For more information, contact David Eicher
(502) 569-5915, deicher@presbypub.com

The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC), the official denominational publisher of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), today announced the names of fifteen individuals selected to serve on the committee to develop the next Presbyterian hymnal. Representatives from PPC; the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Office of Theology, Worship, and Education; and the Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM) reviewed applications from more than two hundred Presbyterians from thirty-nine states before selecting these individuals to serve on the committee: Mary Louise (Mel) Bringle, Chair; Chi Yi Chen, Adam Copeland, Alfred V. Fedak, Stephen H. Fey, Charles D. Frost, Karen Hastings-Flegel, Beverly Howard, Paul Junggap Huh, Mary Beth Jones, Eric T. Myers, Chelsea Roeder Stern, Edwin Chr. van Driel, Michael Waschevski, and Barbara G. Wheeler.

The new committee will convene for the first time on September 22-23 in Louisville, Kentucky, where they will be commissioned during a special service. Dr. Melva Costen, chair of the Presbyterian Hymnal Committee for The Presbyterian Hymnal (1990) and former Helmar Nielsen Professor of Worship and Music at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, will also attend the commissioning service.

The members of the fifteen-person committee are of different ages and racial ethnicities, come from various geographical regions, and hold various church offices and ministerial vocations. The committee includes eight men and seven women, two Asian Americans, one African American, two individuals under the age of twenty-five, a seminary president, two pastors, a professor of theology, an internationally recognized hymn text writer, and an acclaimed composer. Six members of the committee serve as faculty members at seminaries, major colleges, or universities, and six are members of PAM.

Marc Lewis, President and Publisher of PPC, says, "The Presbyterian Hymnal, which was published in 1990, is still widely used today and remains among PPC's best sellers. But since its publication, many more songs have been introduced and much has changed in the life of the church. It is our hope that the next hymnal will reflect our strong Presbyterian and Reformed tradition while providing the church with new hymns and songs that will express our beliefs and help nurture us all in our faith. And we are especially pleased that these fifteen people will be combining their love for the church with their skills and gifts in music and worship to help develop a hymnal that Presbyterians can sing in this new millennium."

PPC; the Office of Theology, Worship, and Education; and PAM were authorized by the 216th General Assembly in 2004 to begin research into the feasibility of the next Presbyterian hymnal. PPC contracted with the PC(USA)'s Office of Research Services to survey congregations and reported these results to the 217th General Assembly, which recommended the development and publication of the next Presbyterian hymnal. The General Assembly acknowledged that PPC would completely fund the development and publication of the next hymnal and recommended that the denominational publisher report on its progress at each General Assembly until its publication in 2014.

Representatives from PPC; the Office of Theology, Worship, and Education; and PAM met regularly to discuss the development of the next denominational hymnal. The representatives consulted with members of other denominational and secular hymnal associations and organizations about committee composition and processes and had in-depth discussions to determine characteristics of the members of the committee. Major steps were taken to ensure that anyone in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) interested in the development of the next Presbyterian hymnal could apply to serve on the committee. David Eicher, who began work as editor of the next hymnal early in 2008, published interviews describing the process in the Presbyterian News Service and The Presbyterian Outlook. In addition, application forms were posted on PPC's Web site at www.ppcbooks.com and on www.presbyterianhymnal.org, a new site containing up-to-date information about the development of the next Presbyterian hymnal. Eicher contacted Presbyterian-related seminaries and universities to interest applicants under the age of twenty-five. Notices were sent to the racial ethnic offices of the General Assembly Council and all presbyteries and synods. In addition, Eicher and other PPC staff were on hand at the General Assembly, PAM conferences, and other Presbyterian events to encourage all who were interested in the development of the next hymnal to apply.

Rev. Dr. Joe Small, director of the Office of Theology, Worship, and Education, adds, "Hymnals are central to the formation of Christian faith and life. The hymns we sing shape our beliefs as surely as the sermons we hear and the studies we attend. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is fortunate that the committee to prepare the next hymnal is prepared theologically, musically, liturgically, and culturally to serve the community of faith in an emerging social context."

The Hymnal Office, located within the offices of PPC, received two hundred twenty completed applications, each of which included three references from colleagues in ministry. Eicher and other representatives from PPC; the Office of Theology, Worship, and Education; and PAM reviewed all of the applications submitted and evaluated each in the following categories: the individual's level of experience with choirs and instruments; their background in developing and playing music for adults and children, in small and large churches; and their degree of familiarity with contemporary, classical, or immigrant worship. Other desired characteristics included the ability to write hymns and poems, theological competence, the ability to lead in congregational song, linguistic expertise, and liturgical or pastoral insight.

Mel Bringle, chair of the committee, says, "As Presbyterians, we have always taken very seriously the fact that we are to love God with our mind as well as with our heart, soul, and strength. Members of this hymnal committee will be challenged to use our minds to think carefully and prayerfully about an unprecedented question: What should a hymnal look like in a digital, global, multicultural age? Addressing this question offers us a way to honor our church's mandate to be "always reforming," recognizing that the Holy Spirit is still alive among us, sustaining our rich heritage while further inspiring the creation of new hymns and new musical genres, "in every land and every tongue."

	Mary Louise (Mel) Bringle, Chair Mel is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies and Chair of the Humanities Division at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina. She received her PhD from the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University, with particular interest in practical and pastoral theology. She has served as a consultant for the Office of Health Ministries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Recognized in 2002 as an "emerging hymn text writer of the U.S. and Canada," she has won many international competitions for hymn texts, and is the author of two single-author collections. Her texts are included in hymnals and supplements of numerous denominations and her translations from the Spanish figure in a bilingual hymnal under production by GIA. She currently serves as President of The Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada, and is a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
	Chi Yi Chen Chi Yi is Choral Associate at Princeton Theological Seminary. Born in T'ai-nan, Taiwan, into a Taiwanese Presbyterian pastor's family, Chi Yi earned a degree from T'ai-nan Theological Seminary and College and a Masters in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey. Her undergraduate studies with Dr. I-To Loh led to her interest in global church music and liturgy, and Asian hymnody. She has traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States to various conferences and churches, and has been a workshop clinician at the Kodaly Choral Institute. Chi Yi is a member of the Taiwanese/American Fellowship Presbyterian Church in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
	Adam Copeland Adam is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hallock, Minn. A 2009 graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary, Adam was twice awarded the Emma Gaillard Boyce Memorial Award forthe best paper on music and worship. He is a graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he sang with the St. Olaf Choir and the St. Olaf Cantorei. Adam has served as Assistant Minister of Ayr: St. Columbia Church of Scotland and is a former Co-Moderator of the National Presbyterian Youth Ministry Council. He grew up at First Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, Florida.
	Alfred V. Fedak Al is Minister of Music and Arts at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Capitol Hill in Albany, New York. He holds degrees in organ performance and music history from Hope College and Montclair State University, and has done additional study at Westminster Choir College, Eastman School of Music, and in Austria and England. A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, he also holds the Guild's Choirmaster Certificate. A widely published and well-known composer of church music, he has over 150 choral and organ works in print, and his many hymn tunes appear in hymnals and collections throughout the English-speaking world and Asia.
	Stephen H. Fey Steve serves as Codirector of Music Ministries at First Presbyterian Church of Bristol, Tennessee. He is a native of Arkansas and received degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and from the University of North Texas. A member of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, Steve teaches church music courses as an adjunct faculty member of King College, Bristol. He is Dean of the Northeast Tennessee/Southwest Virginia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and serves on the editorial committee for A! Magazine for the Arts, a monthly regional arts journal. Steve served on the 2000 Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM) Western Conference planning team and codirected with his wife, Vicki, the 2002 PAM Westminster Conference.
	Charles D. Frost Charlie is Minister of Music at Sea Island Presbyterian Church in Beaufort, South Carolina. A native of Red Bank, New Jersey, he holds degrees from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey. Prior to his work at Sea Island, he served churches in New Jersey, New York, California, Washington, and Michigan. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Lowcountry Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, Board of Directors of the Beaufort Orchestra, and is keyboardist for the Beaufort Orchestra. Charlie is a member of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and The Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada.
	Karen Hastings-Flegel Karen is Organist and Director of Music Ministry at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Concord, California. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance from Stanford University, and is currently attending seminary at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, where she is working toward a Master of Divinity and an MA in biblical languages. Karen is a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto, California, and is under care of their session as an inquirer.
	Beverly Howard Beverly is Professor of Music at California Baptist University in Riverside, California, where she teaches music and worship, music theory, and organ. Since 1988, she has also served as organist at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Riverside. She holds degrees from the University of Oklahoma and the University of North Texas. In December 2008, she will complete a six-year term as Editor of THE HYMN: A Journal of Congregational Song, the journal of The Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada.
	Paul Junggap Huh Paul is Assistant Professor of Worship and Director of Korean American Ministries at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia. He has taught at Yonsei University in Korea and served Euro American and Korean American churches in the United States. For six years he was the pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He was the editor of Come, Let Us Worship: The Korean-English Presbyterian Hymnal and Service Book (Geneva Press, 2001), and is a frequent keynote speaker, preacher, and conference leader.
	Mary Beth Jones Mary Beth is Director of Music Ministries at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Troy, Michigan, where she has led in collaborative efforts with the Troy Interfaith Group as a witness to the multicultural community. She holds a degree in church music from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. A member of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians Executive Board from 1999-2004, she directed the 2004 PAM Westminster Conference on Worship and Music.
	Eric T. Myers Eric serves as Pastor of Frederick Presbyterian Church in Frederick, Maryland. Before ordination, he served as Director of Music and Organist at churches in South Carolina and Virginia. He holds degrees from Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music, Columbia Theological Seminary, University of Notre Dame, and a PhD from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary; he has served as adjunct faculty at Garrett-Evangelical Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.
	Chelsea Roeder Stern Chelsea is currently serving at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, as a music and arts intern while she pursues the Master of Music degree in sacred music at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. She holds a degree in church music from Baylor University in Waco. She is a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church in Temple, Texas, where she has served as the Children's Ministry Coordinator and Children's Music Director.
	Edwin Chr. van Driel Edwin is Assistant Professor of Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. A native of the Netherlands, he received degrees from Utrecht University and Yale University. He has one book published and is currently working on another project. Edwin is a contributor to several volumes of Feasting on the Word, the lectionary commentary series published by Westminster John Knox Press. His home congregation is Valley Presbyterian Church in Brookfield, Connecticut.
	Michael Waschevski Michael is Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth, Texas. He holds a degree in music from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and degrees in theology and ministry from Brite Divinity School and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. A member of Grace Presbytery's Committee on Preparation for Ministry, he is also a member of the Educator Certification Council of the General Assembly. He is an associate member of the Iona community where he participates in the worship life of the abbey for several days each year.
	Barbara G. Wheeler Barbara is President of Auburn Seminary in New York City and Director of Auburn's Center for the Study of Theological Education. She was a founding member of the board of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation and a member of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). A graduate of Barnard College, she is a published author and frequent speaker on the future of religion in North America, the public role of religion, and resources for healing religious divisions and conflicts. A member of Peniel Presbyterian Church in Granville, New York, she serves as its elder commissioner to the Presbytery of Albany.
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The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC) is the official denominational publisher of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It is a completely financially self-sustaining agency of the General Assembly and receives no mission funding from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). PPC publishes approximately eighty books each year and maintains a backlist of more than 1700 titles that are sold throughout the world. PPC publishes works under three imprints: Westminster John Knox Press, Geneva Press, and The Thoughtful Christian. With a publishing heritage that dates back more than 170 years, PPC maintains its commitment to publishing resources that "advance religious scholarship, stimulate conversation about moral values, and inspire faithful living."