Greetings from Samford University in Birmingham, AL, the site of the 2010 annual conference of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. The conference annually brings together Christians from dozens of traditions and several generations to sing the songs of our faith. It’s usually a crowd of 300-400 — large enough to make a grand and glorious sound, and small enough to allow for plenty of one-on-one discussions, even with presenters. For me, this week is one of terrific music-making and profound learning. The roster is filled with many leading figures in sacred music today — professors at universities, writers and composers, researchers, music publishers, and many who have leadership roles in their respective denominations. They are very gracious about sharing their knowledge — this is the kind of conference where you might pass Alice Parker in the hallway and, say, ask her how she might introduce a hymn. I greatly value the chance to learn from other Christian traditions — hearing their faith invites me to reflect on my own Roman Catholic faith more deeply. And I’m also reminded of how much we share — and how often we can all sing and agree with the same piece of music, regardless of whose tradition it is from.
These conferences are often shaped by their locations, and this year is a fine example. This year’s theme is “Sing of Justice, Sing of Peace,” with a special focus on songs of freedom. Our opening hymn festival included songs of liberation from several cultures: songs of the American slaves, songs of indigenous Americans fighting to preserve their culture, songs of the civil rights era, and songs of Central and South Americans. One of the most profound parts for me was singing “We Shall Overcome” with people who may have sung that song 40 years ago, and who had tears in their eyes that night as they reflected on how far we have come (and how much further we still have to go). Monday night’s hymn festival was a Sacred Harp festival, as we sat in sections, forming a hollow square and sang songs from the shape note tradition. There were many familiar hymns — “How Firm a Foundation,” “What Wondrous Love is This,” “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” — but they took on a startling vibrancy with the rawness of the Sacred Harp harmonies.
Our first plenary, by Mary Louise Bringle, was a talk on “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” its origin, and how it inspired many imitators who were working for social change (temperance and women’s suffrage.) Our second plenary, by Dan Damon, was a survey of 20 hymnals from various denominations that tallied hymns about justice in many forms. The message is the same from both of these plenaries — it matters what we sing.
Chris Ángel is a student at Saint John’s University School of Theology·Seminary completing the M.A. in Theology (with a concentration in Liturgy) before continuing on in the Th.M. degree program. He will be joining the PrayTell staff this coming fall term.
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