Louisville, Kentucky—The Presbyterian Hymnal Committee held its second meeting February 11-13 in Louisville. The Committee spent significant time discussing a theological vision to guide its work. Drafted by a subcommittee in advance of the meeting, the Theological Vision Statement focuses on a framework of salvation history—God’s powerful acts of creation, redemption, and final transformation—and on the human responses made possible by such gracious acts. In the words of the document, placing priority on God’s empowering and transformative actions “offers hope to those whose faith in human efforts has been undermined.” It also invites a broadly inclusive scope as a means of most faithfully giving voice to “the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ” (Eph 3:18). A full version of the Theological Vision Statement can be found online by clicking the link at the right.

In the development of a theological vision, it became clear to members of the committee that the name “Hymnal Committee” was not sufficiently broad so they voted unanimously to change their name to the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song. The new name forms the cheerful acronym PCOCS (pronounced “peacocks”). Interestingly, as early as the third century Christians were depicting peacocks in their frescoes and mosaics, on the walls of catacombs, and even on the floors of baptisteries. Popular opinion held that after the bird shed its tail feathers, those that grew in their place were even more splendid than the original. For early believers, this provided a vivid way to represent the resurrection: the life to come which is only reached after loss, but which is far more glorious than we in the present life can ever imagine.

The new name is not, however, simply a clever play on words. It indicates the group’s commitment to producing something more than just a printed “hymnal,” and to include more than “hymns” in the final product. Just as medieval painters saw in the peacock’s plumage a blending of all the colors of the rainbow, so the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song aims to incorporate a full spectrum of worship styles and genres into the resources it provides for the church.

To that end, the committee heard a report from Deborah Bruce of GAC Research Services on a survey in which 800 churches from a cross-section of the denomination were asked to rate every hymn in the 1990 Presbyterian Hymnal in terms of frequency of use and desirability of inclusion in the next publication. An additional research project invited 777 additional congregations to maintain a record of everything sung by the congregation for one year. This second survey will conclude in the fall of 2010. Members of the committee will therefore have a view from the denomination at large in making decisions about which materials to carry forward. The committee is also exploring the possibility of retrieving some beloved hymns of the faith that were not included in the 1990 volume.

Finally, the committee developed a plan to invite submission of materials old and new—hymns, psalms, spiritual songs, praise choruses, texts, and tunes—for consideration. Authors and composers will be encouraged to submit their original works, and others who simply have a strong desire to see a particular song in the new collection are also invited to make their wishes known. Guidelines and other procedures for submitting material for review can be found by clicking the link at the right.

The Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song will hold its next meeting in June 2009.

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