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Dear San Gabriel UU Fellowship,

Unitarian Universalism is a living, evolving tradition–and so is our music. Whether it’s in worship, at a protest, or beside a hospice bed, singing is how we proclaim our UU values and embody our connection to one another and to the Source of Love.

You might think of “the teal hymnal” (Singing the Journey) and “the gray hymnal” (Singing the Living Tradition) as our standards, but our religious ancestors have been creating hymnals for centuries. In 1776, John Murray created the first Universalist hymnal (in the US);  within a decade, Unitarians published their first hymnals. Hymnal after hymnal, through the ages, we sing our living tradition, carrying it forward to the twenty-first century.

That’s why your UUA Virtual Hymnal Task Force is joyfully enthusiastic about the newest chapter in our hymnody’s lineage. Grounded in UU values and accessible through an online platform, this resource will be packed with exciting features–and, of course, hymns and songs that form the score, or soundtrack, for our faith.

We’re still choosing the name for the UU virtual hymnal, but it will launch at General Assembly (June 18 to 22), where a courtesy subscription will be available to all registered participants. (Yes, the launch celebration will be a hymn sing!)

If you haven’t been following our updates since Spring 2023, you might have a few (or many) questions about what a virtual hymnal is and what it will contain. We hope you’ll visit our page to learn about our long process of creation, and our collaboration with many musicians, including the leadership of the Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries (AUUMM).

Members of the Virtual Hymnal Song Selection Team are pictured above, clockwise from top left: Gabe Perbieri, Dr. Baker Purdon, Rev. Amy Carol Webb, Susanne Maziarz, and David Glasgow. 

Our breaking news is that a Song Selection Team, convened by Camille Hatton, is currently shaping criteria to guide our song submission process: David Glasgow, Susanne Maziarz, Gabe Perbieri, Dr. Baker Purdon, and Rev. Amy Carol Webb will invite your songs and composition submissions later this winter! Please be ready to send yours in.

All of our announcements–from the hymnal’s title to a “submissions are open!” invitation–will be shared first with WorshipWeb newsletter subscribers.

We imagine that our new virtual hymnal will help Unitarian Universalism live into our prophetic calling as a joyful, liberatory, and anti-oppressive faith. We can’t wait for you to join us.

Keep Singing, 

Rev. Erika Hewitt
UUA Minister of Worship Arts

On behalf of the Virtual Hymnal Task Force: 

Mary Benard, Camille Hatton, Beverly Horton, Susanne Maziarz, and Carey McDonald