An art piece within the new hymnal by alumnus Meg Harder
On January 27, Grebel held a virtual chapel service to celebrate the arrival of the new Voices Together hymnal. With almost 200 attendees, this gathering also recognized the research and expertise that alumnus Sarah Kathleen Johnson (BA 2007, MTS 2008) contributed to the development of the hymnal, and she was presented with Grebel’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award. “Working on Voices Together has included powerful experiences of collaboration with the other three editors of the collection and the Mennonite Worship and Song Committee,” Sarah shared. “For me, it has also included bringing together many other groups to work on different aspects of the worship resources.”
Sarah explained how Grebel connections shaped the process of creating the hymnal and noted a sampling of contributors: Tom Yoder Neufeld was part of the early stages of inviting submissions of visual art in ways that were anchored in scripture. A piece of alumnus Meg Harder’s art was included (pictured right). Jeremy Bergen provided feedback on potential “confessing faith” worship resources. Derek Suderman was involved in the selection of scripture and wrote an essay in the leader edition. Hildi Froese Tiessen flagged two poems for attention and Carol Ann Weaver has a hymn included. Carol Penner was one of the writers who prepared drafts of worship resources. Students Matt Chase, Lorena Diller Harder, and Katrina Steckle served on a worship resources screening team led by Sara Erb. Sarah added, “I am honoured that Len Enns, who directed the Chapel Choir when I sang, composed a tune for a text that I wrote, and is included together in the new hymnal.” Other Grebel alumni and friends also contributed to this intensely collaborative project in many different ways.
Sara Johnson
