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NEWS AND EVENTS

Presbyterian Hymnal Committee Holds Third Meeting

People from other denominations occasionally tease Presbyterians about our seemingly “intellectual” orientation. They joke that our version of the old gospel hymn features the refrain: “Into my head, into my head, come into my head, Lord Jesus.”

The joke contains an element of truth. As a body of believers, we in the PC(USA) are good at thinking things through. The two summer meetings of the PCOCS (Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song)—early June and late August—offer cases in point. Whether deciding which translation of a beloved hymn to use, or how to handle “thee” and “thou” language, the committee is following a two-pronged process of articulating general guidelines and deliberating case-by-case examples.

Presbyterian Hymnal Committee Holds Second Meeting 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. Full Article

Hymnal Committee Holds First Meeting October 2008 The Presbyterian Hymnal Committee held its first meeting at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville September 22 and 23, 2008. This meeting was an opportunity for the newly appointed committee to meet each other and begin the process of developing a plan for working together over the next few years. One of the highlights of the meeting was a service of commissioning that took place in the Presbyterian Center Chapel. Click here to download a copy of the commissioning service bulletin.	www.flickr.com This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called Presbyterian Hymnal Project first meeting and Commissioning Service. Make your own badge here.

Committee to Develop Next Presbyterian Hymnal Announced August 2008 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. Full Article