wfn.org | Hymnal roll-out event will feature all-star cast of experts

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Oct. 25, 2000 News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{487}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The call is out for pastors, choir directors and
others who work with church music to attend what could be the most
significant event in United Methodist hymnody in more than a decade.

The Nov. 15 early registration deadline is approaching for the churchwide
introduction of the new United Methodist hymnal supplement, The Faith We
Sing. The introductory event, set for Feb. 6-8 in Nashville, will include
workshops and worship led by some of United Methodism's foremost names in
sacred music.

"We have brought together the most knowledgeable, most certainly the best
known, and among the most respected musicians and worship leaders involved
in the United Methodist Church today," said Dean McIntyre, music resources
director for the churchwide Board of Discipleship.
 
The Board of Discipleship and the United Methodist Publishing House
collaborated on the book and are cosponsoring the event. The introduction
will mark the first major development in the denomination's hymnody since
the publication of the United Methodist Hymnal in 1989.

"This collection represents the wide range of music styles being used in
United Methodist churches," said Bill Gnegy, music resources director at the
Publishing House. That range embraces contemporary choruses, hymns written
since the mid-1980s, world music, traditional-style songs and classics that
aren't in the main hymnal.

Because of the supplement's importance to United Methodist worship, event
organizers are hoping for a strong turnout from church leaders and
musicians. 

Event leaders will include:
·	The Rev. Don E. Saliers, professor of theology and worship at
Candler School of Theology and director of the Master of Sacred Music
program at Emory University in Atlanta.
·	The Rev. Cynthia Wilson, minister of music at Ben Hill United
Methodist Church in Atlanta in addition to being a singer, recording artist
and music director for worship services at the 2000 General Conference.
·	The Rev. Carlton R. Young, editor of the United Methodist Hymnal and
its 1966 predecessor, The Methodist Hymnal, and a noted composer, conductor
and teacher.
·	The Rev. Hoyt L. Hickman, general editor of the supplement and
former director of worship resources at the Board of Discipleship.
·	C. Michael Hawn, professor of sacred music and worship at Perkins
Theological Seminary in Dallas, and an expert on global music.
·	Mark Andrew Miller, music associate and assistant organist at the
Riverside Church in New York City, instructor of music at Drew Theological
Seminary and artist in residence at Union Theological Seminary.
·	The Rev. Dan Damon, a pastor, jazz pianist and well-known hymn
writer with several songs in the new supplement.

Other leaders will include McIntyre; Gnegy; the Rev. Dan Benedict, worship
resources director at the Board of Discipleship; the Rev. Anne Burnette
Hook, a minister of music in Franklin, Tenn., and former music resources
director at the Board of Discipleship; the Rev. Lynn Hurst, an associate
minister of music in Johnson City, Tenn.; Gary Alan Smith, senior
development editor in music resources at the Publishing House; and Debi
Tyree, children's editor in the Publishing House's Music Department.

Participants will learn the best ways to use the new book, such as how to
incorporate authentic styling into the music, McIntyre said. A few of the
workshop topics include designing creative and contemporary worship;
performing Taize and service music; planning worship through the liturgical
year; using the supplement and the United Methodist Hymnal together; using
The Faith We Sing with children; performing gospel and ethnic music; and
praying and singing globally.

The 284-song supplement is not intended as a replacement of the United
Methodist Hymnal. Well-known titles will include "They'll Know We Are
Christians By Our Love," "I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry," "I'll Fly
Away," "Wade In The Water," "Sanctuary," "Eternal Father, Strong to Save,"
"His Eye Is On The Sparrow" and "Gather Us In."

Nine editions are planned. The first six, due out in December, will be a pew
edition for congregational use; an accompaniment edition for music leaders
and accompanists; a singer's edition for choirs and worship teams; a CD-ROM
edition; an edition for MIDI, an electronic format that allows the player to
control the key, tempo and other characteristics of the music; and a compact
disc accompaniment edition. Due by March are a worship planner, with
suggestions for using and teaching each song; a simplified version, which
will have basic keyboard parts and guitar chords; and a guitar edition.

A sampler of The Faith We Sing has been widely used in recent months at
local churches and events - including 57 annual conference gatherings and
all five U.S. jurisdictional meetings. The Publishing House initially
expected to move about 250,000 of the samplers, but demand has pushed that
number past 600,000, Gnegy said.
 
A pamphlet is available that offers ideas to help local congregations raise
money to buy the new supplement. The Faith We Sing Fund-raising Idea Book is
available free of charge to churches that request it. For information,
contact Gnegy at (615) 749-6181.

For people who register for the conference by Nov. 15, fees are $125 per
individual or $99 per person for groups from the same church. Afterward, the
costs increase to $145 and $115, respectively. The fees cover registration,
handout materials and a pew edition of the supplement.

The conference will be at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in
downtown Nashville. For other registration details, contact Melanie Hooper,
(877) 899-2780, Ext. 7176, or mhooper@gbod.org. For answers to event
questions, contact Dean McIntyre, (877) 899-2780, Ext. 7073, or
dmcintyre@gbod.org. Details, along with options for registering and paying
fees online, are also available at
http://www.gbod.org/worship/events/faith_we_sing.html.
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United Methodist News Service
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