The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) and The General Board of Discipleship (GBOD) announce their collaboration in developing a new resource for worship and congregational singing. The new collection will include separate volumes for singing and worship. Publication is scheduled for February 2011 with a national introductory event in Nashville.
When work on a new denominational hymnal was suspended in May 2009, Karen Greenwaldt, General Secretary of GBOD, and Neil Alexander, President and Publisher of UMPH, told the Hymnal Revision Committee that special projects in the development of resources for the church’s liturgical life and music ministries would be pursued on other tracks. “This is just the type of project that makes sense at this time,” Alexander said. “It is an opportunity to work with worship leaders across the connection to offer music and worship resources that are currently not available and that can be made available in a matter of months.”
“As music and worship liturgies emerge, it is important to provide them to our church,” Greenwaldt stressed. “GBOD is delighted to partner with UMPH to provide this new resource for worship leaders.”
The song collection will include up to 180 new, traditional, contemporary, global, and ethnic hymns and songs in a wide variety of styles and will be released in multiple editions. The worship resources collection will include service music, prayers, liturgies, and spoken acts of worship. Neither collection will duplicate material contained in The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992) or The Faith We Sing (2000).
The collections will be available in print, digital, and online versions. The music collection will include PowerPoint slides, CD accompaniment, MIDI, and lead sheets. The worship resources collection will also include PowerPoint and PDF files. As rights are cleared, most of both collections will be available for individual purchase online. In addition, internet downloads will be available of hymns, songs, and worship resources that do not appear in the print volumes.
Gary Alan Smith of UMPH will serve as General Editor. Dean McIntyre of GBOD will serve as Worship Resources Editor and Introductory Event Coordinator. Anne Burnette Hook, Bob MacKendree, and Jackson Henry will serve on the development team. They will be assisted by music and worship specialists, expert consultants, a large number of music and worship reader consultants, and agency staff.
Persons desiring to submit original hymns, songs, service music and worship resources for publication consideration in the new collections may send submissions to Gary Alan Smith at gsmith@umpublishing.org.
Direct inquiries to Amy Smith, The United Methodist Publishing House, 201 8th Avenue S., Nashville TN 37203, or e-mail asmith@umpublishing.org.
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