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 The Verse
A monthly newsletter |
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The Hymn Society
in the United States and Canada
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August 2013
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Greetings!
I hope you've had a satisfying summer season -- fun, rest, a change of pace -- whatever you experienced, I trust it supplied energy for new work, projects, and adventures this fall. We are bursting with new ventures and are excited to share them with you! Some are projects of The Hymn Society while others are projects our members are launching.
We're working diligently on the upcoming annual conference (yes, we just finished one, but July 2014 will be here before you know it!) and also eagerly beginning our project to raise the funds to make our dreams for the future a reality.
Our members and friends are sharing their projects, publications and new resources. It's rewarding to see such vitality in so many aspects of congregational song!
Read on -- there's so much energy here you won't even need a cup of coffee!!
Meanwhile, keep singing!!
Deb
Deborah Loftis
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Call for Sectional Proposals
2014 Conference in Columbus, Ohio
The next annual conference of The Hymn Society will be held at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. The program committee invites members to submit proposals for sectionals for the conference. Interested persons may contact Deb Loftis (deb@thehymnsociety.org or 800-843-4966) to obtain the proposal form.
Proposals are due by October 15, 2013. Conference registration will begin in February, 2014.
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Launch of The Hymn Society's Endowment Campaign
The Hymn Society has launched a very exciting new venture!!
At the summer conference we  announced a three-year endowment campaign raise the funds needed to implement new initiatives and expanded current programs developed from the dreaming sessions held throughout 2012. Members will soon receive a letter explaining more about the initiatives and the campaign which has a goal of 2.2 million new dollars for our investment funds.
We hope that each member will prayerfully consider how they might participate in this campaign. It will take our combined efforts to make these dreams a reality! We are pleased to say we are off to a fine start; we have already received pledges and gifts in excess of $280,000. The Executive Committee, the Financial Development Committee (FDC) and the staff are in full support of this endeavor, with 100% participation in the campaign. This amazing amount comes from them and a few close friends of The Society -- just a handful of people. Can you imagine what we can do if everyone joins in? Won't you make your best effort to join our leaders as we work together for the present and the future?
You can also help us by telling your friends, church members, and colleagues about how much The Hymn Society means to you. Our FDC chair, Joanne Reynolds, asked at church for prayer for the committee as this project was starting up. After the service, someone came to her to offer a gift for the campaign. You never know what impact your story will have on others!!
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Nominations for the 2014 Executive Committee
The Executive Committee invites nominations for the following positions to be elected at the 2014 annual meeting in Columbus, OH.
President-elect
Member-at-large
Treasurer
Director of Research
If you wish to nominate someone, please contact him/her to get permission to nominate. Self-nominations are also invited. You may send nominations by email: deb@thehymnsociety.org or postal mail: The Hymn Society in the US and Canada, 3400 Brook Road, Richmond, VA 23227
Deadline is October 31, 2013
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Break Into Song
The Hymn Society is pleased to help spread the word about this exciting new project undertaken by one of our members. Hilary Seraph Donaldson is a former Lovelace Scholar and the co-leader of the closing hymn festival at this summer's conference See what this young worship enlivener is planning: You may have heard about it at this summer's Hymn Society conference: Break into Song is an all-new way for church musicians to lead congregational song. Hosted by Hilary Seraph Donaldson, Break into Song will be an original web video series - a television show on YouTube and available for free to anyone - that will help church musicians and ministers by unpacking new songs, and showing how to creatively and confidently teach them in worship. With the help of a choir and congregation, Hilary will demonstrate teaching plans, and ways to incorporate the song in worship; things you just can't read in a book. Take a moment and learn more about the project in this video!  | | Break into Song - support my project on Indiegogo |
At the end of each episode, you'll be able to take a song you've only ever seen on the page, and feel that you can teach it with confidence and use it in worship as if it were an old favorite. We need the support of congregational song enthusiasts like you to help Break into Song become a reality. Contribute today at www.breakintosong.ca and spread the word!
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Upcoming Events
September 20-21, 2013 -- Worship Matters Conference - First Baptist Church, Orillia, Ontario.
One of our new members, Arlen Wiebe, has shared information about this upcoming conference. The keynote speaker is Bob Kauflin from Louisville, KY. The purpose of the conference is to "broaden your vision, deepen your ministry effectiveness and connect you with other worship leaders and teams." For more information: Worship matters
October 11, 2013 -- Music Ministry Alive! & St. Andrew by the Bay Parish
present David Haas, Marty Haugen and Michael Joncas in concert at 7:30 pm, St. Andrew by the Bay Parish, Annapolis, MD. Flyer
Tickets: $30.00 in advance / $35.00 at the door / children under 12: $15.00
All proceeds will benefit Music Ministry Alive! a liturgical music formation program for High School and College Age Youth.
October 17-19, 2013 -- Community of Christ will present their new hymnal, Community of Christ Sings with a conference entitled, "Peace, Justice, and Song" on October 17-19, 2013. John Thornburg will present the keynote address; John Bell, FHS, will lead worship and workshop sessions. Jane Gardner, Jan Kraybill, Lauren Hall, and Joey Williams who have worked to produce the hymnal will also lead portions of the event. Congratulations to all! The Hymn Society will showcase this new hymnal at the 2014 conference in Columbus, Ohio.
October 19-20, 2013 -- The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology
will be launched at a special conference to be held in Bristol, United Kingdom. The new dictionary is the first successfully completed update of John Julian's Dictionary of Hymnology for over 100 years. For further information on the schedule, speakers and conference rates, please visit the conference website, where you can also register as a delegate:
Call for Papers:
December 14-17, 2013 -- The Department of Music within Emanuel University of Oradea (Romania) in cooperation with Emanuel University Press and the Religion and Science Research Centre organize the International Conference on Sacred Music and the Ars Sacra International Festival that will take place in Oradea between December 14-17, 2013. The conference committee invites all academics and university professionals, composers, musicologists, and practitioners with a special interest in the relationship between Christianity and music to submit proposals related specifically to this issue. For further details, please see the attached pdf: Emanuel Conference
December 26, 2013 - January 5, 2014 -- Holy Land Tour
Join Tony Alonso, Marty Haugen and Msgr. Ray West for an 11-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land, December 26- January 5. See the atached brochure for more information. brochure
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Release of Glory to God Hymnal
The new Presbyterian Hymnal, Glory to God will be shipped to folks in September.
You are invited to come to one of six national celebrations for the publication of Glory to God: Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Songs. Philadelphia (Oct. 18-19, 2013), Albuquerque (Nov. 1-2, 2013), Salt Lake City (Nov. 4-5, 2013), Ft. Worth (Jan. 9-10, 2014), Atlanta (Feb. 21-22, 2014), and Louisville (March 14-15, 2014).
These two-day educational events will be held around the country for pastors, musicians, worship committees, and ecumenical friends. Members of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song, Hymnal Project staff, and other recognized music and worship leaders will facilitate workshops and worship. Walter Brueggemann, Kimberly Bracken Long, Marva Dawn, and Craig Barnes are among the presenters. Focus topics include global music, how to teach a new hymn, the theology behind the notes, liturgy in Glory to God, and much more!
Register now at www.presbyterianhymnal.org/launch
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News of Members
Cheryl Van Ornam will present an organ recital, "For Everything There Is A Season," at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 4207 Forest Hill Avenue, Richmond, VA 23225, on Friday, September 6 at 7:30 PM. Please come and enjoy an evening of beautiful organ music. Hymns and Chorales will form the basis of this recital, based on the seasons of the Liturgical Year.A Hymn Festival will be presented in honor of Paul Westermeyer, FHS. This event has been organized at the request of the MSM graduates who want to come together to thank Paul, wish him well his retirement and celebrate the gift of music. The festival will take place at September 28, 2013 at 4pm in Luther Seminary's Chapel of the Incarnation in St. Paul, MN. Cards or messages to Paul may be addressed to: Luther Seminary Attn: Kristin Rongstad - MSM Celebration 2481 Como Avenue St. Paul, MN 55108 Margaret Leask is one of the invited speakers at the launch of the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology (see above for details of the gathering).
The Brehm Center and Fred Bock Institute of Music at Fuller Seminary are pleased to announce the winners for their first hymn search. This past spring, in association with the Talk of God, Talk of Science conference held on May 2-4, David Ward and Dr. Barbara Hamm were selected as winners. A public congratulations is certainly warranted for their fine compositions.
Dr. Barbara Hamm-"God, Creator of the Cosmos"
David Ward-"The Majesty"
Hearty congratulations to these two Hymn Society members!!
Congratulations to Colin Gibson who recently celebrated his 80th birthday. A tribute to Colin was included in the Summer/Autumn issue of Music in the Air: Exploring Spirituality in the Creative Arts. The journal editor is John Thornley who manages the New Zealand Hymn Book Trust. Colin lives in Dunedin, NZ.
Those who attended her conference plenary address in Winnipeg (2012) will hear echoes of that message in an article "Speaking the Words" by Alice Parker, FHS, which appears in the August/September issue of The Chorister (Choristers Guild). She says, "I want the music to fit the words so seamlessly that it seems as if they had always been together." Thanks for reminding us, Alice!
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Edited Watts Hymnal
Dan McKinley sent a notice about an interesting version of a Watts hymnal:
Historical musicologist Glenda Goodman recently found a fascinating hymnal in the archives of the Watkinson Library at Trinity College in Connecticut. The book, printed in 1772 and owned by a man named Alexander Gilles, is heavily annotated. Every reference in it to Great Britain, the "northern isles," the King-basically, anything British-is redacted, with new allusions to America suggested in pen in the margins. The book was an edition of the work of Isaac Watts, a British writer who produced some of the most popular hymns of the eighteenth century. (One familiar text is "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past.") While, as Goodman writes, later versions of Watts' hymnal printed in the former colonies changed his British references to American ones, it appears that Gilles took matters into his own hands. Gilles was extremely thorough, crossing out the words "King" and "isle" wherever he found them. He even suggested an entirely new couplet to replace the island-centric praise: "He bids the ocean round thee flow;/ Not bars of brass could guard thee so," suggesting the more continentally appropriate "He bids the seas before thee stand/To guard against yon distant land." At the bottom of one page, Gilles wrote, following Watts' note that he had "translated the scene of this psalm to Great-Britain": "+It is now translated to America." Goodman originally reported her find on The Junto, a group blog following new research in early American history. You can find more discussion of the lineage of this particular hymnal in her post. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2013/08/05/patriotic_hymnal_alexander_gilles_edits_to_his_book_after_the_revolution.html
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Annual Conference Follow Up
Thomas Troeger, leader of this year's Text Writer's Colloquium at the annual conference has generously made available his document from that session, Receiving and Using Critical Responses to Hymn Texts. You are invited to download the attached pdf. Troeger document
Virginia Slack, aspiring song/hymn writer, extends this invitation:
Saint Paul encouraged us to sing "hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs". Not all of us are gifted at creating metric hymns. Our offerings are more often inspired by a piece of a sermon or some news event, and the music just flows out at the same time. The summer conference included a session for songwriters as well as our usual ones for text writers and tune composers. Those of us who attended have shared our email addresses. We would like to add other interested people who could not attend, but who would also be interested in sharing. If you would like to join, please email me at vaslack@hotmail.com.
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New Doctoral Programs in Church Music
The School of Music at Baylor University is pleased to announce the establishment of two new doctoral programs in church music, the PhD and the DMA, to begin in fall, 2014. For information visit www.baylor.edu/ccms and/or contact David_Music@baylor.edu.
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July 30, 2013 -- World Library Publications presented "This is the Day: Hymns of Joy and Glory" at the National Association of Pastoral Musicians meeting in Washington, DC. Alan J. Hommerding was the leader/conductor.
July 25, 2013 -- "The Journey: Our Christian Heritage in Hymns" was presented by Robert Hobby as part of Virginia Wesleyan College's Sacred Music Summer Conference. The festival was held at First Presbyterian Church, Virginia Beach, VA. at 7:30 pm.
Be sure to let us know of hymn festivals in your area. Send copies of the program to the office if available so that we can pass them along to others for planning ideas.
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Reviews of Hymn-Based Compositions
James Hart Brumm, provides this month's choral reviews. Thanks so much, James! August reviews
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New Resources
Hymns Today is a journal of the LDS Composers' Network. Issue 3 contains mostly simple 4-part settings of hymn texts. The volume also includes an organ setting of "Come, Come Ye Saints" by Daniel E. Gawthrop. The cost is $12.95. If you'd like to learn more, contact Glenn Gordon at glenn.gordon7@bigpond.com or visit the website: www.hymnstoday.com
Phil Routszong has published the first of a project 3 volume set of hymn studies for children, entitled, The Wells of Our Fathers. Each volume includes a workbook and a CD. The sample sent to our office included very well-known hymns that would be familiar across a broad range of denominations. For more information, visit the website: www.redigthewells.com
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| Continuing Contests and Searches
Church of the Servant is excited to announce its 2013 New Psalm Contest.
Last year, the judges sang through 78 submissions before voting David Ward's setting of Psalm 90, "God of the Ages" the winner. We fully expect that the submission numbers and quality will continue to increase this year, as they have each year since our first contest in 2010. We would be delighted if you would take part in this year's contest or spread the news to those who might have a new Psalm to share. Here is a paragraph suitable for publication, email, or church bulletins:
In an effort to encourage Psalm-singing, Church of the Servant invites congregational songwriters to submit a Psalm-based song to its 2013 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, 2013. The song will be premiered in worship on February 2, 2014. 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. This 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/2013-cos-new-psalm-contestÂ
To download the PDF brochure: https://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/files/2013_COS_new_psalm_contest.pdfÂ
South Congregational Church United Church of Christ (South Church), Kennebunkport, ME, announces a contest for hymn writers. It carries a prize of $1000 for the winning entry. We are asking for a new hymn which speaks of the Church and it's ministry to the wider community, rooted in its history, responsive to the present and laying a foundation for the future. All entries must be postmarked by September 15, 2013. The judges will arrive at their decision by November 1, 2013. For more information see the attached pdf: South Church Contest
The 2013 Macalester Plymouth United Church hymn contest will be a search for a new Advent or Christmas carol which speaks to the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation, and the coming of the One who brings justice, mercy and "peace to all on earth." As always, both new music and familiar music is welcome! All entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2013. For more information, call the church (651-698-8871) or visit the church website at www.macalester-plymouth.org. For more details, consult the attached pdf: Macalester Plymouth 2013
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