Meet Your New New Hymnal
Soon Hope Church’s pews will boast not one, but TWO new hymnals. I’ve already started to bond with the purple one, Glory to God, which is the new and improved version of the 1990 Presbyterian Hymnal: Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Songs.
But move over, Purple, and make ready for Red.
Lift Up Your Hearts is the new red hymnal in the rack. It is the product of nearly a decade’s worth of cooperation between the RCA and the CRC. (This in itself should inspire wonder, if not a spontaneous doxology.) The hymnal includes 850 songs reflecting a core traditional repertoire as well as many songs that reflect the church’s changing context. Responding to input from many congregations and an 80-member advisory council (40 people from each denomination), the collection includes not only a range of styles, but an expansion of subjects—such as social justice, creation care, and global awareness.
If you’re thinking that 80 people makes for an unwieldy committee, you would be right. The core editorial committee consisted of 13 people—5 from each denomination, plus 3 staff members from Faith Alive and The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. I served as one of the RCA representatives.
A Joyful Duty
There’s a reason we talk about “serving” on a committee. It often feels like work, and we’re usually glad when it’s over, even if we do have a sense of satisfaction at what we’ve managed to accomplish together.
So, it’s saying something when I admit that I look back on my time on the RCA/CRC hymnal committee with nostalgia and affection. Because we as a committee worked together over a period of years, we became friends. I think this affected not only the tone of our meetings, but the choices we made. Instead of asking, “How can I get all my favorites in?” the question became, “What are your faith community’s heart songs, and will you share them with the rest of us?” I hope that some of this same spirit carries over to the diverse congregations that use the hymnal.
Give and Take
It is still natural, of course, to hope a new hymnal includes your favorites. It may or it may not—though the presence of two hymnals in our racks increases your odds. When you’re scanning the index for your favorites, bear in mind that the committee reviewed over 3000 songs. Narrowing the list down to 850 was often painful, and no one got their own way all of the time.
It was particularly difficult to gather and identify RCA favorites, since RCA congregations have not all been using one common hymnal. This is in contrast with CRC congregations, which typically use the gray 1987 Psalter Hymnal.
Another challenge was inclusive language. While inclusive language for people was non-negotiable, the hymnal reflects more masculine language for God than is typical at Hope Church. To this I will simply say, 1) Hope Church is not typical even in the RCA, and 2) It would be worse if I hadn’t been there.
A Bird’s Eye View
One of the strengths of Lift Up Your Hearts is its organization. People in the pews don’t usually pay much attention to this, but pastors and worship committees do. And a congregation suffers if there is not both depth and breadth theologically.
The first half of Lift Up Your Hearts (or LUYH, as it’s come to be called) follows the arc of the canon, telling the story from Genesis to Revelation. The second half is organized according to the traditional Reformed order of Worship, including the Sacraments. Various litanies, prayers, and readings are interspersed throughout. And all of the above are available in digital form.
Editor Joyce Borger says it best: “This is a hymnal of the church for the church. Our ultimate desire is that this collection be deep enough to give voice to our praises and laments…and play a significant role in the faith formation of Reformed Christians old and young alike.”
In conclusion, I’m grateful to have been part of this project and to have been invited to introduce it in this newsletter. I pray that both of our new hymnals will enrich our faith and worship at Hope Church.
~Carol Bechtel, Hope Church member