We Believe: Faith, Community, and the Holy Act of Singing

Sponsored by Martin Seltz in memory of John Ferguson

A set of new tunes by Roy Hopp set to Gracia Grindal's comprehensive set of hymn texts based on the Old Testament lectionary texts of Series A.

A set of new texts by William Pasch with an appendix of tunes by both William Pasch and Robert J. Weaver.

This new collection of hymns and songs honoring the Mother of God is ecumenically sensitive and broad in scriptural/theological scope. Building on inherited scriptural and liturgical texts, influences from more recent Mariological scholarship and reflection are also present, including a "Mary at the Margins" section. Diverse text writers and composers are represented throughout.

Sponsored by Peter Irvine

The Office of Latino Ministries of the Episcopal Church has produced a songbook which includes popular Latino song, traditional hymnody, liturgical music, and new compositions. It includes Spanish-language and bilingual (Spanish and English) songs. Participants will hear the rationale and history for this project of many years and will be invited to sing along with a diverse selection from the cancionero.

Sponsored by Glen & Judy Brown Richardson

Joyfully Sing!, a new curriculum that teaches children to sing and read sacred music, combines the best practices of contemporary music education with the Church’s song. Developed over the past decade with the Notre Dame Children’s Choir at the University of Notre Dame, the curriculum is an ecumenical approach that weds a Kodály-inspired educational philosophy with sacred repertoire. Designed for children from preschool through high school, the incremental curriculum employs a sound-before-sight methodology where children gradually associate playful and reverent sacred melodies with notation.

To safeguard the artistic, intellectual, and social accomplishments of the Hungarian people, Zoltan Kodály, composer and music educator, advocated for children to be the stewards of the musical heritage found in their folk music. In sacred contexts, music transmits shared theology, ethics, and a sense of belonging across time. For over a millennium the Church entrusted the propagation of its sacred music to child choristers who sang Gregorian chant, the music of Palestrina, Bach, Mozart, Fauré, Britten, Vaughan Williams, and many more. Texts included liturgical settings of the mass to seminal theological tenets such as Ubi Caritas (Where charity and love prevail), Sicut Cervus (Like as the hart desireth the waterbrook), and If Ye Love Me.

Joyfully Sing! seeks to elevate the role of children singing the sacred music of the Church and to encourage congregations to invest in the musical acculturation of children and young adults. Artistic Director and Director of Education Mark Doerries and Cynthia Berryman will introduce the curriculum to Hymn Society attendees and discuss ways to adapt it to the unique needs of each congregation.

Sponsored by C. Michael Hawn, FHS

This sectional addresses all aspects of this year’s conference theme. The primary question I will address is, how does performance studies inform the ways we live out our baptismal vocation through congregational music to advocate for justice? Baptism will be the aspect of faith that helps center this conversation. Baptism reminds us who God is calling us to be throughout our life. Our baptismal vows give us an identity and a vocation, that when lived out, calls us to be advocates for justice. The use of performance studies allows us to examine how we perform congregational music, through the lens of our baptismal vocation, to create pathways to advocate for ethics and justice in solidarity with those in the community. We cannot be advocates for justice without being in conversation with our community. Congregational music is a formative, community activity. An expanded understanding of congregational music incorporates a multitude of ways to be an active participant, recognizes the different actions performing encompasses, and explores the many ways that participation in worship makes meaning. What music should we be singing to ensure it aligns with our mission, promotes justice, and expresses love to God and our neighbors? This question will be explored in a way that provides practical information for performing congregational song and singing specific examples. The holy act of singing unites communities together in a unique way to advocate for justice because of the vocation received through the sacrament of baptism.

Pastoral musicians are an understudied and underserved population. A recent study found that 83.8% of American pastoral musicians experienced one or more factor of burnout. Some research claims that burnout is the result of a lack of faith and even a myth, while other research has found burnout to be the result of many factors including working with "ill-behaved clergy." Can faith, community, and/or singing help with burnout? We'll discuss the latest research to find out. Following this presentation, participants will be able to identify burnout, discuss the signs of burnout, and implement basic tools to prevent burnout.

Drawing on years of research, teaching, and speaking on topics at the intersection of music, Queer history, and activism, Reverend Jim Mitulski and musicologist Thomas Kurtz will present a lecture/performance and Q&A discussion exploring how the relationship between music and spirituality literally and figuratively served as a voice for social change among Queer communities that faced systemic exclusion during the dark years of the AIDS crisis. Dr. Kurtz will begin by investigating how modes of musical expression including sound, lyrics, and performance practice are inextricably linked to understanding history as activism among Queer communities. Following this portion, Rev. Mitulski will speak on his experience as the Pastor of Metropolitan Community Church San Francisco between 1986-2000 while focusing on the musical influences during his tenure. The latter half of this presentation will highlight three church musicians who will perform excerpts and describe the impact of music-making during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Afterwards, the audience will participate in a Q&A session with Dr. Kurtz, Rev. Dr. Mitulski, and musicians.

The Hymnal 1982 was published 40 years ago, and it's been over 25 years since the church's last official full supplement. Selah is stepping into this long gap to provide the church with a resource that provides the congregational song from the last decades that churches can use in their varied worship. Schaap, a decades-long Episcopal church musician as well as president/senior editor of Selah, has drawn from his extensive experience in both along with recommendations from a large pool of Episcopalians to create a collection that will let the church catch up to what most Hymn Society members already know: the church’s song is alive and well.

Let’s sing some songs from my new book, CRUMBS & BANQUETS: A Legacy of Sacred Song. The book will include some new hymns, plus older songs, co-written by Dave Brubeck, Peter Erskine, Shirley Murray, Carlton R. Young and more!

Sponsored by Glen & Judy Brown Richardson

A vast majority of Hispanic liturgical repertoire is guitar-based, such that leading these songs entirely from the keyboard can be a daunting challenge. From cumbia and bolero to salsa and vallenato, Hispanic styles provide a captivating if not complex study in rhythmic and harmonic structures. This session provides a basic understanding of how these quintessential styles function and how they can be authentically emulated on the keyboard in a worship context. With knowledge of their inner workings, you’ll experience a variety of Latin-American styles modeled with fluent authenticity for your Spanish-singing congregations.

Sponsored by Joanne Reynolds

It's one thing when a hymnal is prepared for a denomination or large community of believers, and something else entirely when a local congregation prepares a hymnal. This sectional will explore two such local projects: Bethphage Hymnal of 1922 crafted by the Swedish Lutheran leaders of Bethphage Mission, a facility to care for developmentally disabled children in Nebraska; and Mawl a Chân/Praise and Song of 1952, a Welsh/English language hymnal published by Welsh United Presbyterian Church of Detroit, MI. In addition to looking at the contents of each book, we will delve into the community context that made it important for these groups to publish their collections of hymns, both for themselves and for any other similar groups who might benefit from them.

Sponsored by David English

In 2024, the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery and Music that Makes Community partnered together to release a playlist collection of paperless community singing songs for congregations and communities to sing and embody the work of repair and solidarity with Indigenous communities. In this workshop, we will share songs and stories from our Sacred Lands Playlist: Volume 1, and invite hymn writers to contribute to a second volume of sacred songs, Hymns for Sacred Lands, to be released in 2026.

The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery promotes an organizing model that recognizes the interrelatedness of cultural and structural change, towards growing the movement for Indigenous justice. Our playlist is a cultural change resource, to speak the truth about our shared history and integrate the values and vision of decolonization. Singing in this community-building way is intended to help strengthen our shared commitments to engage the work of repair and structural change organizing with joy, connection, and renewed purpose.

Music that Makes Community (MMC) practices communal song-sharing that inspires deep spiritual connection, brave shared leadership, and sparks the possibility of transformation in our world. We offer resources, training, and encouragement in the dynamic power of singing to connect others and ourselves. Rooted in both Christian contemplative and activist traditions, MMC envisions a liberative culture that empowers individuals and communities to claim and use the power of singing to heal our spirits, nurture our common lives, and work for justice. We aspire to create spaces that are laboratories of learning, discovery, and communal joy.

Sponsored by James & Kathleen Hart Brumm

This sectional will explore the research findings of the presenter, whose D.Min. thesis utilized collaborative congregational song and hymn writing as a tool for preaching social justice while maintaining the unity of the church in divisive political times. The research was conducted during two four-week sermon series during the 2024 US Presidential Election. The first straddled Election Day and explored "Loving Your Neighbor in an Election Season" and the second was an Epiphany sermon series focused on the lack of affordable healthcare. Both sermon series included "home-grown" hymns written in collaboration with a scripture-study group at Rev. Fearing's congregation in Greensboro, North Carolina, a left-leaning "purple" congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The findings will be presented along with a selection of hymns written for this research intervention. A Q&A will follow where we'll share best practices for utilizing congregational song to be "repairers of the breach" in increasingly politically volatile contexts.

Though the emergence of the term "Worship leader" (WL) is relatively recent (40–50 years), the term has become ubiquitous for describing persons who lead the musical portions of worship services, especially those that practice some form of contemporary praise and worship (CPW). Few research studies have examined worship leaders directly. What do WLs think about the songs they lead, the industries that provide those songs, and the WLs' own role in the spiritual formation of their congregations? The Worship Leader Research team (WLR) has spent the last several years unpacking the results of a wide-ranging 2021 survey that looked into these questions with WLs from across North America. In this sectional, the WLR team will present emerging longitudinal results from a winter 2025 survey and explore new insights into WL mental health and wellness. The session will include a presentation of data as well as an opportunity for conversation about the implications for all church musicians.

How widely have hymns and songs in recent congregational song resources included references to blood, and how has this image been used in relation to life and death, sacrifice and atonement? What are the theological, ecumenical, and pastoral implications for communities that sing these texts?

Sponsored by Martin Seltz in memory of Lorraine Smith Brugh

Come explore Inshallah's second songbook Sing the Journey Deep and reflect on the stories related to its 53 songs. Imagine these songs in rehearsal or worship, nurturing faith, building community, and celebrating the Presence of the One who is the Singer, the Singing and the Song. Consider how the organizational structure of this songbook: Opening to the Sacred, Dwelling in the Stories, and Living the Practice, might apply to your choir rehearsal, your worship practice, and your everyday life., affirming that singing together can be transformative. Discover the Holy in singing that stretches to meet the complicated times in which we live, toward the flourishing of all!

For the past 3 years, I have led an international partnership with Al-Akhawayn University in Morocco that explores the act of music-making as a model for cultivating peaceful relationships across religions and cultures. The program has been an unqualified success, and I believe The Hymn Society would be an exceptional place to share the results of the project and to extend the model into intra-religious peacebuilding in the US. Would the practice of making music together with those who we disagree with in our own religion (think theologically or politically) open up more productive dialogue? My research suggests that it does, and I would love to share that with the Society.

Patrick Michaels has been a prolific writer of exceptional hymn tunes over his long career. His hymns—both texts and tunes—are found in a variety of denominational hymnbooks and hymnal supplements, and in his many single-author collections. This newest collection includes his tunes for the texts of contemporary poets including Richard Leach, Adam Tice, Mary Louise Bringle, David Bjorlin, Carl Daw, John Bell, Thomas Troeger, Ruth Duck, Shirley Erena Murray, and Brian Wren. Come and sing the inspirational and profound texts of these poets in lively and diverse and musical settings!

Sponsored by C. Michael Hawn, FHS

Through the holy act of singing, pastoral musicians are at the forefront of being practitioners of oneness for their communities and beyond. This session examines our Christian call to unity and communion considering varied musical repertoires and corporate ecumenical prayer practices. A special preview of newly translated Taizé chants in English will be included.

In many Latin American cultures, music is not just an art form but a deeply embedded aspect of religious and communal life. Through communal singing, congregations create shared spiritual experiences, reinforce their collective identity, and navigate cultural and social dynamics. The relationship between music and communal life in Latin American churches reflects the broader interplay between faith, culture, and community.

This workshop will delve into the profound connection between faith communities and their musical traditions in Latin America. Participants will journey through the rich tapestry of religious music, from traditional hymns to indigenous rhythms and melodies, including a wide array of styles and regional variations specific to each country, to discover how singing and music contribute to spiritual practices and community building while learning about their historical and cultural contexts.

Sponsored by Martin Tel

Our 2025 conference theme, “We Believe: Faith, Community, and the Holy Act of Singing” seeks to explore the core values of The Hymn Society. We believe that congregational song shapes faith, heals brokenness, transforms lives, and renews peace. But what if someone didn’t? What if a committee sought to create a hymnal which supported a dangerous political ideology?

Such is the case with Grosser Gott Wir Loben Dich, the 1941 hymnal of the German Christians, the Lutherans who aligned themselves with the policies of the National Socialist Party under Adolf Hitler. In this sectional, I will discuss the underlying theology behind the hymnal and the layout of the hymnal which drives that theology. Then, I will evaluate how the hymnal treats the hymns of Paul Gerhardt. I chose Gerhardt because he is the foremost hymn writer for German Lutherans.

This historical overview will serve to remind us that not every act of congregational singing is a holy act.