Home Worship Planning Music Resources A New Hymnal . . . Now What?

A New Hymnal . . . Now What?

Three hours into the evening session of General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 28, 2008, the conference received the recommendation of the legislative committee to approve the revision of the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal. The new hymnal is intended primarily for use within the U.S.A. Following a brief but spirited debate, the proposal was approved by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent. This is a good time to review the details of what will happen next to bring a recommended new hymnal back to the 2012 General Conference for approval.

Who will be on the hymnal committee?

There will be twenty-seven voting members, plus the ex-officio editor:

  • Three active bishops chosen by the Council of Bishops.
  • Ten at-large members, two from each jurisdiction, including three laymen, three laywomen, two clergymen, and two clergywomen. These will be chosen from each jurisdiction by the Council of Bishops, with attention to qualifications and experience in United Methodist liturgy and music. These will include at least one racial/ethnic person, one clergyman, one clergywoman, and balanced by the Council of Bishops.
  • One representative of The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts and one representative of The Order of Saint Luke.
  • Three representatives of The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) and five representatives of Discipleship Ministries [not more than three to be staff members].
  • No more than four additional representatives named by Discipleship Ministries and UMPH with attention to expertise in liturgy and music in The United Methodist Church to help ensure that the overall committee will have at least one person from each of the following communities: African American, Asian American/Pacific Islanders, people from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking cultures, Koreans, Native Americans; churches of all sizes; young adults (under the age of 30 at the time of selection).

Who will be the editor and other officers of the committee?

  • The hymnal editor is selected, employed, provided an office, and paid by The United Methodist Publishing House.
  • One of the three bishops shall be the convener and shall supervise the election of the chairperson and other officers at the first meeting.

How will the committee do its work?

With past hymnal committees, as the editor, officers, and committee members begin to meet, they identify the different large areas they must cover, such as tunes, texts, Psalter, liturgy and ritual, service music, indexes, and perhaps others. There is no established method of determining these large areas. For instance, this committee may need to spend more time considering technology than previous committees. There will likely be committees and subcommittees, and the committee may make use of special consultants or advisors during the course of their work.

The legislation ensures that the new hymnal is attentive to United Methodists of African descent, Asian American/Pacific Islanders, Hispanic/Latinos, Koreans, Native Americans, and other racial/ethnic constituents. It is to use inclusive and nondiscriminatory language consistent with the language guidelines of the 1989 hymnal. Worship and ritual resources are to be both indigenous and Wesleyan, as well as ecumenical. The hymnal is to include the needs of churches of every size. Discipleship Ministries shall have primary responsibility for the development of worship and ritual resources to be included in the volume. Much of the committee's work must be determined as that work actually progresses.

Did the 2008 General Conference give the committee any additional instructions?

General Conference did, indeed, provide some direction to the new committee's work. It added the following prologue to the legislation:

In 2008, we commend with joyful excitement the creation of a Hymnal Revision Committee, which will bring to the 2012 General Conference consideration of a revised hymnal for our denomination.

A 2012 United Methodist Hymnal will:

  • Offer a clear expression of hope that The United Methodist Church is growing in its love of God and neighbor to transform the world.
  • Recognize the changes that are occurring in music and liturgy throughout our connection
  • Enable United Methodists to sing and worship in ways that honor God and transform persons and congregations toward personal piety and social holiness.
  • Hold us together by providing a common language of prayer and song.
  • Remember and celebrate our Wesleyan (Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren), sacramental, and evangelical theological traditions and diversity.
  • Incorporate new expressions of worship in new and revitalized congregations to engage all people, including new, younger and diverse people.
  • Hold broad appeal across cultural, geographical, age and congregational settings.
  • Incorporate the newest technologies and ways of communicating the music and liturgy of the book.
  • Enable everyone to express his or her own heart-language for God and to hear the heart-language of others.

Throughout its work, the Hymnal Revision Committee will report regularly to the boards of the United Methodist Publishing House, the Discipleship Ministries, the delegates of the 2008 General Conference, and the whole connection to engage in serious dialogue to ensure that its work reflects the aspirations of our church.

While the focus of the work of the Hymnal Revision Committee is to produce "an official hymnal of The United Methodist Church for congregational use primarily in The United States of America," this work is also a prologue to additional future work for other regions of the worldwide United Methodist Church.

Let the song begin!

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