Fall 1993 · Vol. 22 No. 2 · pp. 60–71
The Making of a New Mennonite Brethren Hymnal
A new denominational hymnal is scheduled to be published June, 1994, after six years of work. An extensive congregational survey became a central input for the choice of hymns to give some attention to their tradition. The final selection of material was made with an awareness of current music trends and tastes. This essay focuses on some details of this process. 1
Analysis of Data
In 1990 a survey of Mennonite Brethren congregations using English-language hymn books was conducted. Responses from the 290 targeted congregations in Canada and the U.S.A. represented 27,828 (65%) members. Tabulations are on hand showing each congregation’s hymn use (primarily Sunday mornings) for an entire year. In summary, 2,367 different songs were sung for a grand total of 28,606 times.
The new hymnbook is highly constituency-oriented.
Of the total of 2,367 different songs used, 317 (13%) were the basic worship diet, and were sung a total of 19,676 times (69% of the time). These were songs used anywhere from 224 to 25 times in 1990. The chart details the statistics. p. 61
Congregational Usage of Hymns
The 317 most-used songs were analyzed. See the list. One approach was to determine if these songs had been important in previous hymnals used by Mennonite Brethren. Thirteen hymnals dominantly used by or influential for Mennonite Brethren since 1860 were identified.
The Most Frequently Used Songs by Mennonite Brethren Congregations in 1990.
Freq.
of UseSong Title 224 I Will Enter His Gates 194 To God Be the Glory 179 Great Is Thy Faithfulness 177 O Come, All Ye Faithful 174 Majesty 174 How Great Thou Art 173 We Have Come Into This House 169 His Name Is Wonderful 156 Thou Art Worthy 148 Be Still and Know 146 Bless the Lord, O My Soul 145 O for a Thousand Tongues 145 This Is the Day 143 Joy to the World 142 God Forgave My Sin 138 Blessed Be the Name 138 Holy, Holy, Holy (Dykes) 135 Come, Christians, Join to Sing 135 Spirit of the Living God 133 Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee 133 There Is a Redeemer 133 We Worship and Adore Thee 130 Because He Lives 129 O Worship the King 128 Blessed Assurance 126 He Lives 126 Amazing Grace 125 Our God Reigns 124 All Hail the Power (2 tunes) 123 Seek Ye First 122 He Is Lord 122 I Love You, Lord 121 Glorify Thy Name 119 Praise the Name of Jesus 118 My Hope Is Built 118 We Praise Thee, O God 117 Crown Him With Many Crowns 117 I Will Sing of the Mercies p. 62 116 Open Our Eyes, Lord 116 Trust and Obey 115 Worthy of Glory 114 Take My Life and Let It Be 113 We Will Glorify 107 Praise Him! Praise Him! 105 Hark! the Herald Angels Sing 101 Bind Us Together, Lord 99 Praise to the Lord 99 Marvelous Grace 98 Come, Thou Almighty King 97 Wonderful Grace of Jesus 95 Jesus, Name Above All Names 95 Come, Let Us All Unite 92 Lord, Be Glorified 91 He Hideth My Soul 90 I Know Whom I Have Believed 89 Angels We Have Heard on High 89 Angels, From the Realms 89 All Hail King Jesus 88 And Can It Be 88 I Love to Tell the Story 88 We Are One in the Bond 87 God Is So Good 86 O Little Town of Bethlehem 86 What a Friend We Have 86 Behold What Manner of Love 86 Great Is the Lord 85 At the Cross 85 Christ the Lord Is Risen 85 Standing on the Promises 85 Savior Like a Shepherd 85 I Sing the Mighty Power 85 How Majestic Is Your Name 83 Father, I Adore You 83 My Jesus I Love Thee 83 Fairest Lord Jesus 83 It Is Well With My Soul 82 Silent Night 82 My Faith Has Found 81 Come Thou Long Expected 81 When I Survey 81 Christ Has for Sin Atonement 80 I Stand Amazed 79 Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne 79 Like a River Glorious 79 The Family of God 78 Great Is the Lord 78 I Will Sing of My Redeemer 78 Holy God We Praise Thy Name 77 Higher Ground 76 Rejoice the Lord Is King 76 Doxology (Old Hundredth) 75 O How I Love Jesus 74 What a Fellowship 74 I Am Thine, O Lord 74 For the Beauty of the Earth 74 I Will Sing Unto (medley) 74 I Will Call Upon the Lord 73 O To Be Like Thee 73 Rejoice Ye Pure in Heart 72 Be Exalted O Lord 71 There Is Power in the Blood 71 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel 71 Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus 69 The Church’s One Foundation 69 Come Thou Fount of Ev’ry 68 Away in a Manger 68 Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus 68 Faith Is the Victory 67 As the Deer 67 Channels Only 67 Sing the Wondrous Love 66 Redeemed (Kirkpatrick) 65 Christ Arose 65 All to Jesus I Surrender 64 Open My Eyes That I May See 64 Spirit of God Descend 64 Hosanna 63 He Leadeth Me 63 Jesus Loves Me 63 Holy Is the Lord 62 I Will Sing the Wondrous 62 Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah 62 More About Jesus 61 We’ve a Story to Tell 61 O Master, Let Me Walk 61 Jesus, What a Friend for 61 All That Thrills My Soul 60 Garment of Praise 59 King of Kings and Lord of 59 I Have Decided to Follow 58 Love Lifted Me 58 Near to the Heart of God 58 Lord We Praise You 57 Thy Lovingkindness 57 Take Time to Be Holy 56 Worthy Is the Lamb 56 Doxology (606) 56 The Steadfast Love of the 55 I Need Thee Ev’ry Hour 55 May the Mind of Christ 55 This Is My Father’s World 54 Come We That Love the Lord 52 Holy, Holy, Holy Is the Lord 52 Have Thine Own Way, Lord 52 Children of the Heavenly 52 Christ, We Do All Adore Thee 52 Jesus Saves 52 The Old Rugged Cross 52 Down at the Cross 51 Jesus Loves Even Me 51 You Shall Go Out with Joy 50 Gentle Shepherd 50 You Shall Be Holy Unto Me 50 Nothing But the Blood 49 When Morning Gilds the Skies 49 The First Noel 49 ’Tis So Sweet to Trust 49 Emmanuel 49 O Lord, You’re Beautiful
Freq.
of UseSong Title 48 We Are One in the Spirit 48 We Bring the Sacrifice of 47 Good Christian Men Rejoice 47 I Will Sing Unto the Lord 47 I Will Exalt Thee 47 I Will Sing, I Will Sing 47 Showers of Blessings 47 Wonderful Words of Life 46 Come, Ye Thankful People 46 It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 46 The Sun Has Now Risen 46 Jesus Is All the World 46 Where He Leads I’ll Follow 46 Abba Father 46 Jesus Is Worthy of Praise 46 Bless the Lord/Great Is the 45 Hosanna Loud Hosanna 44 What Child Is This? 44 Now Thank We All Our God 44 Unto Thee, O Lord 44 Shine, Jesus, Shine 43 As With Gladness Men of Old 43 Love Divine, All Loves 43 We Come to Worship Thee 42 The Love of God 42 O God Our Help in Ages Past 42 Come All Christians Be 42 Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross 41 All the Way My Savior Leads 41 We Praise Thee O God 40 All Glory Laud and Honor 40 A Mighty Fortress 40 Teach Me Thy Way O God 40 Alleluia Give Thanks to the 40 I Give Myself to Thee 40 Hallelujah! What a Savior 40 What If It Were Today? 39 My Song Shall Be of Jesus 39 Take the Name of Jesus With 39 You Are My Wholeness 39 More Love to Thee O Christ 39 A Shelter in the Time of 38 In His Time 38 Rejoice Evermore for This Is 38 Praise Ye the Lord 38 Rejoice in the Lord Always 38 Consider Today What the Lord 37 Who Is on the Lord's Side? 37 Break Thou the Bread of Life 37 Give to Our God Immortal 37 O for a Heart to Praise My 37 Holy, Holy 37 Redeemed (Ada) 37 Alleluia 37 Stepping in the Light 37 We Have an Anchor 36 Teach Me to Pray 36 One Day 36 Praise My Soul the King of 36 There's Something About That 36 God of the Ages 36 Life Up Your Heads 36 God Gives His People Strength 36 He Is Exalted 35 All Creatures of Our God and 35 Who Is He in Yonder Stall? 35 Just As I Am 35 Am I a Soldier of the Cross? 35 Awesome God 35 I Would Be Like Jesus 34 God, Give Us Christian Homes 34 Satisfied 34 I Love You with the Love of 34 Create in Me a Clean Heart 34 Great and Mighty Is the Lord 34 Lead On, O King Eternal 34 He Keeps Me Singing 33 Lead Me to Calvary 33 Jesus Paid It All 33 There's a Song in the Air 33 Ye Servants of God 33 Day by Day 33 Brethren, We Have Met to 33 I Will Serve Thee 32 While Shepherds Watched 32 Jesus Calls Us 32 Now I Belong to Jesus 32 Soldiers of Christ Arise 32 I Would Be True 32 For All the Saints 32 God Himself Is With Us 32 Set My Spirit Free 32 Isn’t He Wonderful 32 Victory in Jesus 32 A Song of Gratitude 31 Faith of Our Fathers 31 We Gather Together 31 Let’s Just Praise the Lord 31 The Joy of the Lord Is Our 31 Give Thanks 31 Let There Be Glory and Honor 31 Whiter Than Snow 31 Christ Liveth in Me 30 Come Holy Spirit 29 The Lord’s My Shepherd 29 Once in Royal David’s City 29 Cleanse Me 29 Heavenly Father, I Appreciate 29 Surely Goodness and Mercy 29 There Is No Name So Sweet 29 This Is My Commandment 29 Lead Me Lord 29 Christ Returneth 29 Thy Word Is a Lamp 28 Onward Christian Soldiers 28 Beneath the Cross of Jesus 28 Soon and Very Soon 28 The Greatest Thing 28 Sing Hallelujah 28 I Will Bless the Lord 28 Tree Song 28 The Light of the World Is 28 Close to Thee 27 Count Your Blessings 27 The Lord Is King Praise 27 I Love Thy Kingdom 27 Thank You Lord 27 God of Grace and God of Glory 27 Come Bless the Lord 27 In the Spirit of Holiness 27 Ah Lord God, Thou Hast Made 27 Ascribe Greatness 27 Only Trust Him 27 God Leads His Dear Children 26 Tell Your Children 26 Is Your All on the Altar? 26 Simply Trusting Every Day 26 O Jesus, I Have Promised 26 Sing Praise to God Who Reigns 26 There’s a Wideness 26 Glorious Things of Thee Are 26 O Happy Day 26 Rescue the Perishing 26 Christ Is Our Cornerstone 26 Thou Art Worthy Lord Divine 26 In Moments Like These 26 Blessed Be the Lord God 25 Since Jesus Came Into 25 Sweet Hour of Prayer 25 I’ve Learned to Sing a Glad 25 I’ve Found a Friend 25 A Charge to Keep I Have 25 In Christ There Is No East 25 A Child of the King 25 Praise Ye the Triune God 25 Where the Spirit of the Lord 25 His Name Is Jesus 25 I Just Came to Praise
Nineteen songs from the list of 317 date back to pre-twentieth century German hymnals used in Russia; sixty-five date back to a North American German-language hymnal, Evangeliums-Lieder, first published in 1897. Sixty of these were German translations of American and British gospel songs and hymns; only five were of German origin. Fifty-nine of the songs were listed in at least eight of the 13 hymnals Mennonite Brethren used.
More than 100 of the current songs on the list were written after 1960 and therefore would not appear in early hymnals. Most of these songs, in the category of “contemporary Christian music,” were published in two currently used collections: Sing Alleluia and Hymns for Worship and Celebration (30 common to both books; 25 unique to Sing Alleluia; and 15 unique to Hymnal for Worship and Celebration). “Victory in Jesus,” still p. 65 one of the most popular Gospel songs in America, has never been included in hymnals Mennonite Brethren have most commonly used, yet it was used 32 times by the reporting congregations. The song “Wonderful Grace of Jesus,” though included in the Mennonite Brethren Church Hymnal (1953), but not included in the Mennonite Brethren Worship Hymnal (1971), was nevertheless used 97 times.
Two major shifts occurred in the past 130 years. First, the use of Gospel songs, distinctly a post-1870’s development, was influenced by American and British Moody/Sankey revivals. By 1875 the Mennonite Brethren in Russia were already using German translations of such songs compiled by a Methodist minister, Ernst Gebhardt. In 1990 gospel songs represented more than one-third (37%) of the songs (116 songs out of 317).
Secondly, the inclusion of 100 songs (31%) of “contemporary Christian music” (also sometimes referred to as “worship and praise songs”) in the list of 317 songs used in 1990, indicates how powerfully post-1960’s main-line, charismatic evangelicalism has penetrated Mennonite Brethren worship styles. The term “contemporary Christian music” represents a “catch-all” term for the music linked in some ways to influences of the Jesus movement, the charismatic movement, the Vineyard movement and youth songs somewhat like the gospel song refrains or choruses sung around the 1950’s. Usually these songs are melodic, have catchy rhythms and syncopations, are sung in unison and often repeated for emphasis. Often a lead praise band sings with guitars, percussion and synthesizer as accompaniment.
The 2,637 songs used in 1990 by this relatively small and homogenous denomination attests to a great diversity of styles. Yet this list of 317 preferred songs (69%) offers hope that creating an acceptable hymnal is possible. The denomination’s Board of Faith and Life initiated the formation of a Hymnal Task Force in 1987 because they recognized that congregational singing is an influential medium in developing the unity that is important in worship, in teaching, in motivating people toward living more like Christ, and in energizing them through the Holy Spirit. 2
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ADDS PERSPECTIVE
An overview of developments among the Mennonite Brethren, a group which seceded in 1860 in Russia from the “Kirchliche Mennonite,” offered some insights about music. The “Kirchliche Mennonites” were the progeny of 16th-century Anabaptists who had become the main-line Mennonites. They had emigrated from Prussia to south Russia beginning in 1789. In their Russian setting, the secession leaders of the Mennonite p. 66 Brethren declared, “We no longer want to sing those old, dragging songs.” They were referring to the songs in a repeatedly reprinted, old German Mennonite Gesangbuch 3. In this collection 725 song texts were set to 163 tunes. Four of the tunes were used with 107 of the texts! The 1952 Canadian Mennonite Brethren Gesangbuch (1952), published nearly a century later, included 39 of these 725 texts and a few of the tunes.
The “Brethren,” as the seceders from the “Kirchliche” came to be known in those first years, soon began using Julius Koebner’s Glaubenstimme, a Hamburg, Germany, Baptist-published collection of 647 songs. This hymnal with many chorales also included German pietistic songs along with a few translated American and British gospel songs. The Canada-published, Mennonite Brethren Gesangbuch (1952) included 108 songs from this collection. Among these were some longstanding, valued “Kernlieder” 4 as, for example, “So lange Jesus bleibt der Herr” (27x), “O Gott, mein Gott” (15x), “Was Kann es Schoen’res geben” (lx), and “Kann im wilden Sturm ein Lichtlein glimmen” (1x). These four, along with others that had been translated, found their way into the Worship Hymnal (1971) after already appearing in the English translation (1960) of the Gesangbuch (1952). The inclusion or exclusion of these specific “heritage songs” continues to be the source of some conflicts. The younger generation generally seems to have less regard for these and does not share the same “programmed intensity” of appreciation which their German-using forebears had.
Two decades after the secession of 1860, another hymnal, Frohe Botschaft in Lieder, edited by Julius Koebner, a German Methodist minister, came into widespread use. Koebner was the translator of most of the 115 songs from a fast-growing repertoire of English and American Gospel songs. Gospel songs, with their simple, melodic, folk-song type of appeal, often with repetitions in a refrain, were widely used in revival and evangelistic endeavors. These songs were attractive to those who had grown tired of “the old, dragging songs” they had used as “Kirchliche.” Nearly sixty of these were included in the Canadian Gesangbuch (1952). Forty were included in the Worship Hymnal (1971), but only fourteen of these were in the list of 317.
In North America the Evangeliums-Lieder (1897), edited and compiled by Ira Sankey and Germany-born Walter Rauschenbusch, prominent in America’s German Baptist Conference, became the most-used hymnal in Mennonite Brethren congregations. It was not used in Russia. A proliferation of publications in both countries incorporated an increasingly broadened hymnody, including gospel songs. They also included some older “Kernlieder” chorales and hymns. Sometimes smaller collections were bound together with each other in one volume with separate p. 67 indexes and pagination. There were two “Drei-Band” volumes, in particular, which were broadly used. One of the “Drei-Band” volumes was a combination of three separate compilations, Jubeltoene-Hosianna-Hallelujah, and the other was Heimatklaenge-Glaubenstimme-Frohe Botschaft. In some ways these “Drei-Band” volumes were similar to those in America’s Evangeliums-Lieder. Several children and youth collections like Singvoegelein also became popular.
Mennonite Brethren German Hymnals
Mennonite Brethren were involved in compiling, editing and translating some editions. In 1905, one was published by the Mennonite Brethren Publishing House, Medford, Oklahoma, as Zions Glaubenstimme, Gesangbuch der Mennoniten Bruedergemeinde in Nordamerika. It listed a non-Mennonite Brethren, H. W. Grage, as the compiler. From time to time specific published songbooks were recommended by the denominational leadership for congregational use. Two Mennonite Brethren involved in some of these efforts were Aaron G. Sawatzky and J. J. Franz. Franz was also a colleague with D. B. Towner and Ira Sankey, both associates with D. L. Moody.
One hundred seventy-two selections from the Evangeliums-Lieder constitute about one-third of the Gesangbuch (1952). Most of the other German songs are from other, more Europe-influenced sources. In North America, another type of “Gospel” hymn was becoming a part of the Mennonite Brethren repertoire--songs like “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Dykes/Heber), “Savior, Like a Shepherd,” “Amazing Grace” and “Marvelous Grace.” Meanwhile, the Russian churches were incorporating songs they referred to as “Kernlieder,” like “Ach Gott, ich moechte Stille sein,” “O Gott mein Gott,” “Keiner wird zuschanden” and “Wie gross bist Du.” The last named was a German translation of an 1886 published Swedish song brought to America by J. Edwin Orr and popularized in America through the Billy Graham Crusades, “How Great Thou Art.”
By 1920, Mennonite Brethren in Russia were also singing some Russian songs. Popular among these was a gospel song published in both Mennonite World Conference Songbooks (1978, 1990): “Joyously, Courageously We Go Our Way.” This song is still widely used in Russia and among the recent Aussiedler from Russia now relocated in Germany. Increasingly, the Mennonite Brethren who have remained in Russia sing songs in a minor key, melodically similar to those used by the Russian Orthodox.
Because of the conflict with Germany in both World Wars, the use of the German language became increasingly unpopular in North America. p. 68 In the 1940’s, after a few years of bilingual bridging, English became dominant. The most popular American hymnals, alongside the Evangeliums-Lieder, were Triumphant Service Songs (Rodeheaver HallMack, 1934) and Tabernacle Hymns #3 (Tabernacle Publishing, 1944).
These three hymnals, plus remembered hymns, chorales and “Kernlieder” from their Mennonite traditions, made up the basic core of the first U.S.A. Mennonite Brethren Church Hymnal (1953). This volume, edited by Herbert C. Richert, who also contributed eight songs to the hymnal, was made up of 294 American tunes (69%). There were also 56 British (13%), 46 German (11%), 8 unclassified (2%) and 8 tunes from nine other countries (4%). The composers were dominantly Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian.
English Hymnals
Songs still popular from the published hymnals (1897-1944), as reflected in the 1990 survey, are distributed as follows: Evangeliums-Lieder (1897), 66 songs (21%); Triumphant Service Songs (1934), 93 songs (29%); and Tabernacle Hymns #3 (1944), 100 songs (32%).
The first English-language Mennonite Brethren hymnal was produced in 1953 by U.S.A. Mennonite Brethren. A year earlier, the Canadian Mennonite Brethren had issued their first hymnal, Gesangbuch. The difference in the two hymnals was not one of theological focus or purpose, but was a reflection of the culturally different backgrounds through which Mennonite Brethren had lived for a half century. Church members in the U.S.A. had become more Americanized than the Canadians. The Canadians, made up dominantly of immigrants coming more recently from Russia, had stronger European “programming” in their worship life. In addition to translated gospel songs, they had preserved more of the cherished chorales and “Kernlieder,” as substantiated by the index of tunes in the Gesangbuch (1952). It was more like the Kirchliche Gesangbuch which their Mennonite parent body had used. The tunes were frequently used for a number of texts. In the Gesangbuch, eight tunes are used more than five times, for a total of 60 texts. This hymnal was translated into English and published in Canada as Hymn Book (1960).
By 1963, Mennonite Brethren from both Canada and the U.S.A. were in dialogue about producing a new hymnal to accommodate the changing needs in both countries. At the 1966 North American Convention, the Board of Reference and Counsel appointed a Hymnal Commission. A hymnal with 678 songs plus worship aids was published in 1971 with the title Worship Hymnal. Paul Wohlgemuth served as the editor. Eighty thousand copies, which represents about two copies per member, were sold within two decades. Worship Hymnal has been used by congregations p. 69 in at least 20 denominations. Though dominantly American in what it included in hymns and Gospel songs, there were more than sixty “heritage songs,” most of which were translations. The 1990 use list reveals that only three of these were sung more than 25 times: “The Sun Has Arisen” (46x), “We Come to Worship Thee” (43x) and “The Lord Is King, O Praise His Name” (27x). Other well known, German-origin songs ecumenically used include “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” (78x), “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (99x), “Now Thank We All Our God” (44x), and “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (40x).
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC INDICATES NEW TREND
It is evident that there is again a shift in music preferences among Mennonite Brethren and other evangelicals. The high priority (100 out of the 317 high-use songs) given to so-called “contemporary Christian music” (CCM) attests to this. CCM represents a distinct genre, dominantly used by younger people.
An explosion of songs of the CCM type began in the 1960’s. By the early 1980’s Mennonite Brethren pastors and worship leaders asked for help in finding the best that was available in this genre. In 1985 a hymnal supplement, a three-ring, add-on binder, titled Sing Alleluia with 127 songs was published. Not all of these selections were of the CCM type: CCM—62; gospel songs—27; hymns—24; rounds and miscellaneous—14. In 1987 an added packet of 22 songs was offered, and in 1993 another packet with 28 songs was issued. The 1990 survey indicates that songs from Sing Alleluia are among the most often sung. Seventy-two of the 177 songs in the expanded Sing Alleluia (41%) are in the list of 317. These 72 songs represent 22% of the entire high priority list.
Two hundred songs from the Worship Hymnal comprised 63% of the use list of 317 songs. This statistic is evidence that the Worship Hymnal served its purpose well. Coupled with the high number of songs (71) used from Sing Alleluia, the total number of songs (271) used from these two volumes comprises 85% of the 317.
DECISIONS ABOUT SELECTION AND PRODUCTION
Attempts to combine and balance the use of both styles of songs in one worship service are common in many congregations. The new hymnal will include a larger variety of music styles. Overall some 4,000 songs have been reviewed by the Committee.
The process of selecting about 600 hymns for the next hymnal has been highly constituency-oriented. More than 200 persons responded to p. 70invitations to be involved in submitting and evaluating songs. Every congregation and constituent was given an opportunity to respond. The information gathered from the constituency has provided a significant source for establishing priorities in hymn selection. A list of the 819 songs (used five times or more in 1990) was sent for appraisal to key worship-interested persons. Ninety responded. Questions posed included: Has the song utility for a hymnal? How does it rate for Christian nurture? Is the song primarily suitable for overhead use or a hymnal?
An open invitation for added suggestions beyond the three hundred and fifty first-choice songs was extended through the denomination’s periodicals. Forty persons submitted a total of nearly 1,800 selections representing one thousand different songs. The primary concern throughout has been the development of a worship resource that focuses on Mennonite Brethren emphases and practices.
In addition to careful reviews of past Mennonite Brethren hymnody, many other hymnals were scrutinized. In addition to the Hymnal for Worship and Celebration (1986), the Hymnal: A Resource Book, published in 1992 by three “Believers Church” denominations (membership 300,000), was studied. The focus on recent research on Anabaptist/Mennonite themes was important; sixty songs unique to this collection have been chosen. Two other contemporary, evangelical hymnals were especially useful: The Worshipping Church (Don Hustad, ed., Hope, 1990), and the British Hymns for Today’s Church (Hodder & Stoughton, 1987). Attention has been given to songs by hymn-song writers such as Bryan Jeffrey Leach, Fred Pratt Green, Christopher Idle, Ken Medema, Margaret Clarksen and Timothy Dudley-Smith. Compositions by Mennonite Brethren have also been included. 5
The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration, edited by Tom Fettke (Word, 1986) was selected as the baseline hymnbook. Negotiations with Word Publishing concluded with the agreement to use it as a basic hymnal, with an option to use 50% or more of its material. The layout design will be the same as that used by Word Publishing Company. The detailed process of hymn selection will have resulted in a product, a hymnal by the congregations and appropriately for the congregations. p. 71
ENDNOTES
- This essay reflects basically only some historical and methodological facets of the larger project undertaken. Considerably more attention was given to philosophical concerns relating to Mennonite Brethren moorings in the biblical faith and emphases. The Confession of Faith and the recent “Vision Statement” offered an important perspective in the selection processes. Textual language concerns related to inclusiveness in genre issues, understandability, cultural contextualization, missiological and ecclesiological foci. Our awareness of the fast-changing, diverse musical genres has constantly been in mind. There was recognition of the changing influences and styles that have come about with the widespread use of diverse, electronic media in congregational singing. The common use of much more transitional music, usually through text projection or on disposable print-outs, has been revolutionary. It was established that this songs/hymns/readings resource “library” would be useful over a longer period of time if the more “transitional” genre, though influential, was not included in this collection.
- The recommendations made by the Board of Reference and Counsel (now Board of Faith and Life), appear in the Convention minutes of the 57th and the 58th Year Books of the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1987:49; 1990:74).
- The century-old Gesangbuch, repeatedly reprinted, had originally been published in German in Danzig in 1767 by the progeny of the Dutch/North German Mennonites who came there as immigrants after 1535. Many of the hymns were translations from the Dutch.
- The word “Kernlied” (literally, a “song with essence” or “the song that contains a living seed kernel”) became a designation for songs that had become especially meaningful to Mennonites in Russia. It was apparently not so much a “type” of song as a term that referred to any song that was highly valued in the churches. Ben Horch, a leading Canadian musician now deceased, used this term frequently in this way. The numbers that follow the four songs are the congregational uses, according to the survey of 1990.
- Later hymn composers among Mennonite Brethren have included Herbert C. Richert, Larry Warkentin, Dietrich Friesen, Larry Nickel, Carol Dyck, Jake Klassen, Jonah C. Kliewer and John C. Klassen.
