Why the Need For a New Hymnal?

Rev Joyce Borger is often asked why Faith Alive Christian Resources, the publishing ministry of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRNA) and resource provider for the Reformed Church in America (RCA), is going to release a new hymnal next year.

Borger, who is worship and music editor at Faith Alive, says that a new hymnal was needed because “we are not the same church we were 25 or so years ago when the hymnals most of us are using came out.”

Titled Lift Up Your Hearts: Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, the new hymnal will be released in June 2013.

In the past 25 years, says Borger, the CRC and the RCA have become much more diverse and the worship needs, as well as the issues close to the hearts of many church members, have changed.

Churches today place more focus on social justice, creation care, expressing emotions, global awareness, and greater ethnic diversity.

“While the gospel message is the same, the cultural environment is different. Each generation has its own nuances on the gospel where one part of the message seems to gain prominence for a time,” Borger writes in a column recently published on the website of the Christian Courier.

Most hymnals currently in use in the RCA and CRC denominations — the Psalter Hymnal, Rejoice in the Lord, and Hymns, Psalms and Spiritual Songs — were released in the late 80s early 90s.

As a result, Faith Alive editors and others asked if the publishing ministry should come out with its first, full-fledged hymnal in 20 years.

In order to answer that question, Faith Alive conducted extensive research in 2010. The research included focus groups made up of RCA, CRC and other denominational leaders, as well as worship leaders and congregants of all ages.

Results of the research pointed to the need to provide a wider variety of songs for use by all generations.

At the same time, many people in the focus groups said they found continued strength in hymn singing and that they wanted a hymnal that kept the classic songs intact, according to a Faith Alive news release.

The research convinced Faith Alive to fund and publish the hymnal for the CRC, RCA and other groups.

The hymnal has been created by using editorial and advisory committees from both the CRC and RCA denominations. It will build on the existing repertoire currently in use by the RCA and CRC, by including many of the same songs but providing a breadth of music and variety of genres from classic hymns to contemporary world music.

It will be divided into two main sections. The first section reflects the story of salvation from creation to the new creation and includes Christ’s life and the Christian Year.  

The second section follows the traditional order of worship from songs calling people to worship through the concluding blessing and ends with services for morning and evening prayer.

One overriding principle in compiling the hymnal has been the need to be faithful to worship in Reformed churches.

“In the mind-boggling array of music available to the church today, which songs reflect the biblical and theological commitments of our shared Reformed heritage? One enormous service this hymnal will perform is to provide a wide array of songs and hymns that can be confidently sung in Reformed churches,” writes Borger.

Overall, Faith Alive has taken on the mission of creating a new hymnal of some 800 songs that it hopes will prayerfully link church members in worship for at least the next two decades.

“The world has come to our pew and we have worked hard at making room for people from various cultures. While we have made room, we also need to become a family. One way to do that is to learn each other’s songs, to give voice to each other’s prayers and praises, to join together in harmony,” Borger writes.