Hymn Aesthetics

Topic: Religious Uses - Hymnals
Including "Kumbaya" in hymnals provided two kinds of freedom to congregations. It allowed them to sing a song that did not contain the Biblical allusions found in nineteenth century hymns, a pleasure not allowed older parishioners when they were young.

People raised in denominations where the word was supreme also were granted the liberty of editing the word. [1] In my experience, no one ever sang every verse of a hymn. Once "Kumbaya" was in the hymnal, liturgists could pick and choose stanzas, in effect, creating new songs for specific occasions.

When I mentioned this freedom from the word to a friend, the retired Presbyterian minister told me I was wrong. Presbyterians, who had resisted hymns longer than other denominations, accepted them when they were convinced they were prayers. He said, once a man or woman wrote a prayer, it could not be abridged.

He may be right. When I looked at current church bulletins discussed in the post for 21 February 2019, less than a third of ones from Presbyterian congregations listed verses, while more than three-quarters of ones from Methodists did. [2] One assumes if stanza numbers weren’t listed, the entire song was sung.

One important difference between the denomination’s hymnals was the Methodist version was six verses, while the Presbyterian one was the four that originally were published. Of those that specified verses, Presbyterians had a sense two or three verses was the appropriate length, while Methodists preferred one, three or four verses. [3]

Both denominations sang the "kumbaya" stanza most often, followed by "praying." Methodists then were likely to choose the verses that connoted joy: "singing" and Carlton Young’s "let us praise." Presbyterians, on the other hand, were next most likely to sing "crying." [4]

Individual congregations’ interpretations of "Kumbaya" ultimately were tied to when they used it. Among Methodists, Presbyterians, and the other denominations mentioned in the post for 21 February 2019, there was no clear connection between the song and the liturgical year. It was not sung in August, November, December, or January, but was sung any other time. Only Presbyterians used it during Advent. [5]

Instead of relating "Kumbaya" to the season, it sometimes was used for specific occasions. The First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater, Oklahoma, used the song "in commemoration of tomorrow’s Martin Luther King Day," [6] while Genesee Baptist Church of Rochester, New York, scheduled it during Black History month. [7] Similarly, the Disciples of Christ congregation in Mantua, Ohio, sang the Presbyterian version as a welcoming hymn on the Sunday it worshiped with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [8]

"Kumbaya" often was used as part of the children’s time that occurred early in the service, before they were dismissed for other activities. Canadians hadn’t adopted that particular innovation, but shared the view it was a children’s song. Richwood United of Drumbo, Ontario, [9] and Knox Presbyterian of Waterdown, Ontario, [10] sang verses on camping Sunday, as did Hope United Methodist of Duluth, Minnesota, [11] and First United Methodist of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. [12]

Within the service proper, it was used more often in the time before the scripture readings and sermon. Many used it as the opening hymn. Saint Mark UMC of Atlanta used the traditional term "Introit," [13] while several Presbyterian and United Church of Christ churches called it a "gathering" song. [14]

After the opening, Methodist congregations most likely sang "Kumbaya" during the period of prayers. A number combined the "praying" and "needs you" verses with "let us praise" or "crying."

Methodists used it after the "Doxology," while Presbyterians used it during the Confession and Assurance. A Pittsburgh church only used "kumbaya" and "crying," [15] while one in Columbia, South Carolina, use "kumbaya" and "praying." [16] Lutheran [17] and Methodist [18] congregations used it after the "Apostles Creed."

Many denominations used "Kumbaya" for communion [19] or the collection. [20] Saint James United Church of Saint John’s, Newfoundland, used the verses "kumbaya" and "giving" for the offertory. [21] Rock Spring Congregational Church of Arlington, Virginia, [22] used it for confirmation and a New Orleans Presbyterian church for the installing an elder. [23]

Methodists and Presbyterians were the most likely to use "Kumbaya" as a closing hymn, recessional, or sending song. [24] This was one of the times some congregations used the "come by here" verse that did not appear in hymnals. [25]

End Notes
1. John Wesley told users of his 1761 hymnal to "sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can." At first glance this sounded like a demand for obedience to the word. However, if he was paraphrasing popular texts or tunes, it may have been a warning to stay with the sacred. Young included the "Directions for Singing" in the 1989 Methodist hymnal. (Page vii. See post for 14 February 2019 for complete publication details. Wesley’s notes appeared in Select Hymns: with Tunes Annext. London: 1761. )

2. 32.5% of 40 Presbyterian bulletins listed verses, while 77.7% of 36 Methodist bulletins did.

3.  Number of verses by denomination. More details on the sample were given in the post for 21 February 2019.

4.  Verses of "Kumbaya" sung by denomination.

5. Date when "Kumbaya" sung by month.

6. First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater, Oklahoma, 17 January 2016, "kumbaya" verse only, before and after Prayers of the People.

7. Genesee Baptist Church of Rochester, New York, 11 February 2018, did not specify verses, Hymn of Meditation before the speaker. The pastor of this church, Vera E. Miller, was an African-American woman.

8. Mantua Center Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), 10 January 2010. The phrase was also used in the spoken Call to Worship.

9. Richwood United Church, Drumbo, Ontario, 26 April 2015, printed verses "kumbaya," "crying," "praying," "singing," and "laughing" on back of the bulletin.

10. Knox Presbyterian Church, Waterdown, Ontario, 22 January 2017, verses "kumbaya," "praying," "needs you," and "singing" from the Methodist hymnal during children’s time.

11. Hope United Methodist Church, Duluth, Minnesota, 30 April 2017, did not specify verses sung before Old Testament reading. The message was "Around the Campfire."

12. First United Methodist Church, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 11 March 2018, verses "kumbaya," "praying," "needs you," and "let us praise."

13. Saint Mark United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, 19 July 2015, verses "kumbaya," "singing," and "let us praise."

14. The 1990 Presbyterian hymnal included an order of worship. It used the terms "Gathering of the People" and "Going Forth." (Page 12. See post for 17 February 2019 for complete publication details.)

15. East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 18 February 2018, hymn number only.

16. Eastminster Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina, 6 March 2016, verses "kumbaya" and "praying."

17. Hope Lutheran Church, Cherryville, Pennsylvania, 20 May 2012, lyrics printed on insert that was not uploaded.

18. Swansboro United Methodist Church, Swansboro, North Carolina, 21 May 2017, hymn number only.

18. The denominations were Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church.

20. The denominations were Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church.

21. Saint James United Church, Saint John’s Newfoundland, 15 April 2018. This was Camping Sunday.

22. Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ, Arlington, Virginia, 6 May 2018, hymn number only.

23. First Presbyterian Church, New Orleans, Louisiana, 22 May 2016, hymn number only.

24. It was used by one Fellowship Baptist church, one Metropolitan Community Church, five Presbyterian churches, and four United Methodist Churches.

25. Centennial Park Baptist Church, Grimsby, Ontario, 8 July 2018, and First Presbyterian of Rochester, Minnesota, 17 May 2008.

Congregational Acceptance of “Kumbaya”

Topic: Religious Uses - Hymnals
Putting a song in a hymnal does not assure it will be sung. Indeed, one reason churches appoint committees to revise their collections is to eliminate those that have lost favor, and add the new. They tacitly admitted changes in theology were a factor when the Presbyterians dropped "Onward Christian Soldiers" and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" because of their militaristic imagery. [1]

Competing demands on denominations almost guaranteed some songs would be ignored. Since the Vatican reforms of 1963, the order of service and liturgical style have become variable. There are congregations that hold two services every Sunday, one with a choir and one with a praise band. Recent collections addressed the differences with quantity. The 1989 Methodist hymnal had 690, the 1990 Presbyterian book had 605, and the 2012 Presbyterian 853. [2]

A number of congregations publish programs for their meetings that include the hymns to be sung, often with page numbers. These page references are the simplest clue that a hymnal is used, and with the Presbyterians, which of the recent editions.

A survey of bulletins posted to the internet done on 10–11 August 2018 indicated the two denominations with hymnals that included "Kumbaya" were the most likely to have the congregation sing it. [3] 85% of the 66 Methodist churches gave a page reference, while 79% of the 38 Presbyterians did. Two-thirds of the bulletins were published in the past three years; the earliest two were from 2008. [4]

The table below indicates other denominations sang "Kumbaya," even if it was not in a hymnal. Some published lyrics in the bulletin, some included inserts, and some probably projected the music on a big screen. Since the song was known, still others may not have needed to provide any formal cues.

The survey suggested some regional preferences. "Kumbaya" most often was sung in the Atlantic states from New York to Virginia, in the South, and in the Midwest. Otherwise, it was more popular in Canada than any other section of this country. [5]

The absence of songs from the West Coast may only reflect a greater openness to technology in the service or a greater awareness of the ecological impact of paper programs. Churches elsewhere in the country might have produced bulletins, but did not post them on the web, either because an internet provider wasn’t available or because they eschewed such publicity.

The same caveats apply to denominations. No non-denominational Protestant church posted a bulletin with "Kumbaya" sung by the congregation. Since many of those congregations were large and technically savvy, I suspect most use projectors rather than photocopiers to communicate. The West Erwin Church of Christ in Tyler, Texas, was the only such church to mention it. It sang hymn 986 after a sermon on "The God of Relationships." [6]

No Baptist congregation associated with the Southern Baptist Convention mentioned "Kumbaya" in an on-line bulletin. The three Baptist churches in North Carolina and Virginia [7] were connected to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship that withdrew from the SBC over the latter’s refusal to ordain women. [8] The other three [9] were affiliated with the American Baptist Church that traced its history back to Roger Williams in Rhode Island. [10]

Of these churches, Saint John’s Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and University Baptist in Charlottesville, Virginia, mentioned the Methodist tune "Desmond." The First Baptist Church in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania used the Presbyterian hymn number. Central Baptist Church in Jamestown, Rhode Island and First Baptist Church in Tyron, North Carolina included the words with their bulletins. Only the Genesee Baptist Church in Rochester, New York, listed just the title.

The other congregations that sang "Kumbaya" included three with roots in German musical traditions: Lutherans, Brethren, and Mennonites. The United Church of Christ groups in the Midwest probably once were Brethren, while the ones in New England most likely were Congregational. Methodists, of course, also included a number of former Evangelical United Brethren churches.

Disciples of Christ maintained ties with the Presbyterians from whom they broke in the nineteenth century. [11] The Westminster Press offered an ecumenical version of its hymnal that had a neutral cover for an identical collection of songs for such congregations. [12]

The remaining congregations that sang "Kumbaya" were Unitarians in Detroit, [13] and Metropolitan Community Churches in Houston and Tampa. [14] Both denominations were known for their liberal theology. The Metropolitan church was especially open to gays of all sorts. [15]

Graphics

New England included Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Other states in the area did not have bulletins.

The Atlantic region included New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC.

The Midwest region included Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa.

The South included Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and everything to the east.

The Plains included Oklahoma, Kansas, and South Dakota. Other states in the area did not have bulletins.

Other included New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Other states in the area did not have bulletins.

End Notes
1. "Presbyterians Omit ‘Warlike’ Hymns Other Lyrics Revised for New Songbook." Washington Post. 15 July 1989. Its source was Melva Costen, who chaired the revision committee for the Presbyterians. The article implied Methodists had considered dropping the two songs, but the response was so negative they were maintained.

2. Details on the Methodist hymnal appeared in the post for 14 February 2019. The Presbyterian hymnals were mentioned in the post for 17 February 2019. The Presbyterians only numbered texts that were accompanied by music. The Methodists included, and numbered, canticles, responses, recitations, and one to three measure settings. I eliminated those from my total.

3. I excluded churches where "Kumbaya" was sung by a choir, played by the organist, or performed by some other vocal or musical group.

4.  Mentions of "Kumbaya" by year in Sunday church bulletins.

5. I didn’t classify Canadian churches by denomination. Five were affiliated with the United Church that merged Methodists and Presbyterians in 1925, [16] three were Knox Presbyterians, and one a closely related Disciples of Christ. The one Baptist church was affiliated with the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec, that did not support Fundamentalism in the 1920s. [17] The other congregation was Anglican.

6. West Erwin Church of Christ in Tyler, Texas, 4 February 2018. The sermon was given by Bill Allen. I could not associate song or page 986 with any hymnal or song collection.

7. First Baptist Church of Tryon, North Carolina, 28 September 2014; Saint John’s Baptist Church of Charlotte, North Carolina, 2 April 2017, and University Baptist Church of Charlottesville, Virginia, 20 October 2013.

8. Wikipedia. "Cooperative Baptist Fellowship."

9. First Baptist Church of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, 26 April 2015; Genesee Baptist Church of Rochester, New York, 11 February 2018, and Central Baptist Church of Jamestown, Rhode Island, 8 May 2016.

10. Wikipedia. "American Baptist Churches USA."
11. Wikipedia. "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)."

12. The Presbyterian Church website advised: "The Presbyterian version is Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal and will be stamped with the PC(USA) seal on the spine. The ecumenical version is Glory to God: Hymns, Songs, and Spiritual Songs and will not have the seal. The contents of both editions are identical."

13. First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Detroit, Michigan, 12 February 2012.

14. Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church of Houston, Texas, 13 March 2011, and Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, Florida, 25 February 2018.

15. Wikipedia. "Metropolitan Community Church."
16. Wikipedia. "United Church of Canada."
17. Wikipedia. "Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec."

Presbyterian Church (USA) - Kum ba Yah

Topic: Religious Uses - Hymnals
Presbyterians added "Kumbaya" to their hymnal in 1990. Unlike other denominations that needed to revise their song collections to reflect the diversification that came with mergers, they were responding more directly to challenges raised by changing attitudes, especially towards gender. [1]

The National Council of Churches’ New Revised Standard Version of the Bible had been published in 1989. Its primary purpose had been the elimination of inherited patriarchal language. That review provided its editors an opportunity to incorporate information from the Dead Sea Scrolls. [2]

Presbyterians had the same dual purpose. The committee eliminated what sexist pronouns they could, kept some for musical or copyright reasons, and simply dropped other hymns. They argued by eliminating the more offensive hymns, they were able to add many new ones that reflected the results of a church that had sent missionaries to many parts of the world. [3]

The denomination revised the hymnal again in 2013, but this time for more pragmatic reasons. Congregations were using large screens in place of church bulletins. [4] The year after it published the pew edition, the church released a PowerPoint edition. It cost $499, or the price of the 28 hymnals that would not be sold at $18 a piece. [5]

Since the editor was focused on presentation, David Eicher also removed the accompaniments from the pew edition. If a song was intended to be sung in unison, only one stave was published. If it used four-part harmony, then both clefs were included. That allowed room for more hymns, especially the older psalms and native songs that were always a capella. [6]

"Kumbaya" appeared with four-part harmony in both editions. The upper two parts used strict parallel thirds, with nothing in unison. The lower parts used diverging harmony at the beginning of each phrase, moving from a third, to a fifth, to octaves. Each phrase ended with two fifths on "kum ba" and an octave for "ya." No indication of tempo was included, although the 1990 "Introduction" indicated such guidance was given for tunes "new to the Presbyterian tradition." [7]

Like the Methodist hymnal mentioned in the post 14 February 2019, LindaJo McKim relegated the usual metrical information to a footnote: she called the tune KUM BA YAH and identified it as 8-8-8-5. Information on interpretation was implied in the organization: it was not a psalm and not related to the liturgical year. Instead, it was a Topical Hymn related to Life In Christ.

Glory to God dispensed with many hymnal traditions, including the generic The Presbyterian Hymnal title of the 1990 edition. The credits were moved to the bottom of the page. To make it easier to reproduce on large monitors, the two lines of music were changed to three.

The biggest change was organization. Instead of classifying texts by type, Eicher grouped them by subject and interspersed psalms, hymns, and songs. Within the three large divisions, God’s Mighty Acts, The Church at Worship, and Our Response to God, "Kumbaya" was placed in the second as a Prayer.

Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: four parts
Instrumental Accompaniment: implied with four-parts
Rhythm Accompaniment: none

Credits
1990
African-American spiritual
African Melody

2013
The African-American spiritual, first recorded in the 1920s, seems to have originated somewhere in the southern United States. It enjoyed renewed popularity during the folk revival of the 1960s, and became a standard campfire song, eventually traveling throughout the world.

TEXT and MUSIC: African American spiritual

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: not given
Verses: kumbaya, crying, singing, praying

Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none

Basic Form: four-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: none

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 3/4
Tempo: not given
Key Signature: two sharps
Guitar Chords: not provided

Basic Structure: strophic repetition

Singing Style: one note to one syllable except for final "Lord"
Harmonic Style: sung chords

Notes on Performers
LindaJo Horton was raised in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and earned a degree in applied voice from West Virginia University. She later earned theology degrees from Presbyterian seminaries at Pittsburgh and the University of Dubuque. [8] At the time she was selected from a pool of 200 applications to edit the 1990 edition, [9] she had experience as both a pastor and a singer. When her husband was a visiting professor in Orlando, Florida, [10] she sang with the Florida International Opera Company. [11]

Eicher was raised in a Brethren family [12] in Springfield, Ohio. [13] He earned music degrees from the Brethren’s Manchester College and the Lutherans Valparaiso University, then worked as an organist for Lutheran and Presbyterian denominations. [14] He said his most important musical experiences as a child occurred in the car.

"My parents both sang. And my sister and I, when we got old enough — the great excitement was when finally my voice changed and I could sing tenor, and then we had a soprano, alto, tenor and bass. The whole family would sing. One of our games in the car when we were traveling was to see how many stanzas of hymns we could sing through, without any books." [15]

Availability
Book: The Presbyterian Hymnal. Edited by LindaJo H. McKim. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990. 338.

Book: Glory to God. Edited by David Eicher. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013. 472.

End Notes
1. The 1990 hymnal committee said one of its guidelines was to assure the hymnal "is inclusive of all God’s people—sensitive to age, race, gender, physical limitations, and language" (page 9).

2. Wikipedia. "New Revised Standard Version."

3. "Presbyterians Omit ‘Warlike’ Hymns Other Lyrics Revised for New Songbook." Washington Post 15 July 1989. Melva Costen was the reporter’s source. Mary Louise Bringle mentioned the copyrights were still an impediment with the 2012 edition (See #6).

4. David Eicher. Interviewed by Leslie Scanlon. "20 Minutes with David Eicher." Presbyterian Outlook website. 17 March 2008. He said:

"(From talking with friends involved in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America hymnal that came out a year and a half ago,) they were surprised at the number of congregations who were purchasing both forms of the hymnal. They were still purchasing the hardbound copies in the pews. They were also purchasing the electronic, CD-Rom format, either for projection or for dropping into a bulletin. So we’re in this transitional period."

5. Prices were found on church’s website, 3 October 2018.
6. Mary Louise Bringle. "Debating Hymns." Christian Century, April 2013.
7. "Introduction." 1990. 10.
8. "LindaJo McKim." LinkedIn.

9. Eleanor J. Stebner. "McKim, LindaJo Horton." 146 in The Westminster Handbook to Women in American Religious History. Edited by Susan Hill Lindley and Eleanor J. Stebner. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.

10. "The Rev. Dr. Donald K. McKim – Guest Lecturer." Announcement for "129th Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of Middle Tennessee." Its website. 6 May 2017.

11. Peggy Egertson. "New Presbyterian Hymnal." Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society, Berwyn, Pennsylvania. History Quarterly 28:120:July 1990. She may have been referring to the opera company of Florida International University in Miami.

12. Eicher. Quoted by Scanlon.
13. "About David Eicher." Facebook.
14. Eicher. Quoted by Scanlon.
15. Eicher. Quoted by Scanlon.