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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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February 2014
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Conference registration is open! We have some new features this year in our registration process -- we're using Eventbrite so your credit card will be charged directly when you register. You'll also have the ability to go back later to your registration and make changes.
This year you can request that Daily Notes be delivered to your email. Be sure to look for that option if you're interested. We're also testing the option of making the entire conference booklet available for download on your tablet or smartphone. The first 200 who choose that option will get the chance to try it out and give us feedback.
We have six Masterclasses this summer! Enrollment is very limited in order to provide the personalized teaching atmosphere. If you're interested, register right away.
Remember that we have two working mailing addresses at present: our physical location and the older address. We still pick up mail at the old address and will continue to do so, but we encourage you to change your address book to reflect our new location. You do not need to include the Seminary's name in our address.
New Address:
The Hymn Society in the US and Canada
8040 Villa Park Drive, Suite 250
Henrico, VA 23228
Old Address
The Hymn Society in the US and Canada
3400 Brook Road
Richmond, VA 23227
Either way, we look forward to hearing from you!
Meanwhile, keep singing!!
Deb
Deborah Loftis
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2014 Conference in Columbus, Ohio
Registration is open!!
Follow this link to go directly to registration Register 
Wednesday Hymn Festival
Our final evening hymn festival will be held at First Congregational Church in Columbus. The church features two pipe organs, a 1972 von Beckerath in the gallery and a 1931 Kimball, completely restored in 2004. Visit the church's website to read more about these impressive instruments. Organs
Rev. Washington Gladden, author of "O Master let me walk with thee" pastored here for 36 years (1882-1918). Read more about the breadth of his influence and work with this congregation. Gladden Legacy
The festival for the evening, "Corners of Unmeasured Space" will be led by Eric Wall.
Eric is Director of Music and Organist at First Presbyterian Church of Asheville, NC, where he works closely with worship planning and congregational song, directs and oversees choirs for all ages, teaches classes, and offers music events for and in partnership with the community. He is also Musician for Montreat Conference Center, a national conference center for the Presbyterian Church (USA), where he oversees music for the summer season, directs the Summer Singers, teaches, and serves as a resource for conference teams and planning. His degrees are in organ and choral conducting from Florida State University. He lives in Asheville with his wife Mary and son Tristan.
In planning his festival, Eric shared with me some of his musings about how our theme, "Beyond the Page" would be embodied in his festival. He's given me permission to share his thoughts with you. I think you'll find the ideas interesting and engaging! Festival Musings
What Do You Know About Columbus?
Tina Schneider and Robin Knowles Wallace have prepared a short flyer to let you know more about the city where we'll gather this summer. It's a place with a rich hymnic heritage and many interesting sites. You may want to add a few days before or after the conference to take in some of these fascinating options in and around the city. Check this out!! Why Columbus
Registration available
online and in the Winter issue of The Hymn
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 Lifting Hearts - Joining Hands - Raising Voices What if The Hymn Society could create an environment where great congregational songs could be fostered? What if a small group of established text writers and composers could gather for a few days in a retreat setting, with their pencils and their creativity, away from the distractions of daily life? What if all this talented group needed to think about for those days was shaping faith-filled poetry and soul touching music, songs for the people of God, that would draw congregations together in faithful worship? What if the results of these gatherings were new congregational songs that would write themselves on our hearts? And what if this could be accomplished at little or no cost to the participants? The Hymn Society wants to be the means of empowering this sort of creativity. This program is one of many that is envisioned for the future of The Hymn Society - it is all part of our goal of "Lifting Hearts, Joining Hands, and Raising Voices." We are working hard to increase our Hymn Society endowment so that we can make programs like this a sustainable reality, sooner rather than later. Please consider making a gift to the endowment campaign and supporting future programs like this. --Jacque Browning Jones President-Elect |
George Black Scholarship Recipients for 2014
Join me in congratulating the 2014 recipients of the George Black Scholarship. This scholarship, honoring the first Canadian president of The Hymn Society in the US and Canada, is awarded to students at Canadian institutions and provides a one-year membership in The Society.
Ernest Naylor
Knox College, Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto,
Master of Divinity
Angelina Ng
Victoria University in the University of Toronto
Master of Sacred Music
Peter Kolawole Osuntope
Victoria University in the University of Toronto
Master of Sacred Music
Shannon Maertens
McMaster Divinity College
Master of Theological Studies
Joshua Zentner-Barrett
Wilfrid Laurier University
Honours Bachelor of Music (Organ Performance)
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On A Humorous Note
Jacque Jones shared this quote drawn from a New York Times article on January 28, 2014, about life in Mendham Borough, NJ.
"The origin of the town's name - preserved on the sign of the Black Horse as "I'll Mend 'Em" - has been the subject of animated debate. Did it come from the Indian word "mendom," for raspberry or huckleberry? Was it chosen to honor the British Earl of Mendham? Or was it, as the historian Henry Charlton Beck concludes, courtesy of an early pastor of Hilltop Church, who, when told that his parishioners refused to sing hymns because they preferred a plainer form of worship, vowed to teach them otherwise, replying, "Never ye mind, I'll mend 'em"?"
New York Times
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New Hymn Contest
"New Songs and Hymns for Renewal" is the theme for the new hymn contest sponsored by United Thological Seminary. Deadline for submission is April 25, 2014. |
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Continuing Hymn Contest
The New Room, John Wesley's Chapel in Bristol, England, has launched a hymn contest to commemorate 275 years since George Whitefield persuaded a very reluctant John Wesley to preach for the first time in the open air - an activity that led to the building of the New Room within six months. The theme is "Tell the World." Please see the attached pdf for details of the contest and submission rules. Deadline for entry is June 1 2014. Wesley Hymn Challenge
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March 1, 2014 -- the Saint Mark's Choir Association will hold a Hymnathon from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM at St. Mark's Church in Berkeley. The choir has committed to sing every hymn (or, at least the first verse) in the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal (over 700 hymns!) The Hymnathon is a benefit for the choir's upcoming to England, where they will be in residence at Norwich Cathedral and then at Wells. It's not too late to contribute! Checks made to the St. Mark's Choir Association marked "Hymnathon 2014" may be sent to St. Mark's Choir Association, 2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704. Sent in by Jan Robitscher
March 8, 2014 -- T he Brooklyn Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) is holding a presentation at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm. The topic for the event is "Three Perspectives on Hymnody" and the speakers will be Rev. Angela Askew ("People Who Sing Are Praying"), David Hurd ("Hymn-Based Organ Music of David Hurd") and Jacque Jones ("The Congregation's Song"). A reception will follow the presentations. The event is free for Brooklyn AGO members, $10 for non-members and $5 for students and seniors. Travel directions can be found on the Plymouth web site at www.plymouthchurch.org. All are welcome! Flyer
March 9, 2014 -- Trinity Presbyterian Church, 400 East University Blvd, Tucson, AZ will host an afternoon of hymn singing from Glory to God, the new Presbyterian Hymnal, at 3:00 pm. The festival is being organized by several local congregations.
March 21-22, 2014 -- The second "Hymn Lover's Conference," sponsored by Burgess Music Group, will be held in Richmond, VA. For more information on the program and to register, see the attached Flyer
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News of Members
On February 17, 2014, The Office of Worship & the Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of Richmond hosted a workshop titled "JOY AND HOPE: Catholic Worship After Vatican II." This workshop included two keynote presentations by Fr. Jan Michael Joncas. The Workshop took place at Saint Mary's Church, 9505 Gayton Road, Henrico VA 23229. Those attending our 2013 summer conference in Richmond will remember this church as the location of our Wednesday evening Taizé prayer service. Father Michael Renninger is pastor
On Sunday, February 23, 2014, WCLK (Clark Atlanta University, 91.9 FM radio) aired an interview of Stephen Lee Excerpts from his CD, Stand by Me: A Celebration of African-American Song, published by Oregon Catholic Press, 2013, were also aired during the radio broadcast.
The interview and CD broadcast will remain on WCLK's website until April 1, 2014.
http://wclk.com/post/stand-me-features-cau-philharmonic-society-morehouse-spelman-college-glee-clubs-sunday-11a
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Recent Events
January 26, 2014 - Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Symrna Beach, FL presented "Sochi.ru 2014: A Global Hymn Festival honoring the spirit of the Winter Olympics. The colorful program included the national flag for each country represented by a hymn in the service. Brian Larson is Cantor.
February 2, 2014 - "Still Singing Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: A Festival of Congregational Singing" was held at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, Macon, Georgia. The festival, sponsored by the Macon Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, and Mercer University was led by Milburn Price, conductor, Cam Bishop, organist, and Gail Pollock, pianist. The program included the Ainsworth Choir of Mulberry UMC, Dr. David Keith, conductor and the Mercer University Faculty Brass Quintet.
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Looking for City Hymns
In 2013, Nancy Hardy was awarded a McGeachy Senior Scholarship, given to United Church of Canada leaders for research and development of new and prophetic resources. She is working on a project called "Worship in the City," a collection of hymns and prayers about the life and vitality of urban people. Do you know of or have written hymns that celebrate life in the city? Many of our present resources remind us of our responsibility toward poverty and pollution in the city, but do little to encourage gratitude for community and culture. If you have resources to share, Nancy would love to hear from you - she can be reached at hardyplant@sympatico.ca.
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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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