Giving Advent and Christmas a Post-Op Performance Evaluation
Author – Adam Perez is a doctoral student in liturgical studies at Duke Divinity School. I hope that you, dear reader, had a wonderful season of music and worship during Advent and Christmas. In my experience, it is the most difficult season of the year for worship planning. It is tiring to navigate all the… […]
4th of January 2019
2019 – Hopes, Dreams, and Introductions
As we worked toward the launch of The Center over a year ago, we developed a set of guiding stances for the work of The Center for Congregational Song. I’d like to highlight a few of those guiding stances that I think speak to what we hope to accomplish in 2019. HOPES We […]
20th of December 2018
“Sing! An Irish Christmas” Concert Review
Author – Brian Hehn is the Director of The Center for Congregational Song I had the pleasure of being invited to attend the Getty “Sing! An Irish Christmas” concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. last weekend. As an organization that prides itself on congregational song, the Getty brand always has congregational singing […]
3rd of December 2018
When Secular Is Sacred
Author – Brian Hehn is the Director of The Center for Congregational Song When the “other” sings the Gospel As someone who is a life-long church musician but who cut(s) his teeth on Ben Folds Five, the Goo Goo Dolls, Nirvana, Ray Charles, The Beatles, and other secular pop/rock artists, I quickly became fascinated with […]
13th of November 2018
Lessons and Carols for the Small Congregation
Author – Ginny Chilton Maxwell is Music Minister at Church of the Ascension in Norfolk, Virginia, where she serves as organist, choirmaster, and elementary music teacher. Lessons and Carols My church has a tradition of doing a service of Advent Lessons and Carols every year. To me, the term “Lessons and Carols” brings to […]
Search for New Hymns/Songs
Singing Welcome II: Hymns and Songs of Hospitality to Refugees and Immigrants In May, 2017, The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada released Singing Welcome: Hymns and Songs of Hospitality to Refugees and Immigrants, a free, downloadable compilation of over 40 congregational songs for worship. The collection has been downloaded more than one […]
8th of November 2018
Interview with Taize Brother Jean Marie
Introduction This episode is with Taize Brother Jean Marie, who is one of the community’s lead musicians. The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian monastic fraternity in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is composed of more than one hundred brothers, from Catholic and Protestant traditions, who originate from about thirty countries across the world. It […]
7th of November 2018
Album Review – Chris Tomlin, “Holy Roar”
The Context “Holy Roar” is the newest full-length release from Chris Tomlin. Tomlin is arguably one of the most influential songwriters of contemporary songs for worship, in part because of his intimate connections with Christian radio. Tomlin has been leading worship through song in some capacity since the mid-90s, and his ability to adapt to […]
5th of November 2018
Congregational Song’s Potential Challenges in the (near) Future
Author – Adam Perez is a doctoral student in liturgical studies at Duke Divinity School. The Future of Congregational Song “What do you think the future of congregational song will be like?” This question was posed to me recently. Though the future is difficult to predict (I was hoping for flying cars by now), […]
2nd of November 2018
Singing Coritos: An interview with Rosa Cándida Ramírez and Analisse Reyes
**This article was originally published by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. For the original article, click here. Singing coritos {short songs} in Spanish and English is hospitable in worship. It also opens up worshipers to new understandings of God. By: Joan Huyser-Honig, Rosa Cándida Ramírez, Analisse Reyes Rosa Cándida Ramírez is pastor of compassionate ministries at First […]
