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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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September 2016
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Happy "back to school" and "back to regular church schedules" -- everything's gearing up for a busy fall! The Hymn Society continues to stay busy as well. A search for a new setting of Psalm 100 is open and at the end of this month we will host "Writing the Church's Song" workshop for writers and composers at Richmond Hill. Then in October, a group from the Executive Committee will gather to work on revisions to our Constitution and the full EC will meet the first week in November.
We are very happy to offer a new service to members of The Hymn Society in good standing. You may now access all the most recent issues of The Hymn on our website. You will need a password. If you did not receive the News Flash sent recently with this password, please contact me by email deb@thehymnsociety.org or call the office 800-THE-HYMN to obtain the password.
If your congregation is planning a remembrance of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, there are hymn texts that may be used in our collection, Hymns in Times of Crisis, which may be downloaded from the website.
Festivals, conferences, and workshops are scheduled by various groups all around North America, so check below to see if any are coming up in your area. If not, why not plan something and let The Hymn Society assist you?
Keep singing --
Deb Deborah Loftis |
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2016 Hymn Search Winner
The Hymn Society is pleased to announce that John Dalles is the winner of our search, "Formed in Faith, Shaped by Song." The text, The Hymns that Lead to Faith" was sung at the Annual Conference in Redlands, California. Dalles is a Life Member of The Hymn Society and Pastor of Wekiva Presbyterian Church in Longwood, Florida.
The judges for the search also selected three honorable mention texts:"I Sing the Love that Dreamed Creation," by Mary Kay Beall "When Singing Alleluia, Hosanna, or Amen," by Steven R. Janco "Together in This Sacred Space," by Stephen Stacks Many thanks to this year's judges: Amanda Husberg, John Thornburg, FHS, and Adam Tice. For more information, see the full Press Release. All four texts may be found on our website: http://www.thehymnsociety.org/#!hymncontest2016/q6bxu
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Hymn Society Opens New Psalm Search for 2017
As part of The Hymn Society's ongoing commitment to the enrichment of congregational song and in anticipation of the 2017 conference, "Now Thank We All Our God: Celebrating Congregational Song Since the Reformation," the Executive Committee has announced a search for a new tune setting for Psalm 100. The winning entry will be premiered at our 2017 conference in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. This search honors the importance of psalmody in congregational song, especially over the past 500 years. An effective entry in this search will provide a musically fresh, singable tune for the words/paraphrase of Psalm 100, one of the most beloved of all the Psalms. All entries must be submitted online. Entry deadline is May 15, 2017. For more information, see the attached Announcement and Guidelines
These documents will soon be available on the website.
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Call for Sectional Proposals for 2017
The Hymn Society is accepting proposals for sectionals for the 2017 Annual Conference to be held in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, July 16-20. The main focus of the conference is "500 Years since The Reformation." The secondary focus is "150 Years since Canada's Confederation." Sectional sessions are 75 minutes in length.
The submission deadline is October 1, 2016, and forms for submission are on The Hymn Society website, www.thehymnsociety.org. Be prepared to enter a title, description, primary leader's name and contact information, and if you will need a keyboard and/or projection equipment. Other information that will be useful includes secondary leader's name and contact information, biographical statements of the leaders, rehearsal time, handouts, and bookstore requests. Please use the online form for submission. If you have any difficulty with the online form, contact Brian Hehn brian@thehymnsociety.org
Anyone is welcome to submit a proposal, however submissions that support and uphold the mission of The Hymn Society and that address the 2017 conference focus will be given priority. Priority will also be given to submissions by members of The Hymn Society and/or the Association for Reformed and Liturgical Worship (AR&LW), who is co-hosting our conference in 2017.
Accepted proposals will be notified in November of 2016 and will be offered partial support to attend the conference.
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Hymnology Course Offered
Dan Damon, FHS, and Nancy Hall to teach "A Cry for Justice in Hymnody"
During this fall semester Dan and Nancy are leading a course on hymnody sponsored by the Center for the Arts and Religion (at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley) and American Baptist Seminary of the West. The fifteen-week class will focus on students developing their knowledge of hymnody, deepening their awareness of the social issues of our time, and learning how to motivate change through the song of the church. Including many of Dan's own hymns, congregational songs in all musical styles will help students develop a sense of how to choose music for authentic worship while making use of recent denominational hymnals and other resources such as hymnary.org.
The class is on Tuesdays from 5:00 to 6:30 pm, from September 6 through December 13. For further information on the course, contact Nancy (neh@amural.com ) or Dan (dan@damonstuneshop.com).
Flyer
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CD of Hymns Available  Producer Roy Cotton II, has created "Bring Back the Hymns" a collection of traditional, gospel, and contemporary hymn settings by a variety of African American artists. For more information visit the website: http://bringbackthehymns.com
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Hymnary.org
Churches without accompanists have been delighted to find out that Clyde McLennan of Small Church Music has added his resources to Hymnary.org. The Small Church Music collection has MP3 recordings of organ music and piano music of public domain hymns, designed to be used by small churches. The recordings can be used with software that can adjust the number of verses, tempo and pitch. See https://www.hymnary.org/hymnal/SCM for more details, or look for the recordings in the Media sections of the text and tune summary pages.
Dianne Shapiro, Hymnary.org
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Continuing Contests
Macalester Plymouth United Church announces that their 2016 hymn contest seeks a hymn that welcomes individuals of all ages to share and connect as people of God at the communion table. Entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2016 and the winner will be announced in March 2017. For more information see the attached Press Release
In an effort to encourage Psalm-singing, Church of the Servant invites congregational songwriters to submit a Psalm-based song to its 2016 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, 2016. The song will be premiered in worship on January 29, 2017. 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
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News of Members C. Michael Hawn, FHS, and Geoffrey Moore, President of The Hymn Society have recently published an extensive document on Christian hymnody and hymnology in Oxford Bibliographies in Music. Oxford Bibliographies in Music combines the best features of a high-level encyclopedia and a traditional bibliography in a style tailored to meet the needs of today's online researchers. Each article, written and reviewed by top scholars in the field, is rich with citations and annotations, expert recommendations, and narrative pathways to the most important works for virtually all areas of music. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette has written a new hymn intended for use on September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, but congregations may find this text useful at other times in the year, particularly as the seasons change. She gives permission for the hymn's free use in local churches. The text may be downloaded here: God You Made Your Good Creation
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Recent Events
July 31, 2016 - "The Games of the XXXI Olympiad - A New World /Um Mundo Novo :A Global Hymn Festival honoring the spirit of the Summer Olympics" was held at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, New Symrna Beach, FL, led by Brian Larson.
August 28, 2016 - Deanna Witkowski led a "Sacred Jazz" service at St Paul's Episcopal church in Alexandria, VA on Sunday morning at 10 AM with a forum following.
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Upcoming Events
September 13, 2016 - C. Michael Hawn, FHS will lead a festival of the people's song: "Singing Creation - A 21st Century Perspective" with Crystal Jonkman, organist and accompanist, at Chamberlayne Baptist Church, 215 Wilkinson Road in Richmond, VA, at 7:30 pm. This program is sponsored by the Richmond AGO and is open to the public.
September 18, 2016 - John Kleinheksel will lead a Hymn Festival in Christ Memorial Church, Holland, MI, on the theme, "How Canons Model God and Human Interaction." Leaders from the S, A, T, and B sections will model and lead congregants in singing canons composed by John and others.
September 23-24, 2016 - Many Voices, One Song - A Conference on Music in the Liturgy, St. John's Lutheran Church, Sacramento, CA; Keynote speaker and Festal liturgist, Dr. David Cherwien. For more information, see the attached: Flyer
September 30, 2016 -- "I've Heard That Before: Hymns and Songs that Inspired Our Favorite Anthems. Presented by CJ Redden-Liotta, Music Minister, Vienna Baptist Church and Music in Worship Repertoire and Resources Chair, Virginia ACDA
Freemason Street Baptist Church
400 East Freemason Street
(the intersection of Bank and Freemason Streets)
Norfolk, VA 23510
Free and Open to the Public;Part of the Virginia ACDA Music in Worship Festival
The Grand Rapids Chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, coordinated by chapter director, Bob Batastini, FHS, is presenting a hymn festival celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy in Song, in six different locations around the diocese between this spring and next fall. Divided into five parts, focusing on a different aspects of God's merciful relationship with his people, each part will be preceded by a brief reading of the words of Pope Francis on this subject. Two additional presentations in Spanish, with appropriate music, are being prepared for next fall. For more information go to www.npm-gr.org Upcoming dates and locations are:
September 16th: Cathedral of St. Andrew September 23rd: Holy Family, Caledonia September 30th: St. Francis de Sales, Muskegon October 16, 2016 -The Grand Rapids, Michigan, AGO chapter, is presenting a hymn festival at the Basilica of St. Adalbert in anticipation of next year's 500th anniversary commemoration of the Reformation. Titled "Come Christians, Join to Sing: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism," it will feature Emily Brink, FHS, as narrator, Bob Batastini, FHS, conductor, and Peter Kurdziel, AGO Chapter Dean, as organist. The choir will be made up of volunteers from churches throughout the area, and will be accompanied by brass ensemble and other instruments. October 30, 2016 - SOCHS EVENT "Heart Songs of the World" 2:30 - 4:30 pm - How do people around the world express their joys and sorrow in song? What do they sing at funerals? Weddings? Times of celebration or desolation? What brings hope and healing? Saya Ojiri, student in the Emmanuel College Master of Sacred Music Program, will introduce us to hymns of Japan and invite us to join her in song. Becca Whitla will also provide leadership for the event. Please note: this event will include a short time for the SOCHS Annual Meeting.
November 6, 2016 -- Alice Parker, FHS will visit College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL to lead a community hymn sing on Sunday night. Tickets will be required for the event. Contact Lee Kesselman, lrkmus@sbcglobal.net
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