Haufi le Modimo

The story of this hymn

The Sesotho “Nearer, My God, to Thee”, carried into Lesotho and the Free State through the Paris Evangelical Mission’s hymnal tradition. At Sesotho funerals it holds the same place the English original holds elsewhere: the hymn of the road home.

Where it sits in the service

Commonly sung at the graveside or as the service closes; congregations often continue it unaccompanied as the family moves out. In the programme, list the title with its Lifela tsa Sione number from your congregation’s edition.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Hymn — Haufi le Modimo” with the leader or choir named beside it, and add the Lifela tsa Sione number your congregation uses.

How it is actually sung

The Sesotho “Nearer, My God, to Thee”, sung in harmony and at a slow, deliberate pace that should not be hurried. It belongs at the close of a service or at the graveside, and Sesotho congregations sing it from memory across every generation in the room — one voice begins and the harmony assembles itself without arrangement or accompaniment.

Printing the words

From the Lifela tradition and in general congregational use, though the specific hymnal setting may be licensed. Print the first line and the hymnal number if the church uses one.

This is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Reproduction rights vary by territory, by hymnal edition and by the licence your church holds — the church office is the right place to ask, and they answer this question often.