A note from Dean; New Glory to God Hymnal

Note from Dean

1.31.24

Dear Friends,

This coming Sunday, we will be dedicating the new “Glory to God Hymnal” of our PC(USA) denomination.Although this hymnal will be new to Western, it was published in 2013 and is widely used by churches nationwide.

Some interesting factoids:

Work began on the book in 2008 and, not surprisingly, it was done by a committee, the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song (PCOCS – or Peacocks).

A 2/3 majority vote was needed to approve each selection after each item under consideration was sung and thoroughly discussed. The reviews were done in Top Secret without disclosing the author, composer, or any copyright information.

In the Introduction page, the PCOCS writes:

            This we know:

                        We know this hymnal will change lives.

                        We know this hymnal will inspire the church.

                        We know these songs will enliven worship in powerful ways.

                        We know the familiar songs will sing anew.

                        We know the new songs will speak truth.

            This we pray:

                        We pray that as we sing together from this hymnal, we will come to have a deeper

sense of our unity in the body of Christ.

                        We pray that the Holy Spirit will bring surprises and breathe new life into our churches

through this hymnal.                     

            This we hope:

                        We hope the cover imprint fades from greasy fingers.

                        We hope the pages become wrinkled and torn from constant use.

                        We hope our children will sing from this hymnal 0 we hope our grandchildren will too.

            We praise:

                        We praise God for this resource of song and give God the glory!

 To celebrate our new worship resource, we will be doing a lot more singing than usual during worship on Sunday. As one who never got past the auditions in order to join a choir, I relate to those of you who are shy about singing aloud in church. I’ve had people laugh at my singing, and ask me why I can’t stay on key. Perhaps some of you have had these humbling and hurtful experiences happen to you, too. Nevertheless, I say to all my auditioners and critics: “I’m making a joyful noise to my Lord!” I trust that when we sing the words of faith – whether on key or not - we bring delight to God. So let us be bold and sing with gusto!

 Grace and peace,

 Dean