FAQ

1. How much does the pew edition of Lift Up Your Hearts cost and how do we order copies?

The pew edition is $25.00 US/$CDN* per copy. Bulk orders of 50+ copies are available for $20.00 US/$CDN* per copy.

You can order Lift Up Your Hearts from Faith Alive Christian Resources online at FaithAliveResources.org or by calling 800-333-8300.

*CDN price set at current exchange rate.

For more information on the various editions available and how to order, go to the Buy tab at the top of the page.

2. What about those of us who don’t use print books for worship? Is there a version for projection?

YES! There are several digital options. Please see the various versions under Buy.

3. How much do the digital versions of LUYH cost?

There are a variety of different digital packages available. See this page for the details or email us at hymnal@crcna.org.

4. How much does Our Faith (creeds/confessions/testimonies) cost?

Our Faith is $10.00 US/$CDN* and bulk discounts are available. There is also a downloadable edition of Our Faith available for $10.00 US/$CDN*.

*CDN price set at current exchange rate.

5. Why another hymnal?

In worship one of the main ways we praise and honor God, give voice to our prayers, and communicate the wonders of God’s works is through song. Though the underlying gospel message doesn’t change from generation to generation, the concerns, prayers, and social context of each generation do. Since the publication of Rejoice in the Lord and the 1987 Psalter Hymnal we have seen sociological change with a move toward postmodernism and witnessed the exponential growth of technology – our world is very different today than it was 25+ years ago. The words we use for worship need to express these new realities that form the backdrop of our worship – a new hymnal for a new generation.

This desire for a new hymnal for a new generation fits with the reality that a hymnal has a lifespan of about 20 years. The Psalter Hymnal and Rejoice in the Lord have both surpassed the 20-year mark. A new or revised hymnal about every 20 years has also been the practice of the CRC, with hymnals being released in 1914, 1934, 1959, 1976, and 1987.

6. Are there enough churches that use hymnals to make this project worthwhile?

Yes, there are. Before we began this process, we did a survey of churches in the CRC and RCA and found that there are still a significant number of churches that use hymnals and will continue to do so. Also, many churches that rely primarily on modern presentation technologies anticipate keeping a hymnbook in the pew as a supplemental worship resource; others will use it in small group settings. As well, we anticipate that it will be used as a devotional tool and find its place on home pianos.

7. Why bi-denominational?

The synods of the CRC and RCA have encouraged their churches to find ways in which to work collaboratively. It makes sense for us as denominational siblings to work together wherever possible. In fact, Faith Alive Christian Resources has served as the resource provider for both the CRC and RCA since December 2004.

8. There are several other recently published hymnals. Why didn’t you recommend one of them and save money?

Though it is true that there are many good hymnals available, none come from an explicitly Reformed perspective with our denominations’ DNA. For example, you will find theological differences in baptism sections as well as songs dealing with the end times and heaven. Not only are there legitimate concerns about what is included in these hymnals, there are also noticeable gaps. For example, there are fewer songs, or no songs, on the lordship of Christ, providence, election, and other particular nuances of the Reformed faith. Many of these hymnals also lack a global perspective. They include very few songs from the worldwide church, they tend to have more public domain songs (fewer songs from the 1900s on), and they do not promote the singing of psalms.

9. Does this hymnal include a separate section of psalms (a psalter)?

The Psalter Hymnal included a representation of all 150 psalms in a psalter followed by hymns. Rejoice in the Lord captured most of its psalmody in a discrete psalter section. Sing! A New Creation (a joint CRC/RCA supplement) marked a noticeable shift by incorporating psalms where they would most naturally fit in the order of worship or part of the church year. It has become clear that this latest approach encouraged more consistent use of psalms in worship. For that reasons in Lift Up Your Hearts the psalms appear integrated within the hymnal. Songs and psalms taken from Scripture always include their Scripture reference under the title for easy identification and are listed in the Scripture and Title indexes

The editorial committee was very committed to supporting the Reformed practice of psalm singing. In fact when looking at the psalms in preparation for the hymnal, we became so excited about them that we published a separate psalter as we couldn’t include everything in the new hymnal. Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship was released in January 2012 and is available through Faith Alive Christian Resources. For more information go to www.psalmsforallseasons.org

10. What about creeds and confessions?

Because is bi-denominational, the number of pages it would take to include the creeds/confessions/testimonies from both denominations made including them problematic. We also found that in a good many churches the common practice even if they sang out of the hymnal was to reprint or project the portions of the confessions used in a particular service. So after much discussion and consultation we decided to do the following: various versions of the Apostle’s and Nicene creed appear in the hymnal itself; many portions of the Heidelberg Catechism and paragraphs from other confessions and testimonies that lend themselves to recitation in corporate worship are also included throughout the hymnal; the entirety of the creeds/confessions/testimonies of the CRC and RCA including the Belhar are published in a separate book titled Our Faith, making it possible for churches who still would like them in book format to have them in their pews. All of the creeds/confessions/testimonies are available as free individual downloads on the web. For ease of use, the complete set is available as a downloadable PDF for purchase and is also included as a bonus on all LUYH digital editions.

11. What about the forms found in the back of the 1987 Psalter Hymnal?

The RCA already has their forms in a separate book Worship the Lord and does not have a tradition of including such material in the hymnal.

For  the CRC, since a decision by the CRC synod in the early 1990s, congregations are no longer required to use the forms found in the back of the Psalter Hymnal, although churches are encouraged to make sure that whatever they use includes specific elements. Since that decision there were additional forms created (Synod 1994) that have only been available on the website. Other churches have taken forms from other sources or created their own. Some of the forms in the back of the hymnal (i.e., ordination of elders/deacons) don’t reflect later decisions of synod (i.e., confidentiality clause) and do not reflect the opening of the offices to women. The forms also do not represent newly formed offices like that of Commissioned Pastor (formerly Ministry Associate). In sum, the practice of including forms in our hymnal is no longer practical and can soon make the hymnal itself out of date. (To illustrate this point, the hymnal came out in May 2013, and in June 2013 the CRC synod approved another new form. Had we included forms in the hymnal, it would have been out of date one month after being released.)

However, there are resources included within the hymnal for the celebration of the sacraments similar to what is found in Sing! A New Creation. Other litanies or short prayers with sung refrains are also found throughout the book.

All liturgical forms are available as free individual downloads on the web.

12. Have you changed the tune/text of songs?

The question faced by the editorial committee has been, "Change . . . for whom?" Within both denominations there are various hymnals in use with differing versions of many texts and different text/tune pairings, so whose practice do we change?

We decided that each song needed to be evaluated separately. The committee worked from the default position of not changing anything unless it became clear that a change was necessary and that such a change would strengthen the song. A complete list of songs with their assigned tunes is available on this site.

13. How big is this book? Will it fit in our pew racks?

In order to represent the growing diversity within our denominations, we have included well over 800 songs and a number of prayers and other liturgical materials for a total of 965 items within the hymnal (1104 pages). Thankfully with new technology, paper and covers can be thinner and stronger, so in the end you will find that the hymnal fits well into pew racks and is comparable in weight to other hymnals.

14. What type of music is in Lift Up Your Hearts?

This hymnal includes music from various genres (traditional hymnody, contemporary, African American, global, etc.). Every church has about two hundred songs solidly in its singing repertoire, and we hope that by providing a wide variety of styles each church will find songs that fit within that known repertoire as well as new texts and tunes with which to grow.

15. How is Lift Up Your Hearts organized?

LUYH is divided into two sections. The first section, “The Story of Creation and Redemption,” includes the Christian Year, daily prayer, as well as songs about our faith journey. The second section, “Worshiping the Triune God,” follows the outline of worship.

A complete outline is found here. If you click on an item in the outline you will see a listing of songs included in that particular section.

16. What additional resources are you planning to produce with this hymnal?

We have made no commitments as of yet. We will continue to ask this question as we move along in the process and hear from the churches as to their specific needs.

17. Who is on the committee?

We were blessed to have an editorial committee made up of 13 folks (5 each from the CRC and RCA and then 3 staff members).

There also was an advisory committee made up of approximately 80 members split between the two denominations.

In addition many song texts were reviewed by various theologians who are members of one of the two sponsoring denominations.

18. How many songs from the 1957 Psalter Hymnal (Blue) appear in Lift Up Your Hearts?

There are approximately 136 songs from the 1957 Psalter Hymnal (Blue) in Lift Up Your Hearts. For a complete list, visit Hymnal Comparisons.

19. How many songs from the 1987 Psalter Hymnal (Gray) appear in Lift Up Your Hearts?

There are approximately 302 songs from the 1987 Psalter Hymnal (Gray) in Lift Up Your Hearts. For a complete list, visit Hymnal Comparisons.

20. How many songs from Sing! A New Creation appear in Lift Up Your Hearts?

There are approximately 126 songs in Sing! A New Creation that appear in Lift Up Your Hearts. For a complete list, visit Hymnal Comparisons.