Dear Fellow Hymn Singers,

Since 2004, we have been blessed to be able to annually host the Walker Hymn Sing.  We have settled into the Saturday evening of Father’s Day weekend, and we have heard from a number of families about how they celebrate this time with fathers.  We have also been blessed to meet and get to know some very talented local musicians with hearts for serving the Lord. Each year an increasing number of people join us, including over 1,000 in 2019.

Why would a small lawn mower manufacturer host a Hymn Sing? This is a fair question. The answer is simple — a legacy of beautiful, inspiring hymns has been bestowed on our generation, and our company hopes to keep these alive for years to come. I love to tell people that my family has been singing hymns for well over 100 years. My grandparents and my parents carefully passed this tradition to me and my siblings, and we hope Walker Hymn Sings will help pass them on to future generations of our family and other families.

The Vision

So, how was this idea derived? In the Spring of 2004, after a wonderful hymn service one Sunday evening at my church, the Lord laid on my heart a vision of sharing hymns in a greater capacity than just inside the walls of our church. This vision was to expand and share the singing of traditional hymns with other congregations and families around Northern Colorado. I felt as a family company that has been blessed far more than we could have ever asked or thought, we could use the means God had entrusted us with to further this vision. My initial thinking was to rent a local arena, advertise it and see who would come, however, after talking with some of the people in our company, we discovered that the provisions God had given to us on our own property were well-suited for this type of event. With the help of our capable people, the Walker Hymn Sing was born and the vision was alive.

The Event

Words fall short when trying to explain the joy that filled my heart as people started showing up for our first event. Kind faces and open hearts from all age ranges made their way to our open air venue, and I was thrilled to meet many of these kindred souls. Certainly, I must admit the weather was much cooler than we expected when choosing the date three months earlier, however, it was a distinct reminder that the control of such matters is much greater than we know. For the 2004 event, our guests were very hearty in enduring the weather, and I marveled at how our staff sprang into action with an impromptu coffee service to help our guests become a little warmer. The event became even more alive as the music started–the sounds of a congregation well over 600 strong filled the damp, crisp air and brought a certain warmth.

Since 2004, we have been blessed to be able to annually host the Walker Hymn Sing.  We have settled into the Saturday evening of Father’s Day weekend, and we have heard from a number of families about how they celebrate this time with fathers.  We have also been blessed to meet and get to know some very talented local musicians with hearts for serving the Lord.

The Vision Lives On

We continue to be asked when we are planning to have our next hymn sing, and, as the Lord wills, we hope to have it annually. To be sure, the vision is alive, and we are striving to be careful with the vision God has entrusted us with–not for the gain of Walker Manufacturing, but solely for His glory.

As a company, we have learned that the lawn mower manufacturing business can be about iron and the bottom line, or it can be about people and relationships–we have chosen the latter. We are pleased that the vision of hymn singing has brought us to countless new people and relationships from around Northern Colorado.

I look forward to seeing you in June.

Sincerely,