouth.

The collection seeks to respond to our changing times and to articulate the needs, the joys and the fears of the contemporary world. The most represented hymn writer of the 20th century is Fred Pratt Green who has 27 hymns included.