As congregations consider transitioning from one songbook to another, it is important to have conversations in committees, small groups, and committees. It is also appropriate to use liturgy that worshipfully marks the transition. Offer a pastoral prayer, interspersing stanzas of favorite hymns. Or, similar to the installation of officers, write a responsive liturgy like the one below*:
Nostalgists (whining): The new book is not as good as the old one, which we hated when it was the new one.
ALL: Get over it!
Favorites-pleaders (complaining): They left out my favorite hymn. They had 108,000 English-language hymns to chose from and made bad choices.
ALL: Get over it!
Masculinists (repining): The committee took out too many "He"s and "he"s. Our God is a male God and almost half the humans are male, too.
ALL: Get over it!
Aesthetes (fussing): We don't like the cover color. It should have been brighter (or darker), or blue (or green).
ALL: Get over it!
Antimultitudinists (wailing): They gave us too many options. This will confuse people.
ALL: Get over it!
Antiminimalists (kicking): They gave us too few options. This will bore people.
ALL: Get over it!
Glitch-seekers (murmuring): There is a typographical error on page 459.
ALL: Get over it!
Financiers (bellyaching): The process and products cost too much money.
ALL: Get over it!
Trend-setters and tech geeks (griping): A hymnal is so behind-the-times! We live in an age of electronics and PowerPoints and projected hymns on screens.
ALL: Get over it!
Old-book lovers (kvetching): Why try to improve on classics? The old book still works perfectly well... 23, 41, 58, 80 years later...
ALL: Thou shalt get over it!
ALL (confessing): We have finally gotten over it. Alleluia!
1 Corinthians 3:18 -- "If anyone thinks he is wise... he should become a fool so that he will become wise."
* This liturgy is adapted from Martin E. Marty's "M.E.M.O" printed in Christian Century, January 9, 2007.
