Canon Saward said that the winning hymns were intended to be a gift to the Church. This great cathedral is known for its choral splendour, but hymns are not what people think of in cathedrals. We are anxious to give to the Church something from the cathedrals as a gift. The successful hymns are now available on the Internet. He also admitted that a large proportion of the entries were awful.
People assume writing a hymn is easy, but very few people can do it.
The Dean of St Paul's, the Very Revd John Moses, said he hoped the winning hymns would be used up and down the country. Worshipping God is the most important thing a church can do, and I can think of no better reason than the Millennium to commission a new hymn. We want to go into the new Millennium full of praise.