The Methodist Church 1956 General Conference - Kum Ba Ya

Topic: Kumbaya 1955-1961
By May 1956, “Kumbaya” was spreading spontaneously outside the domain of CRS songbooks.  Karen remembers she learned it “at a youth night at the Methodist General (international ) Conference in Mps in about 1956.  There were 5000 MY ers singing the song and it was memorable.” [1]

The Methodist Church holds quadrennial meetings [2] to elect members of the hierarchy [3] and decide critical issues.  The one in 1956 voted to accept women in the clergy. [4]

The conference in Minneapolis lasted from Wednesday, April 25, to Wednesday, May 9, and was highly structured.  Most morning programs began with devotions that began and closed with a hymn led by James Houghton.  These were planned in advance, and published in a conference songbook. [5]  The meeting’s songbook did not contain a version of “Kumbaya.” [6]

When the conference reconvened after a morning recess, the assembled sang another hymn and heard a short concert by a college choir.  Afternoon sessions also began with a hymn, and sometimes the choir would reappear after the break.  Given logistics and expense, choral groups probably came by bus.  I assume choirs arrived the day before they were scheduled, and left the day after.

The vote on women was taken on Friday, 4 May, and apparently delegates began leaving after that.  The Journal of the proceedings said on Saturday that “some on the Program have to leave early, and I hope many of them will want to get away before too late.”  The entertainment chairman also asked that those who were leaving early to “notify the ushers know by note so we may fill those places.” [7]

May 5 was an evening of relaxation for the conference.  Instead of holding debates, two famous entertainers appeared: Minnie Pearl and Ralph Edwards. [8]  The first was part of the Grand Ole Opry radio program, and the other had a television program, This Is Your Life.  It had shared an Emmy with What’s My Line? in 1955, when it ranked twelfth in audience size.  That fell to a respectable twenty-sixth place in the 1955–1956 season. [9]

It is not clear if Youth Night was part of the original program, or was added.  The Journal simply said it had been requested by the Minnesota Delegation for a Youth Night. [10]  The event was held “under the supervision of the General Board of Education of The Methodist Church.” [11]

Youth Night differed from the more formal sessions because it began with a Fellowship Sing led by Glen Johnson of Dallas. [12]  Although the conference Journal usually listed hymns led by Houghton or sung by the choirs, it didn’t for this event.

Johnson may have used song sheets that were distributed with the evening’s program, or may have depended on songs being so familiar, songsters weren’t necessary.  If he was the one who introduced “Kumbaya,” he may have learned the words from the Song Sampler.  Rohrbough would have sent copies to all the important people in The Methodist Church. [13]

Johnson may have followed a strict program like the one Larry Eisenberg used at the Christian Youth Conference held on the campus of Purdue University in 1952, [14] or, more informally, he may have called on people to make suggestions.

One possible group would have been the members of college choirs in the audience.  The local Hamline University performed that night, [15] but the Ohio Wesleyan University Choir was scheduled to sing the next evening. [16]  If its director, Rexford Keller, didn’t know Lynn Rohrbough, at least some members of the choir would have.  Some probably attended the Methodist church nearest the Delaware, Ohio, campus where Bliss Wiant was serving between 1953 and 1955.  Some may have had copies of his recently issued Hymns of Universal Praise. [17]

The OWU choir is the most likely source, although one cannot overlook the possibility someone who attended the Student Volunteer Meeting in late 1955 introduced “Kumbaya.”

Regardless of the source or method of teaching “Kumbaya,” the individuals in the audience did not have songbooks with the melody.  If they taught it to others when they returned home, it was from memory.  Each person who did continue to sing the song could have launched a separate line in the radiation of folk tradition.

Title
Kum Ba Ya

Performers
Vocal Group: audience attending Youth Night
Vocal Director: unidentified

Credits
Karen, the woman who remembered singing “Kum Ba Ya,” wrote: “The people who taught us said it came from Africa.” [18]

Notes on Performance
Occasion: Youth Night, 25 May 1956
Location: the audience apparently was seated in the balcony. [19]

Notes on Audience
“MY’ers” referred to members of the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF), the Methodist organization for high school students. [20]  The national conference did not include a youth convention.  This was a special event for members from Minnesota who “have done so very much to help us in getting ready for this Conference.”  The program chairman added “We feel a certain moral obligation for they have put more money into this than we have given to help in the total expense.” [21]

Notes on Performers
Karen attended sessions of the Northland Recreation Laboratory discussed in the post for 26 September 2021.  She was one of the people who answered my email asking if anyone remembered when they learned “Kumbaya.”

Johnson was born in Wisconsin, but his parents soon moved to the lower Río Grande valley in Texas.  Before moving to Dallas 1947, he had headed the music department at the Texas College of Mines in El Paso.  When he was young, he played trombone in dance bands. [22]

Houghton had been directing the Boston University Seminary Singers for 29 years.  In that position, he trained over a thousand ministerial students.  On 26 April, he had his former singers join the group of stage to sing the 130th Psalm and “De Profundis.” [23]

End Notes
1.  Karen.  Email, 30 June 2016.

2.  The quadrennial meetings are the modern form of the camp meetings organized by Francis Asbury in the early 1800s to unify the frontier denomination.  This is discussed briefly in the post for 8 November 2020.

3.  As is clear in the post for 14 August 2022, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church adopted this same organizational model.

4.  Connor S. Kenaston.  “From Rib to Robe: Women’s Ordination in the United Methodist Church.”  Methodist History 53(3):162–172:April 2015.

5.  James R. Houghton.  A Selection of hymns from the Methodist hymnal: for use at the General Conference of the Methodist Church: Municipal Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 25-May 9, 1956.  Nashville, Tennessee: Methodist Publishing House, 1956.

6.  Cassie Brand of the Drew University library said it had no index and was too recent to be photocopied.  She did look through to see if it contained version of “Come by Here” or “Kumbaya.”  She wrote back, “We looked through the book, as it wasn’t large, and neither song appears in the book.” [24]

7.  Journal of the 1956 General Conference of The Methodist Church.  Edited by Lud H. Estes.  Nashville, Tennessee: The Methodist Publishing House.  815.  The Chairman of the Program Committee of the Commission on Entertainment and Program was Paul V. Galloway.  I wish to thank Carlton Young for helping me locate the Journal. [25]

8.  Journal.  879.

9.  “This Is Your Life.”  Wikipedia website.  The Emmy was for Best Audience Participation, Quiz or Panel Program.

10.  Journal.  815.
11.  Journal.  643.
12.  Journal.  867.
13.  The Song Sampler is discussed in the posts for 31 July 2022 and 7 August 2022.
14.  Eisenberg’s song-leading techniques are discussed in the post for 21 May 2021.
15.  Journal.  870.
16.  Journal.  875.
17.  Wiant and Hymns of Universal Praise are discussed in the post for 2 October 2022.
18.  Karen.

19.  The Journal indicated on page 815 that delegates who normally sat in the balcony would be seated on the lower floor that evening.  This would have left the balcony open to the MYF members.

20.  MYF replaced the Epworth League in 1938 after the merger of the northern and southern branches of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  For more information, see the posts for 9 August 2020 and 30 May 2021.

21.  Galloway.  Journal.  815.
22.  “Johnson, Glen R.”  Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, 28 May 2009.
23.  Journal.  297–298.
24.  Cassie Brand, Drew University.  Emails, 17 October 2016.
35.  Carlton Young.  Email, email 6 December 2016.

African American Church Hymnals - Kum Ba Yah

Topic: Religious Uses - Hymnals
African Americans included "Kumbaya" in hymnals before whites did. The National Baptist Convention published it in its 1977 hymnal. A rump group within The United Methodist Church issued a songbook for Blacks in 1981 to counteract the "racial exclusivity" of the denomination’s 1963 hymnal. [1]

The two collections served different purposes, and emphasized different forms of religious music. The Methodist book was a supplement to an official hymnal, and was created to provide a resource for Black church members and educate whites about African-American music. The editors could assume users had access to the larger collection.

Songs of Zion was divided into four sections, with essays on the history of each musical form. The first, representing close to 30% of the contents, was old hymns and gospel songs written between the Civil War and the emergence of modern gospel music in the early 1930s. It included hymns by Isaac Watts, and religious songs by people like Fanny Crosby, Philip Bliss, and William Bradbury. Seven were by the African-American composer Albert Tindley.

Modern gospel music by people like Thomas Dorsey, Andre Crouch, James Cleveland, and Clara War represented about 13% of the collection. A bit more, 19% of the songs, were included for the specific needs of services. "Amazing Grace" was included in this section.

The remaining songs, nearly 40%, were traditional spirituals. It might have been the largest denominational collection since the National Baptist Convention published Spirituals Triumphant Old and New in 1927. [2]

The New National Baptist Hymnal was more conservative than that of the Methodists and reflected the underlying emphasis of the convention on the priesthood of all believers and the autonomy of local congregations. There was some historic order in the way songs were presented, but no stated classification that would indicate how they should be utilized. The music was followed by spoken scriptural readings, calls to worship, and benedictions needed for a service.

Most of the songs it held in common with the Methodists were the older hymns and gospel songs, some 60% of the UMC collection. The Baptists used 45% of the modern gospel songs, and 30% of what the Methodists called "special occasion" music. The editors recognized only 23% of the spirituals.

Both editorial groups included "Kumbaya" as a spiritual, and made small modifications to the standard published version. The Baptists changed it from 3/4 to 4/4 time. The Methodists added a verse "Someone needs you" that was later included in the denomination’s revised hymnal discussed in the post for 14 February 2019.

Musically, the Baptists assumed unison singing by a congregation accompanied by a piano. The Methodists provided two-part harmony and guitar chords, but no bass clef line to guide a pianist.

Performers
Baptist
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: unison
Instrumental Accompaniment: piano
Rhythm Accompaniment: none

Methodist
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: two parts
Instrumental Accompaniment: guitar chords
Rhythm Accompaniment: none

Credits
Baptist
African (Angola)

Methodist
Traditional

Notes on Lyrics
Baptist
Language: English
Pronunciation: no notes
Verses: kumbaya, crying, singing, praying
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: four-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: none

Methodist
Language: English
Pronunciation: no final g’s on cryin’, singin’, prayin’
Verses: kumbaya, crying, singing, praying, needs you
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: five-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: needs you verse

Notes on Music
Baptist
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: not indicated
Key Signature: no sharps or flats
Guitar Chords: none
Basic Structure: strophic repetition
Singing Style: one syllable to one note except for final Lord
Harmony: none

Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: piano plays melody and four-part chords at the beginnings of measures and mid-line phrases

Methodist
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 3/4
Tempo: slow, with feeling
Key Signature: no sharps or flats
Guitar Chords: C F Dm/F G⁷
Basic Structure: strophic repetition
Singing Style: one syllable to one note except for final Lord
Harmony: parallel thirds in treble clef

Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: chords at the beginning of every measure and at the beginnings of the second phrases of first and third lines, and every note of the second and fourth lines

Notes on Performers
The National Baptist Convention was organized by freedmen excluded from white organizations in Alabama in 1880. It merged with other Baptist groups in 1895, and is now the largest African-American Baptist meeting. [3]

William McClain, the man who spearheaded the movement for an African-American song collection within the United Methodist Church, was from Gasden, Alabama, and educated at Clark University. He earned his advanced theology degrees from the Methodist seminary at Boston University. [4]

Judge Jefferson Cleveland was one of the songbook’s editors. He was from upland Georgia near the Savannah River, and earned his music degrees from Clark, Illinois Wesleyan, and Boston University. [5] He wrote all the essays on African-American music history and practice included in the collection.

The other editor, Verolga Nix, was raised in Philadelphia, where she taught music in the public schools. Her church career began when she played organ in her father’s church when she was sixteen-years-old. She later served as minister of music in Baptist and AME churches. In 1990, she founded the Institute for the Preservation of African American Music.

Availability
Book: National Baptist Convention. "Kum Ba Yah." The New National Baptist Hymnal. Nashville: National Baptist Publishing Board, 1977. 506.

Book: The United Methodist Church. "Kum Ba Ya, My Lord." Songs of Zion. Edited by J. Jefferson Cleveland and Verolga Nix. Nashville: Abingdon, 1981. 139.

End Notes
1. Jon Michael Spencer, Black Hymnody (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1991), 61.

2. Spirituals Triumphant Old and New. Edited by Edward Boatner. Nashville: Sunday School Publishing Board, National Baptist Convention, 1927.

3. "History of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc." Its website.

4. Harry Butler. "The Rev. William Bobby McClain returns to Sweet Home UMC." The Gasden [Alabama] Times website. 16 September 2011.

5. Aurolyn Melba Hamm. Elbert County. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.

5. Ayana Jones. "Rev. Verolga Nix Allen, 81, World-class Pianist, Chorale Director." Philadelphia Tribune website. 19 December 2014.

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."

United Methodist Church - Kum Ba Yah (Come By Here)

Topic: Religious Uses - Hymnals
Carlton Young included "Kumbaya" in the official Methodist hymnal in 1989. In doing so, he changed it from a song to hymn.

The format for publishing a hymn is unique. It first assumes the text and tune are separate pieces of music that can be recombined by a song leader. Thus, a hymnal always provides the meter with the text. [1] Young identified "Kumbaya" as "Irr." for irregular because the text lines did not all contain the same number of syllables. Unlike older songbooks, he did not include the 8-8-8-5 line-syllable count.

Second, a hymn tune must have name. Young called the melody "Desmond" for "Tutu,　social activist and anglican Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa." [2]

Third, a hymn must have some basis in scripture. This usually requires the editor provide chapter and verse from the Bible. In this case, Young implied its meaning when he included it in the "Prayer, Trust, Hope" section. He further located it within the Wesleyan tradition by including the prayer section in the Sanctifying and Perfecting Grace subsection of the larger group of songs devoted to The Power of the Holy Spirit.

Fourth, a hymn must be in four-part harmony and suitable for an organ or piano to play as an accompaniment. In the treble clef, Young used the parallel thirds published by Cooperative Recreation Service, with a variation in the second to last measure. Instead of a "kum ba" being thirds, he made "kum" a D and C, or a second apart, and "ba" a third.

Young added the bass clef part. It followed the contours of the melody usually with a third, a fifth, and a series of octaves. This pattern was altered in the last line, when "oh" used E below middle C and a very low F.

Much of this, of course, followed from applying the rules of western harmony to the melody. Young’s desire to give the last line the feeling of an amen climax led him to modify the guitar chords from a simple F-C-G⁷-C to D^m-C-G^sus-G⁷-C.

The church copyrighted his version. To make the request legally unassailable, Young add his own final verse. It changed the basic someone+verbal+ing format to "let us" and "praise the Lord."

Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: four parts
Instrumental Accompaniment: guitar; any keyboard instrument
Rhythm Accompaniment: none

Credits
Words: Afro-American spiritual
Music: Afro-American spiritual; harm by Carlton R. Young, 1988
Harm © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: no comments
Verses: kumbaya, praying, crying, needs you, singing, praise the Lord

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

Basic Form: six-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none

Unique Features: own verse in different line format

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5 labeled "Desmond"
Time Signature: 3/4
Tempo: not indicated
Key Signature: no sharps or flats
Guitar/Autoharp Chords: C F D^m G^sus G⁷

Basic Structure: strophic repetition; new chords on every note of last line suggest amen form

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

Harmonic Style: sung chords

Notes on Performers
The Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren in 1968. This was the first hymnal since the reorganization. When the two churches combined, the resulting UMC made both their hymnals official. [3] The 1966 Methodist one had been edited by Young, and replaced the cooperative effort of the Southern, Northern, and Methodist Protestant churches in 1935. [4]

The Hymnal Revision Committee believed this was the first "substantial revision of content and format since the 1870s." This meant it had "more singable qualities" and contained "a broader base of musical styles." That diversification included adding 70 hymns from "the Afro-American, Hispanic, Asian-American, and Native American heritages." [5] "Kumbaya" was followed by "Sweet Hour of Prayer" from the gospel music tradition [6] and "Send Me, Lord" from South Africa. [7]

Young was the son of a southern-Ohio Methodist minister, but raised by his mother’s parents after she died. As a child he took piano lessons, and added brass and string bass when he was older. He graduated from the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati in 1950 before earning a degree from the Methodist seminary at Boston University in 1953. [8] His 1969 doctorate came from Ohio Northern University, [9] after he edited the 1966 hymnal.

When the church retreated from many of its traditional activities after the 1968 merger, Young was hired as an editor by Hope Publishing in 1971. [10] The shadow Methodist publisher was mentioned in the post for 16 December 2018.

Availability
Book: The United Methodist Hymnal. Edited by Carlton R. Young. Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989. 494.

End Notes
1. In traditional hymnals this appeared to the right of the title; Young placed it at the right below the text.

2. Carlton Young. Email to the author, 5 January 2017.

3. Alan K. Waltz. A Dictionary for United Methodists. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1991. Section on "Hymnal, The United Methodist" reproduced by United Methodist Church website.

4. Guide to the Carlton R. Young Collection of 1935 Methodist Hymnal Commission Records. Southern Methodist University, Bridwell Library website.

5. "Preface." v.

6. "Sweet Hour of Prayer." Words by WilliamWalford, 1845. Music by William B. Bradbury, 1861. 496.

7. "Send Me Lord." Words and Music were described as "Trad. South African." 497.
8. "Young, Carlton Raymond (‘Sam’)." The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology website.
9. "Carlton Raymond Young." Hymntime website.
10. "Carlton Raymond Young." Hope Publishing website.