GA asked to OK work to prepare new hymnal
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, May 26, 2006
The Presbyterian Publishing Corp. (PPC) is asking the 217th General Assembly for permission to publish a new hymnal that could spawn more complaints from traditionalists who oppose previous revisions that omitted some old favorites and revised language to make it more inclusive.
The corporation issued the same appeal to the 216th General Assembly in 2004 and was instructed to do some research before getting final approval. The denomination’s polling arm, Research Services, conducted a 2005 hymnal survey, but the summary of the responses answered few of the assembly’s eight questions.
For instance, neither the PPC nor the survey summary responded to the 2004 General Assembly’s mandate (the wording was “research that will be taken”) to:
- 1. Identify areas of theological and liturgical weakness in previous hymnals.
- 2. Try to determine why 46 percent of our member congregations apparently do not use the 1990 hymnal.
The survey did show that majorities of elders (52 percent) and members (51 percent) in the denomination did not believe a new hymnal was needed by 2013, the target date.
The survey material described some of the reasons that many Presbyterians don’t see the urgency for a new hymnal: 1) the 1990 hymnal will continue to be contemporary beyond 2013; 2) hymnal supplements are available for those who want newer hymns; 3) fewer congregations will want a denominational hymnal; and 4) some are using hymns projected on a screen rather than pew hymnals.
PPC’s proposal to the 217th General Assembly, which will be reviewed by the Committee on Theology and Institutions, offers its own conclusions as to what a new hymnal should include. At the top of its list is inclusive language.
“The hymnal committee would be encouraged to exhibit sensitivity to the need for inclusive language, the diversity of worship styles regnant in the church today, the richness of multicultural and global forms of worship, the enduring value of traditional hymnody, the importance of the Psalter, and the distinctiveness of the Reformed theological tradition,” the corporation said in its recommendation.
The corporation is asking the General Assembly to authorize it to form a hymnal committee of eight to 12 members to begin the process of reviewing, selecting, editing and collating hymns. The corporation says it would cooperate with the Presbyterian Association in Missions in choosing the committee members.
The proposal gives this timetable: progress reports to the 2008 and 2010 assemblies and the presentation of the final selection of hymns and liturgical material to the 220th General Assembly in 2012.
Publishing a new hymnal is a substantial source of income for the PPC. It estimates development and publishing costs of $5.1 million and says it has sufficient reserves to do the job without any financial help from the denomination.
At a current price of $14.95 for a pew hymnal ($99 for a CD Rom version), the corporation would recover its investment by selling about 150,000 hymnals – enough to furnish one hymnal each for about 6 percent of the denomination’s membership.