Bethany Hymnal Decision

The hymnal selection committee has been meeting faithfully over the past year to recommend a new hymnal for Bethany.  We are grateful for the insightful feedback we received from Bethany’s congregation throughout this process.

Session recently approved the committee’s recommendation to purchase Glory to God (a publication of the Presbyterian Church) as Bethany’s new hymnal.   The committee was deeply impressed with how well Glory to God balances traditional hymns with broader and newer hymnody in addition to its intentional approach to language, both honoring the intent within which a given hymn was originally written while also incorporating more inclusive language to greater reflect hospitality across genders and race.

In addition, Session approved the purchase of the digital rights (a one-time fee) to Lift Up Your Hearts (a publication of the Christian Reformed Church) as a supplementary resource.  Lift Up Your Hearts contains beautiful liturgies and deep resources for worship planning which we felt would benefit our worship at Bethany.

We are excited about Glory to God and the opportunities this resource provides to foster Bethany’s hymn singing into the future.  We look forward to introducing the new hymnal in worship during advent.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to review our Frequently Asked Questions document, or contact a member of the hymnal committee.

We thank you for your prayers, input, and encouragement throughout this process.

Amy Eyler (chair), Kerry Dearborn, Jan Huso, Sylvia Oines (non-voting) and Kyle Turver (non-voting) 

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