I guess I am one of those people "spent their formative years singing from hymn books" as that was what was done in English state school system where I lived. Until, I later discovered, a staff room rebellion lead to more liberal interpretation of the word "worship".

I straight-off interpreted Jack's first post on churchgoers in the way he explained it in his last post.

One learns things like how to read one line ahead, so as to know where the story is going and how the words need to scan. And to read two lines ahead to as be able to miss-pronounce the word at the end on line two so that it rhymes with the one at the end of line four. And how to shift parts of the tune an octave 'on the fly' if the key does not suite (or to accidentally shift a fifth thinking that it is an octave). And to pick out the voices around who seem to know this tune and ignore the person next to you who can't sing in tune.

So we don't end up in a situation where "there's nothing worse than having to stand up and try to sing a song you don't know, quite possibly have never heard before, or the key and/or arrangements don't suit your voice." (Johnny J above).

The challenge now, mainly at funerals, and having subliminally learned the hymns decades ago, is to anticipate where they have been changed to make them gender neutral and so on.

But its not really about crutches is it ? Why not leave the folk who get together for communal singing from books to get on with it.