The First Hymn - Sydney Premiere featuring Ben Fielding and CityAlight

The First Hymn Concert + drinks and canapes

A world first for music, faith, and history.

Join us for the Sydney premiere screening of The First Hymn, a documentary about the earliest-known Christian hymn with music and lyrics intact, and enjoy a special performance of the modern hymn by co-writer Ben Fielding, joined by CityAlight.

About the documentary

The First Hymn is presented by Australian historian John Dickson, now a professor at Wheaton College. He explores the discovery of P.Oxy 1786—as the hymn is known to scholars—in the ruins of the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus. His journey of discovery takes him to Oxford University, where the papyrus fragment is currently stored, and on to Nashville, where the dream to revive the ancient song takes root.

As part of the production, Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding—two of the world's most respected Christian composers—work to resurrect this song as a piece of modern worship music. Their efforts span continents and cultures, resulting in a truly beautiful piece of music that is both engaging and accessible to the modern church. The First Hymn culminates with the release of their creation in a concert finale in front of thousands of fans.

About Undeceptions

“Undeceptions” is a term C.S. Lewis used for moments of clarity, when preconceptions fall away and truth stands clear in its beauty. That’s the mission of Undeceptions. It’s a safe space to ask tough questions about faith and uncover the beauty in the answers. We approach these questions as ‘confident Christians’: happy to face doubts, happy to take the hits, happy to concede that there are some good arguments on the other side, and there’s some very bad history on our side. But in the end, the robustness of Christianity is clear.

With over 3 million downloads and a rapidly expanding global audience, now is the time to listen to Undeceptions. If you’re not sure what to make of the Christian faith, or want to be more confident in talking about Christianity in a way that makes sense to doubters and skeptics, then listen to Undeceptions wherever you get your podcasts.

About CityAlight

CityAlight is a songwriting and music ministry of St Paul's Anglican Church, Castle Hill. Their vision is to write songs with biblically rich lyrics and simple melodies for Christian churches to sing. These include ‘Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me’, and ‘Only A Holy God’. Their songs have taken them all around the globe, including Singapore and the USA, and garner over 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify.