by Susannah Denham ('26)
In Fall of ’23, Mercy Seat hosted a hymn sing.
Linden Foster ’27 described it as, “a group of roughly two dozen students, faculty, and community members. We sang a mix of contemporary and traditional hymns, some accompanied by Pastor [David] Huizenga on keyboard, and some sung acapella.”
In addition, Dr. Benjamin Lipscomb mentioned, “People called out songs they wanted to try, and most of the time there was a critical mass of people who knew the songs well enough to bring the rest along.” Rhythm instruments (cajon and shakers) and a guitar were also available if anyone wanted to use them.
Attendees appreciated how the event brought together people from all ages and different walks of life. Dr. Lipscomb described it as a beautiful intergenerational mix of older people, who were anchors of the Houghton community, and students.
Many people also learned new hymns or arrangements. Josephine Lipscomb ‘25, familiar with the Mennonite hymnals, was introduced to new hymns she didn’t know from the Wesleyan hymnal, and Joshua Armstrong ’26 remembered singing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” in a different way. Foster also appreciated singing a variety of hymns.
Mercy Seat Ministries runs several events throughout the semester, most notably “The Cry” (24 hours of worship in the Van Dyk Lounge the weekend before finals), and organizes weeknight worship on campus at 8 p.m. in the chapel basement. Led by a different team each night, the worship has a relaxed environment and small numbers.
This Monday, Mercy Seat Ministries will host another hymn sing in the chapel basement at 7:30 p.m. Similar to the previous year, two types of hymnals will be supplied: the Wesleyan hymnals used in chapel and hymnals recently used by Sojourners Mennonite Fellowship in Belfast, NY.
“This isn’t what people might think of when they hear hymn sing,” explained Lipscomb, “we’re not sitting in pews singing along with an organ. We’re sitting in a circle, in an informal setting, singing songs you might usually hear led on an organ.”
Dr. Lipscomb noticed the responsibility for worship created during last year’s hymn sing. It was, “something that the smaller numbers and more intimate space (and lack of amplification) facilitated: we were in no way carried along by an act of worship that didn’t need us.
“For better or worse, a message of much large-scale worship is, ‘the leaders will be up here worshiping; join in if you like.’ But if the people gathered in the undercroft that night hadn’t sung out, then the act of worship wouldn’t have happened.
“That night’s worship was whatever we collectively made it: unpolished but vigorous in a way that often doesn’t happen when you’re leaning on the band,” he said.
Worship music genre (usually hymns vs. contemporary Christian music) is not a new debate in the Church. Mercy Seat does not want to continue that debate but offers multiple types and formats of worship in the Houghton community. There are benefits and drawbacks to different styles, and their hope is that students can create and find what helps them worship.
Foster noted that worship preferences often depend on how people were brought up.
“I was raised in a traditional church where we sang hymns accompanied by either organ or piano,” Foster said. “Because of this, I find it really difficult to connect with contemporary Christian music. From my point of view, hymns generally better represent orthodox theology in their text and are more straightforward to sing along to. I understand that many people were raised on contemporary and feel the same way about that style of music.”
One of the great appeals of hymnody is the history and tradition behind it. Armstrong believes that “hymns are a part of our past and we miss out on something when we neglect them.”
Mercy Seat encourages people to attend the hymn sing even if they are not familiar with hymns, are not comfortable sight reading music, or are not used to the environment. It’s important to try or at least experience different styles of worship music, though it may be a step outside of your comfort zone. Sometimes it can be, as Dr. Lipscomb said, “good to have the responsibility pushed onto us.” ★