Welcome!

If you are arriving here in response to my recent "Personal Request for Hymnic Help" (which I am distributing today at the Building Bridges Event in Issaquah)

I hope you will leave a comment and let me know how you might be able and willing to assist my hymnal and hymn sing projects. I need it. ;-)

What are your (either your personal, or your congregation's) favorite hymns? What hymns do you wish were in your church's hymnal that aren't? Are there any hymns or spirituals or religious ballads that have been written by members of your church, or tunes composed? What have you found to be the most moving musical moments at Evergreen gatherings?

At Fremont, I might mention "Lead on, thou bright Evangel", "Jesus walkin' on the water", "The Corn Song", my own "Just Kill Me" and "Come then, let's have breakfast", and Frank Talmadge's old favorite "Bubbling in My Soul" as examples of the sorts of songs I'd like to have brought to my attention. Or the addition of the "The cross behind me, the world before me" verse to "I have decided to follow Jesus". I'd like to have similar suggestions from all the churches in the Region.

If you have ideas for venues, accompanists, topics, formats, or other aspects of my hymn sing plan, I'd like to hear those, too.

I have a hymnal collection that numbers over 120 items and continues to grow (I'm currently awaiting a Swahili hymnal being sent by a BaptistLife.com member in Oklahoma); if you have an old hymnal that you don't need, tell me the title and year of publication, and I'll see if I can use it. If I can use it, I'll pay you $5 for it. What a deal. A Kyrgyz one would, of course, be just wonderful. (We have Kyrgyz-speakers attending Fremont, you see, and would like to build bridges to Kyrgyzstan.)

Okay, now, go ahead and leave a comment! Thanks! Love you!

A Hymn Sing for Evergreen

I would like to start, perhaps this fall but no later than a year from now, a series of topical and seasonal hymn sings to build bridges between those in our communities whose spirits are lifted by getting together and praising God in song. To do this I need, primarily, a venue and accompanists. If you know good, adaptable piano, organ or guitar accompanists who might be interested in such a gig, please put them in touch with me. I envision, eventually, a bimonthly or even monthly hymn sing in the Seattle area (this could be copied locally by our churches in other parts of the continent) that would bring together not only Evergreen Baptists but others who enjoy hymn-singing and who would like both to sing old favorites and to learn, or at least try, new pieces. And then, when it is a reality, I need as many of you as fit the definition of “target audience” to show up and sing with us. I’ll make sure it’s announced well in advance in Evergreen Notes as well as in email to anyone who has expressed an interest!

University Baptist hosted a hymn sing several years ago that could be seen as a prototype of what I am hoping to bring about: a singing that was partially programmed (mainly by Tim Phillips) and partly request-based, but in all its parts participatory, not a venue for soloists or performers.

Leland Bryant Ross