We choose music for worship to help us tell the story of Christ to each other. We tell this story over and over – never tiring of the details – because the subject is so rich. We tell how God loved us so much that he sent his Son into our world. We tell how Jesus loved us so much that he died for our sins. We tell how Jesus conquered death and extends his grace to us. We tell how Jesus the Christ is at work in our lives and in our community.

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Introducing African Hymnody

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Introducing Asian Hymnody

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When you’re hungry, what do you crave? Comfort food (macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, steak)? Something gourmet (escargot, anyone?)? Nutrition-packed fruits and veggies (mmm, zucchini)? Exotic cuisine (Thai or Japanese)? Or, perhaps “fast-food” (hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza)?

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Introducing Latin American Hymnody

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In an ever-expanding world, Christ calls us to be unified and inclusive, compassionate and embracing. It is toward these ends that church musicians are often compelled to introduce new music, and particularly “global” music.

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One church I served had an annual dinner and celebration for the feast of the Epiphany. It was my job to arrange for some kind of entertainment to take place at the party, but there was a year that Christmas came and went and I found myself completely unprepared for Epiphany. So I decided we’d have a sing-along. Before the event, I worried that it would float about as well as a lead balloon; people were used to REAL entertainment at these parties! I pulled out some caroling booklets from a dusty shelf in the office and loaded up a cart with hymnals, and prayed that no one would be too upset at my crazy, awful, boring idea. My trepidation continued as I started distributing hymnals at people’s tables after dinner to responses like “Oh, no!” and “What are we going to have to do?” But I soldiered ahead, announced my scheme, and waited for someone to call out a song. And wouldn’t you know… people loved it! Within a minute there were so many requests I couldn’t keep track of them all. We sang Christmas songs from the familiar (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing) to the long-forgotten (The Snow Lay on the Ground). Patriotic tunes were sung with gusto (Onward, Christian Soldiers and America the Beautiful) along with some of the secular Christmas songs (Frosty the Snowman)! Then there were those who asked, movingly, to sing songs that will be sung at their funerals (Love Divine, All Loves Excelling and Abide with Me). We sang for an hour and probably could have gone on an hour more. The next Sunday people were still talking about the fun they had. All in all, one of the more successful events we’d ever had!

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