News & Notes

Reformed Worship to Celebrate 100th Issue

The staff of RW has been working hard in anticipation of our 100th issue, which marks twenty-five years of sharing worship resources and articles. That issue will be dedicated to the theme of celebration and joy, with resources from the book of Philippians. If you have resources related to any of those topics, please send them to us by December 1, and we will be happy to consider them for inclusion in that issue.

New Hymnals

Work continues on new hymnals for the Reformed Church in America, the Christian Reformed Church, and the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The RCA and CRC hymnal is a joint venture between the two denominations. New submissions for this hymnal are being accepted until December 31, 2010. For submission guidelines, visit www.crcna.org/pages/hymnal.cfm. There you will also find answers to frequently asked questions and other updates.

The Presbyterian Church’s group, the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song (PCOCS), is very busy working through the 6,000 songs that were submitted through their submission process, which is now closed. More information on the progress of their work can be found at www.presbyterianhymnal.org.

Both hymnals are scheduled for release in 2013.

How Can I Use Reformed Worship?

We get a surprising number of questions about how people can use the resources in RW. Here are a few myths we’d like to put to rest:

Myth 1: I must use the service exactly as is.
You are encouraged to adapt each resource to fit your own congregation and setting. So unless we’ve noted that an item is copyrighted, you are free to make whatever changes you desire, including swapping suggested songs with music more familiar to your congregation.

Myth 2: I am free to copy any of the material found in RW.
You are welcome to reprint articles in your church newsletter or make a photocopy for a worship committee meeting as long as there is no copyrighted material within that resource and if the material is not being sold. For material that is copyrighted (such as most songs) you must seek permission to reprint it or use an appropriate license. If you do reprint something, we ask that you include a line crediting RW (for example: This article written by Jill Smith is reprinted from Reformed Worship 98, December 2010, p. 47).

Myth 3: If something is on the Internet, that means it is in the public domain.
While placing material on the Internet does make it much easier to copy and disseminate for congregational use, it does not mean that the material may be used without regard to its original source. When referring to a resource from Reformed Worship on the Internet, please indicate which issue and page number it was from, or paste a link to the website. If you think a particular resource would be helpful to those who read your website, please link to it rather than copying and pasting the material to your own site.

Don’t Forget . . .

Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, is offering a Choristers’ Guild midwinter workshop January 7-9, 2011. For more information go to www.dallaschaptercg.org. While at that site, also check out the information on the Children’s Choir Festival to be held February 13, 2011.

The annual Calvin Symposium on Worship is being held January 27-29, 2010 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For more information go to www.calvin.edu/worship. It’s also not too early to be thinking about summer workshops and training opportunities.

There is a calendar of events available on our website (www.reformedworship.org) that lists many opportunities for training.

Worship Renewal Grants

The Worship Renewal Grants Program run by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship fosters well-grounded worship renewal in congregations and worshiping communities throughout North America. Made possible through the generous support of Lilly Endowment Inc., these grants stimulate thoughtful and energetic work for worship that exhibits renewed creativity, theological integrity, and relevance. While the CICW is interested in receiving a wide range of proposals, they are especially interested in projects related to intergenerational worship practices and projects related to the Psalms. Proposals for 2011 will be accepted beginning December 1, 2010, and must be postmarked by January 11, 2011. For more information go to www.calvin.edu/worship.

Reformed Worship 98 © December 2010 Worship Ministries of the Christian Reformed Church. Used by permission.