Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is The Faith We Sing a new official denominational (United Methodist) Hymnal? Does The Faith We Sing replace The United Methodist hymnal as the official United Methodist hymnal?
   
   
2. What is the likely timetable for a new United Methodist hymnal?
   
   
3. Can�t I just use my CCLI license and put the words in the bulletin for congregational worship use? What about overheads?
   
   
4. How does The Faith We Sing differ from the product known as "The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement"?
   
   
5. Will the Pew Edition of The Faith We Sing fit into the pew racks? How thick is the Pew Edition?
   
   
6. What is the difference between the Pew Edition and the Singer�s Edition? How do I know which edition to purchase?
   
   
7. What is the difference between the Accompaniment and Simplified Editions for use by keyboard players and other musicians?
   
   
8. Do all of the music editions contain guitar chords?
   
   
9. Is The Faith We Sing only for United Methodist churches?
   
   
10. What can we see or use in our church to make a decision on buying The Faith We Sing for our congregation?
    
    
11. Is the Pew Edition available in multiple colors?
    
    
12. Are orchestrations available for songs included in The Faith We Sing?
    
    
13. Is there a Braille edition for The Faith We Sing?
    
    
14. Will there be a shaped note edition of The Faith We Sing?
    
    
15. What is the difference in the Compact Disc Accompaniment Editions to The United Methodist hymnal and The Faith We Sing? (the prices are similar but the UM Hymnal has many more songs)
    
    
16. Please explain the page numbering of The Faith We Sing
    
    
17. What is MIDI?
    
    
18. Is the music from The Faith We Sing CD-ROM Edition downloadable?


19. Are there any prayers, liturgies, or litanies in The Faith We Sing?
    
    
20. Can any of the editions be imprinted (with church name, for example)?
    
    

No. The Faith We Sing has been developed jointly by The United Methodist Publishing House and The General Board of Discipleship to be a companion hymnal to be used with your existing hymnol (not in place of it).

The Faith We Sing was not presented to General Conference for approval, so it is not considered an "official" resource. The Faith We Sing has been developed by the publishing and interpretative agencies of The United Methodist Church. We hope it makes a great contribution to the workshop life of congregations. The Faith We Sing is an important addition to the worship and music of any United Methodist or other congregation wanting this type of collection.

Question 2

It�s a long time off! An official denomination hymnal requires action from General Conference that meets every four years. Legislation must be approved by General Conference to produce a new official hymnal. The timetable for The United Methodist Hymnal was as follows:

1980 � General Conference approved a four-year study to determine if the need existed for a new hymnal to replace the 1966 Book of Hymns (Methodist Hymnal).

1984 � General Conference approved the publication of a new hymnal, to be developed and presented at the 1988 General Conference.

1985 � A 25-member Hymnal Revision Committee was assembled and began meeting to develop a new denominational hymnal.

1988 � General Conference approved the report of the Hymnal Revision Committee; official production toward a 1989 publication began.

1989 � The United Methodist Hymnal published in May.

Assuming a similar timetable, if initial legislation were presented at the 2004 General Conference, the next official denominational hymnal would be available in the year 2013 at the earliest.

Be careful! CCLI stands for "Christian Copyright Licensing, Inc." and offers churches an annual license to use congregational music of publishers who are members of CCLI. A copyright license allows churches to print words in bulletins, make overheads, record music for shut-ins, and so forth. Congregations are only allowed to use music from CCLI-member publishers.

A CCLI license does not give a church blanket permission to reproduce music and text on a hymnal or song collection; Cokesbury cannot give permission to use songs from The Faith We Sing that The United Methodist Publishing House doesn�t own (UMPH only owns a handful of songs in The Faith We Sing).

Over half the songs in The Faith We Sing are owned by publishers and other copyright owners who are NOT members of CCLI. Therefore, a church�s CCLI license does not cover use of that material. Included in that list, for example, is GIA Publications, Inc., the largest single copyright holder in The Faith We Sing. Also, a great number of the global songs are not owned by CCLI member publishers; in fact, many of these are owned by individuals or entities outside the United States.

The information above applies to words in bulletins, words on transparencies or slides, use of music in other church songbooks, etc. Also, a CCLI license only covers music for congregational worship use, not use by choirs, soloists, or for other church activities.

A lot! Within a few years of The United Methodist Hymnal�s publication, two products were produced to provide music leaders with additional musical material to "supplement" the hymn tunes of The United Methodist Hymnal. Nearly 200 hymn tunes were treated in Music Supplement I, which was published in 1991. Additional music was provided for use with the 200 hymn tunes, such as: vocal and instrumental descants, brass arrangements, keyboard harmonizations and elaborations, handbell accompaniments, and others.

In 1994, Music Supplement II was produced, offering even more music to supplement hymn tunes in The United Methodist Hymnal.

Although both Music Supplement I and II are still in print, their content relates only to The United Methodist Hymnal and, therefore, have nothing to do with the content of The Faith We Sing.

Yes! The Faith We Sing Pew Edition is a 256-page paperback volume with a lexotone (pleather) cover. In comparison, The United Methodist Hymnal is a 960-page hardcover volume. The book is designed for use in the pew rack with The United Methodist Hymnal or other primary hymnal the church may be using. The thickness of The Faith We Sing Pew Edition is 3/8" so it fits in front of or behind a church�s regular hymnal.

The Pew Edition is to be used by the congregation and contains only the music that will be sung by the congregation. In some cases, the Pew Edition includes only the melody line; in other cases it includes the harmony notes. There are several instances where only the refrain to a song is printed.

The Singer�s Edition is intended for use by choirs and worship teams. The Singer�s Edition contains, for many songs, verses to songs where only the refrain appears in the Pew Edition. The Singer�s Edition also contains music that only the choir or worship team needs, such as harmonized melodies, optional endings, descants, and other special parts.

Both the Accompaniment and Simplified Editions are meant primarily for persons playing piano or organ to lead congregations/other groups and contain all the music used in the Pew and Singer�s Editions. In other words, any special choir verses or other unique parts found in the Singer�s Edition are included in these editions.

The Accompaniment Edition has keyboard arrangements that are designed to supplement the music the congregation is singing. These are "stylized" keyboard parts, written specifically for the keyboard player.

The Simplified Edition has arrangements that are of an easier nature and always includes the melody in the right hand. It is accessible to more persons who play the keyboard. For that reason, the Simplified Edition is a great edition for use in other-than-worship settings, such as Sunday school, small groups, even in the home for personal enjoyment.

Most church keyboard players will want to use the Accompaniment Edition for congregational worship. Churches will welcome the Simplified Edition for its use in the settings listed above as well as an easier worship alternative.

Both the Accompaniment and Simplified Editions contain guitar chords; bass guitarists will probably prefer the chord symbols in the Accompaniment Edition since they indicate the bass notes of the chords.

The two editions also work well together in congregational accompaniment. For example, the organ can play the more straightforward accompaniment in the Simplified Edition with the pianist playing the same song with the stylized accompaniment of the Accompaniment Edition, making for instant piano-organ duets!

For an example of how a song is treated in each of these two editions, refer to the "Experience the Editions" section of this web site.

Good news for guitarists: There is a specific edition designed for use by guitar players! The Guitar Edition includes guitar chords for every song. The Guitar Edition is also the ideal edition for worship/praise bands who play from chord charts; the Guitar Edition includes melody lines and chord symbols for each song. This edition also includes a grid chart of guitar fingerings for each song.

Yes, the Guitar Edition does include all text and melody lines as well as the chord symbols. This gives the players everything they need.

The Pew Edition does not include chord symbols.

Definitely not! The Faith We Sing contains no denominational liturgies. Many churches of other denominations will see The Faith We Sing as an outstanding collection of music for their church.

There is a version of the Pew Edition of The Faith We Sing that includes only a cross on the cover instead of the United Methodist cross-and-flame. This is the cover that most non-United Methodist churches will want to consider for their pew racks. Nothing in the book itself is denominationally-specific or uses the term "United Methodist" so as to concern other churches.

While limitited quantities are still available, a Sampler for The Faith We Sing has been produced for use as described below. Separate editions are available with a cross-and-flame and cross-only cover. The Sampler contains 18 songs from the full book, along with a complete song list. Samplers are available at no cost to local churches.

There are three primary ways for local churches to use the Sampler in considering The Faith We Sing purchase. Any of these uses are acceptable in using the Samplers legally:

1. Use in examination by individual church pastors and/or music directors � many churches will order a few copies of the Sampler for this purpose.
2. Use with worship (or other) committees deciding on purchase � many churches will use a committee to make a final decision on purchasing The Faith We Sing. Churches can order Samplers for use by persons on such committees, examining the list of songs, singing through songs in the Sampler, and so forth.
3. Use by choirs � many churches may want to introduce The Faith We Sing material by having their choir learn and sing songs from the Sampler as anthems or during special settings.

What a church cannot do is obtain a bulk number of samplers, stick them in their pew racks, and use the Sampler indefinitely as a "hymnal" for church worship services. This use violates copyright permissions acquired for the Sampler contents and is, therefore, illegal. Churches may NOT photocopy contents of the Samplers!

No. Unlike The United Methodist Hymnal, the pew edition (and all print editions) of The Faith We Sing is only available in black.

No. Some churches are incorporating orchestras or instrumental ensembles to accompany congregational singing. Such groups are composed of a variety of types of instruments, such as strings, brass, woodwinds, and so forth. There are no plans currently to introduce separate orchestral part books for The Faith We Sing contents.

Not at this time. As with other editions that are added to The Faith We Sing line, we will keep you informed as new editions are added. Please sign up with your e-mail address to receive periodic updates regarding editions and other announcements for The Faith We Sing.

No. This type of music notation was most prevalent in the South, near the turn of the century, and there are still some persons who sing using shaped notes.

Instrumentation. The audio edition (known as the Compact Disc Accompaniment Edition) of The United Methodist Hymnal uses simple piano and organ accompaniment with trumpet and flute where appropriate. This is fairly basic instrumentation. The Faith We Sing audio edition is taken from MIDI files created for The Faith We Sing MIDI edition. These involve more of an "orchestration," more complex instrumental accompaniments and is a more expensive product to produce.

The selections in The Faith We Sing begin with the number 2001. Numbers in the book range from 2001 to 2284. The two reasons for this unique numbering system are: 1) so that page numbers would not conflict with any existing hymnals and 2) to recognize the new century and the dawn of the new millennium.

MIDI is an acronym for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface." MIDI is a computer "language" developed so that two musical instruments - or a musical instrument and a computer - can "talk" to each other. MIDI technology allows churches to have high quality musical accompaniment even when you have no instrumentalists available. It can either fill in for an absent pianist or can enhance current instrumentalists to lend a fuller sound in worship.

Since MIDI is digital, it can be customized for individual uses. Using MIDI, a musician can change the tempo or key of a song. Each song is simply a computer "file" of digital instructions. With a PC and appropriate software, a musician can also add or delete verses, edit individual notes, add or delete instruments, and more.

The Faith We Sing MIDI edition contains MIDI files for all 284 songs in The Faith We Sing, packaged on a single CD-ROM. Individual songs can be lifted from the CD-ROM and configured for individual worship services.

No. Permissions have been cleared for a one-stanza, playback-only, agreement. To have requested downloadable music would have added great expense to the product by way of royalty from the publishers and copyright owners of the supplement�s 284 songs. The purpose of the playback music in the CD-ROM edition is to allow persons to hear songs to determine the melody and the "mood" (feel, tempo, and so forth) of each song for use in worship.

No. The Faith We Sing is a music-only collection of 284 songs. There are no non-musical worship resources in The Faith We Sing.

Yes, the durable lexotone cover on all print editions of The Faith We Sing can be imprinted with church names. There is an additional cost for imprinting.