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 The Verse
A monthly newsletter |
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The Hymn Society
in the United States and Canada |
September 2011 |
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Greetings!
Sometimes a laugh cures many ills. One of our members sent me this--remember, even bad jokes can make us chuckle!
We just came from a play, The 39 Steps, which is a British farce based on an old Hitchcock movie. In it, a scene ends with one of the characters-who happens to have a book in his jacket pocket, being shot and assumed dead. As the next scene opens, he is alive and well and sitting in a police station as one policeman says to another, "I've never seen a hymnbook stop a bullet before, but then, some hymns are hard to get through."
The audience groan went on forever!
I hope this issue of The Verse finds you in high spirits and reassessing the value of your hymnbooks!!
Sincerely,
Deb
Deborah Loftis
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Fred Graham was honoured recently as the 2011 co-recipient of the United Church's Davidson Trust award. The award is made annually to acknowledge and promote excellence of both scholarship and teaching in theological education. Graham, the Deer Park Assistant Professor of Church Music at Emmanuel College also serves as University Organist, Director of Chapel and Director of the Master of Sacred Music Program. Fred has also served as past president of the Southern Ontario Chapter of the Hymn Society (SOCHS).
Congratulations to Lovelace Scholar Audrey Seah on her article, "Baptism by Desire: A Sacrament for Today" in the journal Obsculta (2011, vol. 4), a publication of the School of Theology/Seminary at Saint John's University. |
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Call for proposals for 2012 Summer Conference
The October 1 deadline is nearly here! Please send your proposals for sectionals or discussion groups to deb@thehymnsociety.org right away!
"The Meeting Place: Sharing our Songs" will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 15-19, 2012 and will focus on the ways that song brings us together across ethnic and cultural divides.
Selections will be made by the Executive Committee during October.
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Calling All Composers
Work continues on the upcoming hymnal Lift Up Your Hearts: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs to be published by Faith Alive Christian Resources in 2013. There are several texts for which they'd like new tunes:
"Jesus Greatest at the Table" by Stephen Starke http://starkekirchenlieder.blogspot.com/2009/04/jesus-greatest-at-table.html
"Blest are the Innocents" by Sylvia Dunstan
text is available in the print version of Reformed Worship 93 (Sept. 2009, Faith Alive Christian Resources) or in Dunstan's collection Where the Promise Shines (GIA, 1995)
"As in that Upper Room you left your seat" by Timothy Dudley-Smith http://www.hopepublishing.com/html/main.isx?sitesec=40.2.1.0&hymnID=1999
"We are your people" by Brian Wren
http://www.hopepublishing.com/html/main.isx?sitesec=40.2.1.0&hymnID=2612#
If you are interested in writing a new tune or submitting a new one, please consult the music guidelines as posted at http://www.liftupyourheartshymnal.org/ under evaluation.
Complete scores will be accepted through December 15, 2011 and can be sent as email attachments to hymnal@crcna.org, faxed to 616-224-0834 or mailed to:
Rev. Joyce Borger
Faith Alive Christian Resources
2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49560
Tunes will be selected by February 15,2012. |
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Creating Jazz Liturgy - Feb. 27-29, 2012
A workshop at Scarritt-Bennett Center, Nashville, TN, for pastors, church musicians, worship planners, seminary students, and others interested in jazz as legitimate music for worship. Topics will include worship planning, selection of music and music arrangements, selection of musicians, and actual worship experiences.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Kwasi Kena - Leaders: Sara Wentz and Carlton Maaia II. Other Nashville musicians and worship leaders will also be part of the leadership team. For more info, visit www.scarrittbennett.org/programs/jazz.aspx.
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| New Hymn Contests
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church of Kansas City, Missouri, announces a hymn contest to commemorate and celebrate its 100th Anniversary. St. Andrew's Episcopal Church is a member of the Diocese of West Missouri. Information regarding our church can be found on our website, www.standrewkc.org
This is a contest for a new text. New music for the winning text will be sought in the future. This contest carries a prize of $750 for the winning entry.
This contest will be a search for hymns that illustrate the life and mission of our patron, St. Andrew. We hope the hymn will illuminate our congregation's path of mission for many years to come.
Hymns previously published or currently entered in other contests should not be submitted. It is certainly permissible, however, to have a local congregation or other group sample your hymn before submitting it. We suggest using contemporary language.
There is an entry fee of $5 for each hymn text submitted, and checks should be made payable to "St. Andrew's Episcopal Church" with a memo entry for "Hymn Contest." Entrants should provide four copies of each hymn which should not include the entrant's name. Please provide a cover letter with your name, address, telephone number, email address, and the title of your entry or entries. All entries will be acknowledged within two weeks of receipt.
All entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2011. The judges will arrive at their decision by February 15, 2012, and their decision is final. The winning hymn will be announced after the winner has been notified. Only one winning entry is anticipated. The judges may select additional winners at their discretion. The judges also reserve the right not to select any hymn as the winner. Each entrant will receive notification of the contest winner and a copy of the winning hymn.
- Author retains all rights to the song and is encouraged to seek publication.
- All future dissemination of the hymn will include the phrase "Winner of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO, 2011 New Hymn Contest, Commemorating and Celebrating its 100th Anniversary."
- Winner grants St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO, the right to use the hymn in its worship and publicize his/her name.
- Winner grants St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO, the right to use the hymn text as the basis for a subsequent hymn-tune competition.
- Premiere will take place in worship at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on St. Andrew's Feast Day, celebrated November 25, 2012. The winning author is welcome to attend, but travel funds are not available.
- St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO, reserves the right to record the winning hymn (upon the 'marriage' of text and tune) and place it on our website.
Please send entries and correspondence to:
Hymn Contest
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
6401 Wornall Terrace
Kansas City, Missouri 64113
E-mail: HymnContest@standrewkc.org
Website: www.standrewkc.org
Record a Hymn to Celebrate Animals! Sponsored by the Humane Society.
top prize being a hundred Green Bibles and more for their church. Upload your video of Carolyn Winfrey Gillette's text, "O God your creatures fill th earth," in your own style--traditional, contemporary, acoustic, rock, gospel, country, etc. and you'll receive a free St. Francis Day in a Box for your entry. The top prize is 100 Green Bibles for your church. See http://action.humanesociety.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=24242 for details.
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Continuing Hymn Contests
Final days to submit!!
Church of the Servant, 2011 New Psalm Contest. In an effort to encourage Psalm-singing, Church of the Servant invites congregational songwriters to submit a Psalm-based song to its 2011 COS New Psalm Contest. The winner will receive a $500 award. There is no entry fee and the contest is open to all. Submissions must be emailed or postmarked by October 1, 2011. The song will be premiered in worship on January 29, 2012. Church of the Servant is a Christian Reformed Church with a rich history of encouraging the arts in worship. Its worship is Reformed, liturgical, participatory, eclectic, and open to creative new worship expressions. The contest is made possible by a generous donation in memory of Ben Fackler, who loved all things musical. For complete contest rules see: http://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/2011-cos-new-psalm-contestTo download the PDF brochure: http://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/files/2011_COS_new_psalm_contest.pdfIf you have any questions or would like to suggest others who may be interested in receiving this announcement, please contact Greg Scheer, music@churchoftheservantcrc.org.
Macalester Plymouth United Church of St. Paul, Minnesota, announces a sixteenth international contest for English language hymn writers. It is the congregation's understanding that hymns can motivate the church to be more actively involved in social reform, a vital part of its ministry. It carries a prize of $500 for the winning entry. The 2011 contest will be a search for hymns that express dismay over the growing gap between rich and poor and call the church to action to work for greater economic equality. Please visit their website for contest details or call (651) 698-8871. Entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2011. You will find more details on the Hymn Society website as well.
Pascack Reformed Church in Park Ridge, New Jersey announces a contest for English language hymn writers. The church celebrates the 200th anniversary of its inception from September 2012- 2013. The theme of the anniversary celebration comes from the first two and last two verses of Psalm 90:
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us, and establish the work of our hands upon us;
Yes; establish the work of our hands.
The contest carries a prize of $250 for the winning entry. This is a search for both new text and music. Entrants should provide four copies of each hymn which should not include the entrant's name. The hymn should, however, be titled at the top of each page. Please provide a cover letter with your name, address, telephone number, and the title(s) of your entry or entries. All entries will be acknowledged within two weeks of receipt.
All entries must be postmarked by March 1, 2012. The judges will arrive at their decision by March 31, 2012, and their decision is final. The winning hymn will be announced by April 30, 2013. Copyright for the winning hymn will be retained by its composer(s), but the author(s) agree to permit the use of this hymn by Pascack Reformed Church in Park Ridge in perpetuity.
Please send entries and correspondence to:
Hymn Contest
Pascack Reformed Church
65 Pascack Road
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
E-mail: pascackreformedchurch@verizon.net
Web site: www.pascackreformedchurch.org
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Recent Hymn Festivals
August 28, 2011 -- A Touch of St. John's Heritage in Song (1886-2011).
St. John United Church of Christ, Aurora, IL, enjoyed a hymn festival as they celebrated their 125th anniversary. The service was led by Marilyn Parolini, Margaret Nickerson and Norma Sondgeroth. (If you come to our summer conferences, you'll recognize these women as three of the "T-shirt Ladies").
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Forthcoming Presbyterian Hymnal News
The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation is pleased to announce the title for the next Presbyterian hymnal, "Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal." One edition will be published in red; another edition will be published in purple.
The hymnal will be published in Fall 2013, with pre-orders beginning July 1, 2012. The following prices will be in effect:
- $15.00 for orders and pre-payment by June 30, 2013
- $17.50 for orders by June 30, 2013, with payment due upon publication
- $20.00 for post-publication orders and payment
The hymnal project began in 2004 when the General Assembly authorized research into a new denominational songbook. The Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song (PCOCS) formed in 2008 under the leadership of Hymnal Editor, David Eicher, and Committee Chair, Dr. Mary Louise Bringle.
The PCOCS will hold their last meeting in January 2012. A final list of hymns will be presented to the 220th General Assembly (2012) in Pittsburgh.
For more information about the Hymnal Project, visit the website www.presbyterianhymnal.org.
Contact: Rev. Mary Margaret Flannagan
Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
100 Witherspoon St.; Louisville, KY 40202-1396
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Upcoming Events
October 2, 2011 -- The Southern Ontario Chapter announces "Singing Hymns," at 2:30 p.m. at Islington United Church, Toronto, situated on Burnhamthorpe Road, just west of the corner of Dundas Street and Islington Avenue. John Derksen, Don Anderson, Fred Graham and Lydia Pedersen will stretch us with new ideas about the singing of hymns |
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Special tribute for Alice Parker, FHS
On October 13-16, 2011, a special tribute for Alice Parker, Fellow of The Hymn Society, will be held at Tinity Church, Wall Street, New York, NY. Her magnum opus, Songs for Eve, for vocal quartet and string quartet is going to be performed. The text is by poet Archibald MacLeish. Alice will lead a Hymn Sing that same weekend. A Facebook site will be up and running soon. For more details, contact Marilyn Haskel at this email address: mhaskel3@nyc.rr.com |
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