Singing:A Mennonite Voice by Marlene Kropf & Kenneth Nafziger |
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"This book underscores the unparalleled importance of congregational song. I hope it will revitalize the belief that the most important musical sound in worship is the voice of the people." —John L. Bell
Singing: A Mennonite Voice is a collection of stories and reflections gathered from ordinary Mennonite worshipers throughout North America. The scores of interviews show again and again that singing is a Mennonite sacrament.
The ideas and questions that grew out of producing Hymnal: A Worship Book resulted in a two-year listening and research project in which
Marlene Kropf and Kenneth Nafziger asked hundreds of people in the church, "What happens when you sing?" The answers to these questions along with favorite hymns are presented here in four sections: The Sound and Sense of Mennonite Singing, What Happens When We Sing, Toward a Spirituality of Song, and What the Song Is Becoming. There is also an Epilogue, What Have We Learned?
What they learned is that singing is a gift. A gift that has brought us much, perhaps even sustained our faith at times when it might otherwise have fallen apart. Take the songs. Give yourself to the singing of them, but take the songs into your heart, into your life, into your community, and into your soul.
About the Authors
Marlene Kropf is Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Worship and Director of Spiritual Formation at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana. Kenneth Nafziger is Professor of Music at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Ken founded and is director of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, also in Harrisonburg.