Conversations

Crafting A Hymn Tune: 40 Tricks of the Trade

by Al Fedak Choose a text to which you feel a strong attraction. Read the text aloud numerous times. Determine the hymnic meter of the text (e.g., 8.6.8.6, LMD, etc.) […]

Antiphonal Praise

        “One generation shall extol your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts.” —Psalm 145:4 (NRSVUE) Have you ever walked into a large cathedral and […]

A Canadian Goes to Strasbourg to Talk About Hymns

I was thrilled to be invited by THS sister organization IAH (the International Society of Hymnological Studies) to their biannual conference in Strasbourg this year (Aug 31-Sept 4) as one […]

Vetting the CCLI Top 100 – Next Steps

Last week, a diverse group gathered including songwriters, theologians, artists, worship leaders, music industry professionals, ecumenists, researchers, students, teachers, and administrators, though many wear multiple hats. We represented a rich […]

Reparations Royalty Program – An Update

A few years ago we launched the “Reparations Royalty Pilot Program“. Many churches across the U.S. and Canada have planned and enacted a program based on our pilot guide. In […]

“Hymn and I” Program – An Interview

On April 29 to May 2 of 2026, I attended a joint conference by the “Junius B. Dotson Institute for Music and Worship in the Black Church & Beyond” and […]

Music and Peacemaking

The original version of this article first appeared in Leader magazine, Spring, 2026, copyright © MennoMedia. All rights reserved. Used by permission.   When I was taking a music course […]

Church Music as Community Music

We’re Not All Concert Pianists As a church musician, I try not to expect more than what is fair of a congregation. Even if a congregation is very musically literate, […]

Shared songs with new meaning

This post is re-posted by permission of both the author and its original platform The Christian Century. To read the original post from November 2025 by Melissa Florer-Bixler, you can […]

Denominationally Promiscuous: Reflections on Leading Music Outside of One’s Own Tradition

I started a new job this semester. I now serve part-time as Director of Music for the Anglican Studies program at Saint Paul University. Anglican Studies is less of a […]