WorshipArts Jul Aug Sep 2023

B O O K

Hawn begins by organizing the text into three major sections: the definition and work of congregational song, the theology of congregational song, and the study of congregational song. The first section offers a definition of what “Christian hymn” means, looks at how congregational song shapes faith, and provides an overview of fifteen congregational song sources. The second and largest section, which I have accessed frequently in programming music, is the theology section, where eleven chapters are devoted to careful analysis of congregational songs and hymns following theological topics. The chapters within these sections also offer internet resources (YouTube links, online scholarly references, musical scores, texts, et al.) to encourage the reader to an extensive exploration of both the music being discussed and the aspect of theology being connected to it.

The third section reviews how music shapes hymnody and offers insight into both historic and current scholarship regarding congregational singing. Sing with Understanding is one of the most relevant and useful books I have encountered that addresses both congregational song – the words and music alike – and the theology of our faith. This author’s practice of putting diverse music from different centuries and styles side-by-side in exploring our theological truths is a major strength. I highly recommend this book to all of us who have experienced the profound ways in which congregational singing has shaped our faith journey. The way in which we program and understand singing within and by the gathered faith body matters. “There has never been more important season to sing together in community, adoration, praise, advocacy, solidarity, justice, and hope.” [34]