Hymn writing should be a spiritual practice for everyday saints, not just for worship professionals. Anyone who has grown up in or around the church is likely familiar with “hymn stories”—the stories ...

WASHINGTON — The doctrine committee of the US bishops’ conference (USCCB) earlier this year produced a guide to evaluating the lyrics of hymns on the basis of their doctrinal content, noting that ...

On a January morning in 2022, the basement of Church of the Redeemer, an Anglican church in a quiet Nashville neighborhood, smelled like food for the first time in months. Someone was preparing a meal ...

Prayer and song is one way to get into the spirit of East Sunday -- ESPECIALLY song, many would say. Our Cover Story is from is from Tracy Smith: If angels somehow descended on Midtown Manhattan, it ...

Members of the Fil-Am Choir from St. Gregory the Great Parish in Virginia Beach, Va., sing the offertory hymn during a Jan. 18, 2020, Mass. The U.S. bishops' doctrine committee, in a forthcoming ...

We tend to think we have one national anthem, but to me, we have always seemed to have two. The first is the official one, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The second is “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The ...

If you ever find yourself at a rugby game in Wales, don’t be surprised when the crowds begin to belt out Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, known as Bread of Heaven to the Welsh. Called the “Land of Song ...

What makes a good hymn? A hymn is a metrical composition, meaning “it has stanzas or verses that repeat the same (or nearly the same) syllabic pattern, just like metrical poems. In fact, the best ...