Music Of The World Church

Recent hymnals have included a wide variety of congregational songs from around the world. These provide new styles of music for use in worship and new ways of expressing the unity of the worldwide church. A new phenomenon is appearing in denominational hymnals published in the past five years. An example of this is found in hymns like "Asithi: Amen" or "Tu has venido a la orilla," or "Jesus A, Nahetotaetanome. " (All the songs, hymns, and tune names listed in this article are found in Hymnal: A Worship Book, prepared by Churches in the Believers Church Tradition (Elgin, Ill. : Brethren Press; Newton, Kans. : Faith and Life Press; Scottdale, Pa. : Mennonite Publishing House, 1992). There has always been a sprinkling of Latin and German words in hymnals, at least with familiar phrases as "Gloria in excelsis Deo" and "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!" or in tune names such as ein' feste burg, aberystwyth, deus tuorum militum, and so on. Yet we have not always acknowledged the culture and l…