Members of the new Mennonite Worship and Song Committee met for the first time Sept. 22 to 25, 2016, at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Va.
A new collection of worship music is being developed by MennoMedia, in consultation with Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA. Committee members will discern the content, taking into account the breadth of the Mennonite Church, the diverse ways Mennonites sing and worship, and new digital technologies. The new song collection will be owned by Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA and will be used throughout their congregations.
Bradley Kauffman is project director. “I’m appreciating Bradley’s leadership and non-anxious spirit,” said SaeJin Lee, committee member. “He’s creating room for honest discussion of issues and is comfortable not having things all figured out.”
Darryl Neustaedter Barg, associate director of communications for Mennonite Church Manitoba, is one of five Canadians serving on the 13-member committee. He is thrilled about the people brought together for the task. “We are a group ranging from pure practitioner to academic, and yet those distinctions were immaterial as we quickly realized we are all passionate about Anabaptist Mennonite worship and song. In a practical sense, we want our people to worship well.”
He says he was also deeply impressed by the committee's sensitivity to who has been left out of traditional Mennonite worship resourcing. “We really began wrestling with who this collection is for.”
Neustaedter Barg says he is passionate about including more contemporary musical languages with the traditional and global church expressions. “This collection is supposed to work for the next 20-25 years. Who will be in our churches then? What will we want to be in this collection that resonates for them?”
Music that resonates plays a large role in faith development, as Adam Tice, text editor for the committee, notes. He describes himself as an ethnic Mennonite who never was actually a part of the Mennonite church until he got to Goshen College, “Hymnal: A Worship Book shaped my life and has made me a Mennonite. I find it energizing and exciting to be a part of this committee.”
Other Canadian members of the song committee include Sarah Kathleen Johnson, Mike Erb, Paul Dueck, and Anneli Loepp Thiessen.
The new music and worship resources collection is planned for release in 2020.
MennoMedia is a joint publishing ministry of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA. Canadians can preview and purchase MennoMedia resources at www.commonword.ca.
See more about the song collection:
Mennonites to compile new hymnal and more
Director announced for new Mennonite song collection project
Committee selected for Mennonite song collection
Mennonite song collection project launches website
Passion for worship leads to work on new hymnal
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