For more than 25 years, Lovelace Scholars have graced our summer conferences with their enthusiasm and musical skills.  We're especially proud of those who have continued their commitment to the church's song long after graduation. 

We believe that their Lovelace Scholar experience is transformative so one of the important facets of our Endowment Campaign is the expansion of the Lovelace Scholarship.  Investing in these students is a very good investment for the future of congregational song. 

Look what three of our former Scholars are doing and what they're saying about their Hymn Society conference experience.

Dr. Vivee Kenileno Peseye, 2002 Lovelace Scholar, now a music lecturer at Patkai Christian College, Nagaland, India.  She visits our website often to stay informed about The Hymn Society. In her comments to Andreas Teich in his research for "The Lovelace Scholarship at 25" in THE HYMN (Spring/Summer 2011) she said: 

 

"Ever since I came to the USA for music study which started from Moody Bible Institute, I had heard of the Hymn Society and read the journal. But I never thought that I would get a chance to attend one of its conferences. The Lovelace Scholarship helped make that dream come true and I will always be grateful for that. I come from an area where congregational singing is till going on strongly and I think this is what Dr. Lovelace would have loved to hear."

 

Closer to home, Adam Tice, 2002 Lovelace Scholar and author of three collections of hymn texts reflects on the importance of the expansion of the Scholarship:
 

"When I arrived at the 2004 Hymn Society conference in Collegeville, Minnesota, I was star-struck.  I had written my first hymn text the previous Fall, and now I was meeting the living legends of the field.  I encountered Daw, Duck, Duffner, and Damon--and that was just the D's!  The friendships and mentoring launched during that week have fed, refined, and informed my writing over the last ten years.  I was hooked, and knew that I had to return for the following year's conference.  The financial burden at that point was quite steep.  I was still a student, and even with reduced registration it was difficult to attend.  But I knew it would be worth the sacrifice.  Our annual hymnological family reunion has become nearly indispensable.  (Yes, the birth of a child is cause for an excused absence...)  I am delighted that the Society is implementing a program for returning Lovelace Scholars--I would have eagerly applied in 2005."  

 

And one of our very recent Lovelace Scholars, Ginny Chilton (2012) will be among the first group of returning Lovelace Scholars:  

 

"I attended my first Hymn Society conference as a Lovelace scholar in 2012. I was honored to receive the scholarship and knew I'd have a good time, but I was not prepared to fall in love with the Hymn Society. In Winnipeg I fell in love with the Society's commitment to excellence in hymn texts, music, and theology. I loved its uninhibited spirit for sharing the joy of congregational singing with others. I loved everyone's commitment to each other; the Society is one of those rare places where there is no hierarchy among attendants, and where people of diverse ages, denominations, tastes, and political persuasions come together in true friendship. Most of all, I love that all of this blossoms from our shared passion for the Good News. I felt a sense of ownership in this organization almost right away.  

 

Church music is a tough career: often stressful, isolating, and competitive.  

The Hymn Society has given me a place to call home, with people who share 

 

Sally McBride retired this year from organizing the annual Chidren's Concert at Oregon State University.  For 21 years she has been the event organizer of this orchestral concert for upper elementary children.

In case you missed this last month -- we're so pleased to have our documents available, we want to make sure everyone knows where to find them! You can access back issues through 2008 of The Hymn and all the Papers of The Hymn Society from our website.  Click on News and Views and make your selection from the drop-down menu.

 

June 22, 2014 -- The final round of The 2014 Schoenstein Competition in Hymn Playing will be held at 4:00 pm at Christ Church, Cambridge, MA.  The general public is warmly invited to participate as the singing congregation for the event. Please contact Stuart Forster at stuartforster@aya.yale.edu

 

June 20-27, 2014 -- C. Michael Hawn, FHS will lead a workshop at the Perkins School of Theology, SMU, entitled "How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song"  For more information see the attached flyer. 

2015 British Conferences

There are two conferences in England in 2015 that you may want to attend.  It's not too early to plan international travel, so here are the details.

The joint meeting of our Hymn Society with HSGBI and IAH will be held at
Robinson College, Cambridge. The conference will begin with registration on Sunday, 26th July 2015 with the Conference programme beginning on Monday and concluding on Friday 31st July. It is anticipated that there will be at least one optional outing day on Saturday, 1st August. The Conference theme will be: Hymns in Liturgy and Life.  Revd Michael Garland is convening the group which will be organising the Conference.  Details

The third biennial conference of Christian Congregational Music: Global and Local Perspectives will be held at Rippon College Cuddesdon, Oxford on August 4-7, 2015.  Details