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 The Verse
A monthly newsletter |
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The Hymn Society
in the United States and Canada |
September 2013
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Greetings!
We have just passed the autumnal equinox, but the signs of fall seem to be everywhere around us. Churches have started up new seasons of choir and handbell rehearsals, schedules are getting more regular and more jammed, and, of course, school is in full swing. School has begun for The Hymn Society as well. We are in our new location at last (but our mailing address has not changed!) and students are eagerly taking their places in the new classrooms, chapel and student lounge. The place is buzzing with activity.
The online hymnology course that was promoted through the spring and summer is also in full swing. We have seven in the class: two from BTSR and five who will transfer credit back to their home campuses. With a wide variety of backgrounds and denominational homes, we will have quite interesting discussions as we look at our shared hymnic heritage and trends for the future. Thanks to the electronic classroom, students from Birmingham, AL, Toronto, ON, Grand Rapids, MI, Ankeny, IA, and Middletown, OH are connected with two BTSR students here in Richmond, VA. Coming up in October is our first Hymn Sing -- conducted by telephone conference call!! Those are always fun! Thanks to two of our Fellows, David Music and Michael Hawn for writing excellent texts to anchor our studies!!
What are you learning this fall??
Meanwhile, keep singing!!
Deb
Deborah Loftis
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Call for Sectional Proposals
2014 Conference in Columbus, Ohio
There's still time to submit your ideas for sectional presentations!
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.
Conference registration will begin in February, 2014.
Proposals are due by October 15, 2013.
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The Hymn Society's Endowment Campaign
Join us on this exciting new venture!!
In the world of raising funds for The Center for Congregational Song, there are two kinds of people : donors and connectors. Donors are obvious. They are the individuals and institutions-think charitable foundations and endowment funds-that are capable of giving the large grants that we need to hit our $2.2 million target. Connectors are the folks wh
o can connect our terrific trio of fund-raisers, Deb Loftis, Allan Burton and Todd Heifner, to donors. We think all of our members are both donors and connectors. This campaign is going to succeed because every member of the Society participates. That means giving at a level where you are comfortable. But to hit our goal, we need to move beyond the confines of our membership to the wider world of people who have significant giving capacity (more than $5,000) and who also value the song of the church. Who do you know who might be a donor or a connector? Your job is to introduce them to the work of the Society, and then call in Deb, Allan and Todd.
Together we can make dreams into reality!
Joanne Reynolds
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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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Upcoming Events
The SOCHS chapter will be busy in October! Check out the programs this coming weekend!
NEW! October 4-6, 2013 -- Margaret Leask has passed the news that John Bell, FHS of the Iona Community is making three presentations in the Kitchener-Waterloo area next weekend. Please check the attachment for more details on the subjects and times and locations of the three presentations. John Bell
NEW! October 6, 2013 -- The Pax Christi Chorale will present a Hymn Festival at Grace Church on-th-Hill, Toronto, at 3:00 pm. The winning hymns in their Great Canadian Hymn Competition II will be presented. The prize-winning hymns are:
1. All I Understand - Joannie Ing
2. May Your Hearts Be Ever Merry - arr. Harvey Patterson (text by John Wesley Oldham, tune by Larry Marshall)
3. Immortal Love, Forever Full - Zachary Wadsworth
For more information about this hymn festival, where these and other winning entries will be sung, follow the link:
http://www.paxchristichorale.org/front-page/rotating-images/
In addition, Stephanie Martin, the Artistic Director of Pax Christi Chorale speaks on the subject, Why Do We Need New Hymns?
NEW! October 6, 2013 --Sing Fires of Justice for Stolen Sisters - St. Matthews Lutheran Church, Kitchener - 7 p.m. See the attached flyer for more information. Sing Fires of Justice
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. NEW! Here is the official link to details for the event. http://www.cofchrist.org/peacecolloquy/2013/registration.asp 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: http://www.bris.ac.uk/arts/birtha/events/hymnology/
Carlton R. Young, FHS is the US editor.
NEW! October 25-27, 2013 -- Community Hymnfest with Alice Parker, FHS. Toronto. See the attached flyer for more information. Alice Parker Hymnfest NEW! November 17, 2013 -- Sally Ann Morris and Adam M. L. Tice will lead a festival of singing to celebrate the release of their new CD, "Walk in Peace," at Prairie Street Mennonite Church, Elkhart, Indiana. The singing begins at 7, and a dessert reception will follow. The address is 1316 Prairie Street, Elkhart, IN, 46516 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, is here!!
We're grateful to Dave Eicher, editor, for a review copy for the Society office!
The online, eBook, and app- editions will be released next month. A Braille edition will be available later this fall from Bookshare.org. Future editions include projection and companion, scheduled for Fall 2014. More information about each edition is on our Website
www.presbyterianhymnal.org.
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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CICW HymnFests
Attend a HymnFest in your area! The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship is sponsoring 80 HymnFests all across North America between September 2013 - May 2014. The purpose of the HymnFest program is to promote learning about what it means to sing the whole of God's story through vibrant congregational song and participation of all ages.
See the Worship Institute web calendar for upcoming Festivals (not all are listed yet): http://worship.calvin.edu/news-events/events/
See the HymnFest web page for the complete list of worshiping communities hosting a Festival:
http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/hymn-festivals/
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Hymnals Needed
Billy King with the Big Black Creek Historical Association,www.bigblackcreekhistorical.com wrote seeking hymnals for two churches.
We are a not-for-profit 501(C)3. We have restored two old churches in Madison County, Denmark, Mercer, Tennessee. We need used hymnals for both of these churches. We need several hundred hymnals. We could pay the shipping. We use both Churches for community services. We will be having one on the 19th and 20th of October in the Old Denmark Presbyterian Church we are restoring. Go to our web site and you can see these Churches. We have combined services for the churches in this community, both black and white.
If you have a set of hymnals to donate, please contact Billy.
bking49166@aol.com
www.bigblackcreekhistorical.com
face book: Big Black Creek Historical
731-427-7897
For more information on the churches, see the attached document. Big Black Creek Churches
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New Russian Lutheran Hymnal
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Church Music Position Open at Baylor
The School of Music at Baylor University is seeking a full-time faculty member in Church Music to begin in fall 2014. This is a tenure-track position that can hold the rank of Assistant, Associate, or full Professor, depending upon qualifications.
For additional information about the position see http://www.baylor.edu/hr/index.php?id=92768 or contact Dr. Randall Bradley at Randall_Bradley@baylor.edu.
Deadline for applications is December 6, 2013.
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Hymn Playing Competition for Organists
To promote the value of excellence in hymn playing, the 2014 Schoenstein Competition in Hymn Playing has just been announced to coincide with the release by MorningStar Music Publishers of the book Hymn Playing: A Modern Colloquium by Stuart Forster. Organists born on or after March 20, 1981, are invited to apply. The application should include live recordings of the applicant playing hymns with a congregation singing, and must be received by March 20, 2014. The final round will be held at Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, 2014, the day before the National Convention begins in Boston for the American Guild of Organists. The public is invited to sing in the congregation during the final round. Finalists will play the 2006 III/43 Schoenstein organ at Christ Church, Cambridge. First prize will be $3000 and second prize will be $1000. Rules and Application Forms are available at www.hymnplayingcompetition.org or from the organizer, Dr. Stuart Forster,
atstuartforster@aya.yale.edu
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Reviews of Hymn-Based Compositions
This month's reviews of organ compositions are offered by Scott Hyslop. Thanks, Scott! Reviews
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Research Project Survey
Robin Knowles Wallace, a professor at Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO), is conducting a survey for a faculty project, eventually to be a series of essays and a book on singing, congregational song, and soundtracks of contemporary lives. The project is tentatively titled "My Life Flows On in Endless Song:" The Impact of Congregational Singing on Discipleship and the chapter that these responses are for is titled "The Soundtracks of Our Lives." The survey has both short and long questions, some yes/no and others fuller answers, and is designed for persons 18 and older. There is one question which could trigger emotions about a previous crisis; that question may be skipped if desired. The survey will take approximately 15-30 minutes. The research will take place May 2013 through May 2014. Information on publication of these ideas will be found following the conclusion of the study on the MTSO website (www.mtso.edu ) under Wallace's publications. The survey can be found by following this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NCL6X2G. Since this survey involves a third party Internet site, participants are encouraged to consult Survey Monkey's privacy policy at http://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/policy/privacy-policy/ . Filling out the survey constitutes consent to participate in the research project. Thank you for participating!
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| Continuing Contests and Searches
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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