When I Needed a Neighbour has long resonated with those seeking to follow Christ’s call to love without limits.
Now, through new lyrics and a fresh arrangement, the hymn has been reimagined for a world that still needs to be reminded: loving our neighbour means standing up for justice.
Jump down to listen to the performance at Westminster Abbey.For decades, hope has united us in the fight against poverty and injustice. Find out how you can get involved this year.
The beginning of 'When I Needed a Neighbour'
It began in Trafalgar Square, 1965. Christian Aid launched that year’s Christian Aid Week with a Beat and Folk Festival. Tens of thousands of young people were gathered around Nelson’s Column to hear the Christian equivalent of Peter, Paul and Mary and to get fired up about global injustice.
What was created was When I Needed a Neighbour.
A song insistently proclaiming that a ‘neighbour’ is not limited by borders.
And the creed and the colour and the name won't matter, were you there?
New lyrics for the present time
Fast forward 60 years to a world still marked by displacement, hunger and injustice—and to Christian Aid’s 80th anniversary.
Revisiting such a beloved hymn was no small task. For hymn writer Rev Ally Barrett, Associate Vicar at Great St Mary’s, the University Church in Cambridge, it was both an honour and a responsibility.
‘It’s a massive responsibility to write a hymn,’ she said. ‘Music is incredibly powerful and when you write something for people to sing together, people will believe it—it will sound true, so you have to be sure that what you have written really is true and helpful.’
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This interpretation carries the same heart as the original, but with fresh life, pertinent relevance and renewed energy and breathed into it.
In reworking When I Needed a Neighbour, Ally paid close attention to what the original hymn had offered—and what new words might offer today. The result is lyrics that continue the conversation started by Sydney Carter, with honesty about the injustices the world still faces.
These new words call each of us to be a neighbour by speaking out for justice.
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The song continues—because it must
The world Carter sang into still echoes in today’s headlines—from Gaza to Sudan, Ukraine to the DRC—where people face violence, disaster and the question: is anyone there?
This is why Christian Aid commissioned the hymn to be reimagined. The new version of the song speaks to many of today's realities like the climate crisis or the refugee experience. It’s still a hymn of welcome but also one that calls us to call out to justice.
‘This is something Christian Aid has always done,’ said Pete Moorey, Head of Community & Church Fundraising and Engagement. ‘From campaigning to cancel global debt in the 1990s to being one of the first UK development agencies to call for climate justice, we’ve always believed that love of neighbour must include action.’
With words and music of the highest order, and unflinching moral purpose, but also with the broadest of horizons, Sydney caught the timeless virtues of peace and justice in this ever-contemporary anthem – like the work of Christian Aid, as essential now as it was sixty years ago.
A moving performance at Westminster Abbey
This new version of When I Needed a Neighbour was first performed at our 80th anniversary service in Westminster Abbey on Thursday 12 June 2025.
Sung by Kingdom Choir, Emmanuel Smith and Sacred Choir from Twyford Church of England secondary school, the arrangement brought a renewed depth to the familiar tune.
This interpretation carries the same heart as the original, but with fresh life, pertinent relevance and renewed energy and breathed into it.
Image credits and information
She hopes this new version will resonate with a new generation of music lovers while still offering something rich and meaningful for those who have sung it for many years.
The hymn was a fitting choice for the day. Not only to Sydney Carter’s legacy but also to the generations of churches and supporters who have sung and acted for justice over Christian Aid’s 80 years.
I hope these new words will enable the text to come alive again—not just this year in the anniversary, but long into the future as well.
This is a song many of us have sung throughout our lives—in churches, schools, village halls and city streets. Now reimagined, it can continue to speak to a changing world and to new generations.
Rooted in Matthew 25, the hymn echoes Jesus’ call to care for those most in need. The line ‘Were you there?’ is more than a refrain—it’s a challenge to show up, speak out and act.
For Christian Aid, this call has always been at the heart of our work: putting faith into action.
The question still echoes across our world. When I Needed a Neighbour calls us to answer—now more than ever.
