As many of you are probably aware, The Presbyterian Hymnal (1990) is entering its third decade of use in churches around the world. In an effort to bring congregational song into the present, the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song (PCOCS, or, "peacocks") was formed to begin exploring a new hymnal for the Presbyterian Church (USA). A new hymnal has been produced about every twenty years since 1933 (1955, 1972, 1990), so we're on target for a new worship book. You might be asking "Why do we need a new hymnal?" The FAQ page for the PCOCS can answer that:
The call to "sing to the Lord a new song" resounds through the Bible. In every generation, the people of God are called to claim their song, to bear witness to the new thing that God is doing in the world here and now. It might be helpful to think of the hymnal not as a product but as a process of discerning what the Spirit is saying to the church today. Our next hymnal will make available a great wealth of new hymns and spiritual songs that have been created since the 1990 hymnal was published. It will also give an opportunity to acquaint worshipers with wonderful resources from Christian communities around the world, and it will give us a chance to review again the great heritage of congregational songs and make sure our roots run deep. A new hymnal will help to articulate and preserve the distinctive elements of Reformed theology and liturgy, while shaping and nurturing the faith and worship of a new generation of Presbyterians.
The full FAQ page can be found here: http://presbyterianhymnal.org/faq.html
I hope you will take the time to read the information available to you as we move closer to a new denominational worship book.
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