A tune finds words
When we opened the portal for submissions to Voices Together, the new Mennonite hymnal, the committee received over 2,000 submissions from songwriters, text writers, and composers from around the world, many of whom were Mennonite. A few years into our process of screening the submissions portal and many other published sources, the committee noticed a…
Together, in song
The last time my church sang together was March 8, the second Sunday in Lent. Since then, my singing has consisted of one backyard, physically distant, “Happy Birthday” and my lone voice following the congregation’s pre-recorded music on the screen. For those of us who count congregational music as a vital part of our…
Voices Together announces No. 1 hymn
As Voices Together nears publication, the Mennonite Worship and Song Committee editorial team has assigned the roughly 750 songs across the table of contents and selected the song that will appear first in the collection. “The first hymn among the hundreds found in a hymnal shouldn’t matter, but it does,” says Rebecca Slough, managing editor…
Voices Together committee holds final meeting
A stack of paper containing 780 songs and a binder of 320 worship resources greeted each member of the Voices Together committee when they arrived for their 10th and final committee meeting in early October. In nine previous meetings, the committee had discussed content to include in this new worship and song collection for the…
A meaningful way to dispose of unwanted Bibles
Tim Martens carefully unwraps a pair of tattered-looking old books. One is an ancient German Bible, its text printed in fine Gothic script, the other an old Gesangbuch or songbook. The Duck Lake, Sask. resident believes these worn and frayed tomes, no longer wanted or needed by anyone, deserve to be treated with respect. To…
