Hymn Society Conference 2022
...be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...
Ephesians 5:18b, 19,20 NRSVue
III. Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.
IV. Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.
from John Wesley's Directions for Singing -- Voices United 720
Last week the Hymn Society of the U.S. and Canada met in-person, for the first time in three years. There are lots of events which can take place virtually but making music online, including hymns, pales by comparison with the blending of voices in a shared space.
The event which took place in Washington DC this year marked the one hundredth anniversary of the society. The gathering of 300 or more was titled Sing the Word God Imagines and it included music from around the globe. According to Religion News Service
Rahel Daulay, a Methodist who had traveled from Indonesia, was explaining the proper way to dance while singing a hymn she had brought from Southeast Asia — bending knees slightly “to humble yourself” and turning toward one’s neighbors, palms together at the chest. Then turn forward, lift up the arms and hold the hands upward.
I notice from photos that the majority of participants were longer in the tooth, so were chiropractors stationed throughout the building? Not only is it important that Christians from churches in Europe and North America embrace music from other parts of the world, they are often the places where Christ's church is thriving and substantially younger.
This is not a new theme for the Hymn Society. Back in 2003 it met in Halifax, Nova Scotia where I was pastoring a downtown congregation. The theme then was From Age to Age and From Land to Land. I attended some of the sessions at nearby venues and on the Sunday morning a sizeable contingent of participants were in attendance at St. Andrew's. After the service I chatted with one hymn writer from the States who has pieces in Voices United and the next day I took him and his partner for a ramble on an area beach.
In our congregation, Trenton United, Rev Isaac and music director Dianne, invite, nudge, and cajole us into singing hymns which are contemporary and often originated in other cultures. We never "sing the songs of Satan" but I wonder if some members consider them as such!
As long as we have breath we can sing our praise to God, three-in-One, and we can be both comforted and enlivened by the hymns of our faith. Remembr to sing lustily and with good courage, but no diva bawling permitted
V. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.
VI. Sing in time. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.
VII. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.
from John Wesley's Directions for Singing -- Voices United 720
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