Evergreen Hymns

Our View

There is no shortage of worship music these days.

But within this large sea of options, there are fewer – many fewer – songs for congregations to sing that reflect the beliefs and understandings of Christians who hold more open, inclusive, and broad-minded interpretations of Scripture.

Singing together is a powerful way to remember, recommit, and affirm what we believe.  Unfortunately, many hymns — some of which are even favorites of ours—reflect gendered language or narrow Biblical interpretations that distance us from our worship experiences. In our own journey, we have also failed to find many hymns that:

• express emotions one may feel in times of fear, doubt, and distress;

• name issues related to climate crisis or creation care;

• identify our responsibility for participating in healing power inequities;

• use jazz and modern piano stylings in hymn accompaniments.

We believe that the Bible is the shared basis for our faith, but we also believe that there are many ways to understand and express its meaning. It is to this need, and from this perspective, that we have written our music.

Our Hymns

Any review of hymn collections quickly reveals that they are always reflective of the concerns and understandings of a particular people living in a particular time and place.

Such is the case with our music. 

We are fortunate to belong to a vibrant Lutheran (ELCA) congregation that describes itself as “a diverse community of people drawn together to God’s Spirit,” where “in this place for grace, each person’s age, race, gender, sexual orientation, spirituality, special interests, and unique abilities enrich us as the body of Christ.”  We also find ourselves writing in the midst of an uncertain and chaotic time: a long-term pandemic, escalating political divisions, a growing climate crisis, and racially-related turmoil.

In writing our music, we have tried to name precisely and honestly many of the emotional experiences or personal reactions that seem to be a part of this Christian journey: fear, joy, doubt, wonder, deep longing, expectation, despair, motivation, and gratitude. We seek to recognize this breadth by using inclusive language, varied imagery, new content, and “singable,” fresh melodies in our hymns and worship songs. 

It is our hope that doing so allows communities and individuals to connect and identify with the texts in ways that are comforting yet challenging, familiar yet inspirational. We also hope that these hymns may offer a robust and beautiful way to renew and enrich worship experiences for all.