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Press Release: THE HYMN SOCIETY HOLDS CONFERENCE IN MONTRÉAL

For immediate release
February 27, 2023

THE HYMN SOCIETY HOLDS CONFERENCE IN MONTRÉAL
The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada will hold its Annual Conference July 16-19,
2023, on the campus of McGill University in Montréal. This year’s theme, “Land, Language, and
Liberation,” offers an opportunity to explore how to celebrate, praise God, and live into the
church’s mission in light of the challenges we face in the world today. Both in-person and online
registrations are available.

The conference will include an abundance of opportunities for learning, connecting,
celebrating, singing, and more:

  • Four hymn festivals in all, led by Frédéricka Petit-Homme, Jonathan Maracle, Leslie Jordan, and a special guest with each festival including songs of various traditions and genres, including Gospel, First Nations, French Catholic, and Praise & Worship
  • Four plenary presentations by Kenny Wallace, Kuzipa Nalwamba, Lester Ruth, and a panel led by Anneli Loepp Thiessen and Becca Whitla
  • Six featured sessions, exploring various perspectives on the intersection of congregational song with culture, language, and more
  • More than thirty sectionals, including new music showcases and sessions on historical topics, pedagogy, theology, and song from Canada, the Black diaspora, and outside North America
  • A pre-conference organ recital by Isabelle Demers
  • A bookstore and silent auction
  • Times to eat, sing, and share conversation

Anyone who believes in the importance of congregational song is welcome to register for the
full conference. Advance registration rates are available through June 15. For more information
or to register, visit www.thehymnsociety.org.

 

This information is provided by J. Michael McMahon, Executive Director of The Hymn Society in the United States
and Canada, 5 Thomas Circle, NW, 4 th floor, Washington, DC 20005-4153. For more information, please contact Dr.
McMahon at mike@thehymnsociety.org or 800-843-8966.

Founded in 1922, The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada is an ecumenical organization of people who
are passionate about hymns and congregational song. The Hymn Society community, open to all, is made up of
scholars, church musicians, poets, composers, choir directors, choir members, clergy, worship planners, song
leaders, music publishers, music educators, and people who love to sing. We believe that the holy act of singing
together shapes faith, heals brokenness, transforms lives, and renews peace. Our mission, therefore, is to
encourage, promote, and enliven congregational song.

Introduction

This episode is with composer, historian, and hymnologist Lim Swee Hong. Dr. Lim is the Deer Park Associate Professor of Sacred Music at Emmanuel College, and the Director of the Master of Sacred Music Program. Before joining Emmanuel on July 1, 2012, Swee Hong served as an Assistant Professor of Church Music at Baylor University, Texas.  Prior to his work at Baylor, he served as a Lecturer of Worship, Liturgy, and Music at Trinity Theological College in Singapore.

Swee Hong is widely utilized as a leader for global seminars and conferences dealing with worship and sacred music. Presently he is the Director of Research for the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. In 2013 he served as the Co-Moderator of the Worship Committee for the 10th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches for its meeting in Busan, South Korea and was a member of the Worship Planning Committee for the 2011 Ecumenical Peace Convocation sponsored by the World Council held in Jamaica. From 2006 – 2011, he chaired the Committee on Worship and Liturgy for the World Methodist Council, designed and supervised the worship services of the 20th World Methodist Conference in Durban, South Africa.

Swee Hong holds a PhD in Liturgical Studies from Drew University, where his dissertation won the Helen LePage and William Hale Chamberlain Prize for Outstanding Dissertation. He also holds a Master of Arts in Sacred Music from Perkins School of Theology. He completed his undergraduate work in Church Music at the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music in the Philippines. Swee Hong is well-published in global music, with his monograph, Giving Voice to Asian Christians, especially known among global musicians. He is also a prolific composer of hymnody.

 

Season 1 – Episode 3

An interview with hymn scholar Lim Swee Hong focusing on the history of praise and worship music.

 

 

Listening time: 27 minutes

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Highlights

Every age segment of the population has their own playlist.

 

Contemporary worship at its beginning were songs of the people.

 

There is now a recovery of tradition within contemporary music…That to me is exciting.

 

Charles Wesley’s ‘And Can it Be’ speaks to me about the grace and the power of God’s love.  Even I can be redeemed and that is amazing!

 

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