Our Origins
During the 2012 Annual Conference of The Hymn Society in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Executive Committee asked the members to dream together.
The society had recently been given a significant gift from the estate of George Shorney, FHS, who had passed away earlier that year. George was the longtime president and chairman of Hope Publishing Company until his retirement in 2000. He was a constant supporter of the work and mission of The Hymn Society, believing in the importance and power of congregational singing. To read more about Hope Publishing including George’s life and legacy, you can read the Hope website here or check out this interview with George posted here.
Having been given a sizable gift and wanting to be good stewards of the funds, The Executive Committee of The Hymn Society decided not to simply put it in the bank and continue with business as usual. They asked the membership to dream about what the organization could do to further its mission regardless of time, money, or other resources. The dreams came pouring in! The questions for the organization quickly moved away from ones like “how can we survive” and toward “how can we thrive.”
The dream and plans for The Center for Congregational Song came from those members’ engagement in the process and love of the church’s song. Themes became clear about what The Hymn Society could do more fully live into its mission and purpose. With the help of the Shorney gift and the leadership under Executive Director Deborah Carlton Loftis, FHS, Hymn Society members and friends ran a successful multi-year endowment campaign to fund what became known as The Center for Congregational Song.
In 2017 we officially launched The Center for Congregational Song. You can read about the launch event here. Since then we’ve learned a lot, made a lot of wonderful new connections and friends, collaborated with partner organizations, and helped create many resources for the field of congregational song. We hope you’ll check out all we have to offer and join The Hymn Society as we “encourage, promote, and enlivening congregational singing.”
