Lifting Hearts - Joining Hands - Raising Voices: The Campaign for The Center for Congregational
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We received pledge payments during September and thus far in October of over $208,000. Yep, you read that correctly! We knew those funds were promised to us in pledges, but it's great to see those payments actually in our bank accounts!!
I'm thankful every day for faithful and generous donors who are helping us reach our goal of launching The Center for Congregational Song.
Some of our wonderful donors have even completed their pledges early -- how amazing is that?? I think they're anxious to see us make more strides toward our goal. I hope you share in their eagerness!
If you haven't made a pledge or gift yet, there's still time. You can give online or call us to talk about other options. Together we can accomplish much to encourage, promote, and enliven congregational song.
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2016 Annual Conference in Redlands, California Introducing Plenary Speaker Molly T. MarshallDr. Marshall is President and Professor of Theology and Spiritual Formation at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kansas. Prior to her work at Central, she was Associate Professor of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. She has served as youth minister, campus minister, and pastor in churches across Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Kentucky.
A graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University, she received her M.Div. and Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Her writings include three monographs, No Salvation Outside the Church?, What it Means to Be Human, and Joining the Dance: a Theology of the Spirit. She has also published four volumes of Trinitarian Soundings, a collection of reflections on the lectionary.
Dr. Marshall is a life-long Baptist, albeit an "ecumaniac" as her students call her for her appreciation of the larger Body of Christ. She has a deep love for the music of the church, especially English choral music.
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Do You Have Lots of Airline Travel Miles? As our new Director for The Center for Congregational Song, Brian will be doing a lot of traveling. In particular, we are scheduling his trip to Grand Rapids for the Calvin Symposium on Worship in late January. You can help us stretch our budget by donating travel or miles. Please contact Deb to talk about options for how to help.
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Nominations for 2016 Executive Committee
Nominations for the future open positions on the Executive Committee should be sent to Geoffrey Moore, President-Elect, no later than November 1, 2015. gcmoore@flash.net
Please contact the person you are nominating and get permission to nominate them. Positions open: President-Elect - 2 year term, to become President in 2018 Treasurer - 2 year term Member at Large - 3 year term |
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Amazon Smile
Remember that you can support The Hymn Society each time to buy books and products through Amazon. Enter the site through Amazon Smile, register The Hymn Society as your charity, and then enjoy your purchases even more, knowing that a percentage will come to us as a result. We received our first check recently and are looking forward to many more!
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Call for Papers
Lutheranism & the Classics IV - Conference Place: Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana Date: Sept. 29-30, 2016 Theme: "Listening to the Poets" (a broad range of subjects is encouraged, including hymnody) abstracts due by Nov. 1, 2015 dorm. rooms available at $30 per night |
More Proof of the Benefits of Hymns
Seen in a hotel bathroom . . . . .
 Yet even more benefits of hymns . . . . who knew?? Thanks to Nancy Hall for snapping this photo proof!!!
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Web-based Resources
Christian Virtual Hymnal 5.1 was recently released. It allows you to customize, print, and play any of over 4,000 public domain hymns and Handel's Messiah.
Major Features:
- transpose to any key
- reorder/delete any combination of verses
- choose lead sheets or SATB
- resize and quickly reformat (castoff and justify)
- use any of your computer's fonts/sizes for verses and chord names
- extract any combination of parts
- optionally display/print as shape notes or tablature or chord charts
Since all content is public domain, no CCLI license is needed.
The Christian Virtual Hymnal contains almost all the public domain hymns in the 2008 LifeWay Baptist Hymnal, the Celebration Hymnal, Hymnal for Worship and Celebration, 1991 Baptist Hymnal, Lutheran Book of Worship, With One Voice, 1989 United Methodist Hymnal, 1990 Presbyterian Hymnal, New National Baptist Hymnal (21st Century Edition), Christian Life Hymnal, and the 1985 Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal. It also contains around 170 SATB spirituals from John W. Work's American Negro Songs, and a full orchestral version of Handel's Messiah.
The Christian Virtual Hymnal is available for both Windows and the Mac.
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New Contests
Reformation -- 500th Anniversary Search
"We are searching everywhere for poets," shared Martin Luther in a letter to a friend, "so that the Word of God may be among the people also in the form of music" (AE 49:68).
Centuries later, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is looking for rising, talented writers too! Our hymn competition in honor of the Reformation's 500th anniversary is your opportunity to create a brand new hymn text that will bless the Church around the world. Join the ranks of Reformation hymn writers Martin Luther, Paul Speratus, and Elizabeth Cruciger with an original entry that reflects the historic purpose of Christian hymns: a proclamation of the Word, teaching the faith, and praise to God.
Fairmount Presbyterian Church, 2757 Fairmount Blvd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 announces a Hymn Writing Competition for a new hymn (text and tune) to celebrate its 100th anniversary in October 2016. The hymn text and tune must be original, suited for praise and celebration for a centennial worship service. A cash prize of $1,000 will be awarded to the winner (author-composer) or equally divided between an author and composer team. The hymn will be premiered on Sunday, October 23, 2016. Submissions must be e-mailed or postmarked by May 1, 2016. Contact: Robert Moncrief, Minister of Music and Organist, at Rmoncrief@fairmountchurch.org or 216-321-5800 (ext.135).
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Hymn Society Hymn Search
As part of The Hymn Society's ongoing commitment to the enrichment of congregational song and in anticipation of the 2016 conference "Formed in Faith, Shaped by Song" the Executive Committee has announced a search for a theologically rich hymn or song that engages the theme of the role of congregational singing in faith formation. The winning entry will be premiered at our 2016 conference in Redlands, California. An effective entry in this hymn search will address how singing as a part of a faith community shapes faith through various stages of life. The prize for the winning entry will be $500. Submissions must be received in The Hymn Society office by May 15, 2016. See the attachments for the full announcement, guidelines and entry form.
Announcement Guidelines Entry Form |
Continuing Hymn and Psalm Contests
The Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians (CRCCM) announces a competition for newly composed settings of the proper texts of the Entrance and Communion Antiphons with psalm verses from the Roman Missal (pub. 2010) for the Chrism Mass. The Chrism Mass is usually celebrated in a diocese during holy week in the cathedral church. During the liturgy the sacred oils used in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, the sick and holy orders are blest. A single prize of $1,500 USD will be awarded for the winning settings. The texts are to be scored for congregation, choir, organ and optional instruments. Submission deadline is November 30, 2015. A detailed explanation of the contest rules, full texts, instrumentation and submission requirements can be found at www.crccm.org
Macalester Plymouth United Church of Saint Paul, MN announces their 2015 hymn contest: a search for a hymn that celebrates the language of love, inclusiveness, commitment, and the love God has for the union of all people regardless of gender. See the attached document for full description and contest rules. The prize is $500. Hymns must be postmarked by December 31, 2015.
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News of Members
Thomas H. Troeger was honored upon his retirement from Yale Institute of Sacred Music. The ISM commissioned a new hymn text by Jeffrey Rowthorn, set to THAXTED, "When All Was Dark and Formless" The notice in Prism, the ISM newsletter includes the hymn set to music and photos from the event. Prism
Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB was invited to submit a psalm setting for Midday Prayer which Pope Francis prayed with the Catholic bishops of the United States on Wednesday, September 23, in St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, DC, and his setting was selected for use. Ruff described his psalm setting this way: "It is a setting in English chant for use with a St. Meinrad psalm tone, for congregation with a bit of choral elaboration." You can see his setting and read more about he came to write it on his blog, Pray Tell: Worship, Wit and Wisdom. http://www.praytellblog.com/index.php/2015/09/17/the-psalm-i-wrote-for-the-papal-trip/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebookDeanna Witkowski has been selected as one of the recipients of this year's Berger Carter Award from the
The research award will assist her in her ongoing work with Mary Lou Williams' liturgical music. In particular, she will look for correspondence that Williams' may have had with Vatican officials, as well as with American churches where she performed her Masses. She will also explore one overarching question: why did Catholic liturgical jazz flourish in the late 1960s/early 1970s, and abruptly end thereafter? Bill Wallace has been featured in the New Zealand journal, Music in the Air: Exploring Spirituality in the Creative Arts (Summer/Autumn 2015) with an article by Terry Wall, "Bill Wallace: Hymns of a Prophetic Mystic". All of Bill's material on the website progressivechristianity.org is available for free downloading. It consists of the majority of his recent hymns, his children's songs, the Sacred Energy/Mass of the Universe and his Worship/Liturgy Resources. The hymns can be downloaded as text, text with tune, or MP3 file. Other hymns are available on the website of the N.Z. Methodist Church and (excepting the Selah publications) can be downloaded at no cost. Anyone interested in obtaining a copy of Terry Wall's article or a Publication List may email Bill at pathways@slingshot.co.nz
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Recent Events
July 22, 2015 - "Justice Has Found a Tuneful Voice" hymn festival was led by Charlotte Kroeker and Bruce Taylor as a part of the meeting of the Association for Reformed & Liturgical Worship held at Ghost Ranch Presbyterian Conference and Retreat Center in conjunction with the Ranch's annual "Discerning the Signs of the Times" seminar. This year's theme was entitled, "The Poetics of Justice."
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Upcoming Events
November 7-8, 2015 -- A Hymn Festival, "Mayflower to Marathon: 400 Years of Boston-based Hymns and Psalms" will be presented at Old West United Methodist Church, 131 Cambridge St in downtown Boston on Nov. 7 and 7:30 pm and on Nov. 8 at Christ Church Andover Episcopal, 25 Central St, Andover. The festival is co-sponsored by The Hymn Society and the Boston Chapter of the AGO. Hymn Society festival leaders include Cheryl C. Boots, R. Harrison Kelton, Deb Loftis, Kirk Hartung, Dan McKinley, Tom Baynham, Jr., Ed Frazier, Joanne Reynolds, Carol Doran and Carl P. Daw, Jr., FHS. January 31, 2016 -- "Made in Michigan" a festival featuring authors/composers born in or living in Michigan, will be presented at St. Adelbert's Basilica, 654 Davis Ave., NW, Grand Rapids, MI at 7:30 pm, led by Emily Brink, FHS. The festival is co-sponsored by The Hymn Society and the Grand Rapids Chapter of the AGO.
February 27, 2016 -- The Southern Ontario Chapter of The Hymn Society will welcome Dan Damon, distinguished writer, composer, theologian, and clinician, to speak on "Justice in Hymnody" at Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Continuing Education of Emmanuel College.
February 27, 2016 - "Singing with the Spirit," a workshop featuring national and local clinicians with tracks for pastors, music ministers, worship leaders, and keyboard players and a closing hymn festival, will be presented at Vienna Baptist Church, 541 Marshall Road, SW, Vienna, VA. CJ Redden-Liota is Music Minister at the church and host for the event. For more information, contact Brian Hehn brian@thehymnsociety.orgApril 2, 2016 - "Children Sing the World's Faith" an all-day event for children's choir with hymn festival open to the public at 3 pm. Brian Hehn will be the clinician. Location: Bon Air United Methodist Church, 1645 Buford Rd N Chesterfield, VA 2323. Contact Andrea Baxter for more information. abaxter@trinitylansdale.com
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