New worship and song collections planned for 2011
Members of the mass choir and dance ministry of St. James United
Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Ga., sing during morning worship at the
2004 United Methodist General Conference in Pittsburgh. A UMNS photo by
Mike DuBose.
By Barbara Dunlap-Berg*
Jan. 23, 2010
Although work on a new denominational hymnal was suspended in May
2009, the United Methodist Publishing House and the United Methodist
Board of Discipleship are developing a shorter, different type of
resource—“Worship & Song”—to be published in February 2011.
“The forthcoming ‘Worship & Song’ collection,” said Gary Alan
Smith, general editor, “will offer the best of the best of the newest
worship resources to The United Methodist Church and beyond.”
The new collection will include separate volumes for singing and
worship.
“To be included in the music volumes,” Smith added, “are traditional
hymns, praise and worship songs and choruses, Taizé chants, worship
music from various racial-ethnic and global communities, and even some
hymns from older generations that warrant a revival. Also included in
its own volume will be non-musical worship resources (prayers, litanies
and other liturgical acts of worship) intended for pastors and worship
leaders as they plan worship.”
“This is just the type of project that makes sense at this time,”
said Neil Alexander, publishing house president and publisher. “It
is an opportunity to work with worship leaders across the connection to
offer music and worship resources that are currently not available and
that can be made available in a matter of months.”
The song collection will include up to 180 hymns and songs in a wide
variety of styles. The worship resources collection will include service
music, prayers, liturgies and spoken acts of worship. Neither
collection will duplicate material contained in The United Methodist
Hymnal (1989), The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992) or “The Faith
We Sing” (2000).
Revision of The United Methodist Hymnal requires a vote of the
General Conference. Supplementary resources such as the new worship and
song collection augment the official hymnal and do not require formal
denominational approval.
The collections will be available in print, digital and online
versions. The music collection will include PowerPoint slides and CD
accompaniment. The worship resources collection also will include
PowerPoint and PDF files. As rights are cleared, most of both
collections will be available for individual purchase online. In
addition, Internet downloads of hymns, songs and worship resources that
do not appear in the print volumes will be available.
“We are receiving a good bit of original material to be considered,”
Smith said. “As music and worship styles continue to evolve, our efforts
to meet these changing needs will be ongoing, and I am excited and
blessed to be able to be a part of this vital endeavor.”
Persons desiring to submit original hymns, songs, service music and
worship resources for publication consideration in the new collections
may send submissions to Smith at gsmith@umpublishing.org.
*Dunlap-Berg is internal content editor for United Methodist
Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Nashville, Tenn., (615)
742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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