The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation will begin shipping copies of its new hymnal Glory to God! on Sept. 16 to customers who pre-ordered the books.
According to a news release from the Publishing Corporation, more than 1,000 congregations and institutions placed pre-orders. Those hymnals should be delivered by Oct. 10.
In October, the publisher will release eBook and app editions of the new hymnal online. A Braille edition also will be available later this fall.
The 2004 General Assembly launched the new hymnal project by asking the denomination to do research into the possibility of a new Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) songbook. In 2008, the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song was formed, with its members gathering several times a year to consider possibilities for (and sing through) songs for inclusion, and with Glory to God! being the culmination of its work.
This summer, the new hymnal chopped up some controversy from critics upset with the committee’s decision not to include the hymn “In Christ Alone” in the new book – a decision based on theological concerns about the wording of one stanza of the song. That controversy resulted in a hymnal from a mainline denomination being talked about everywhere from blogs to newspapers to television news.
