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Home > Resources > Worshiping Communities > Worship Worldwide > Teaching ResourcesInterviews with Four Enliveners of Cross-Cultural Song:
Alison Adam, C. Michael Hawn, Swee-Hong Lim, and Helen Phelan
By Lisa Huisman Koops
koopslis@msu.edu
Many congregations today embrace the practice of singing songs from around the world, but struggle with the process of learning and singing songs from musical practices other than their own. During my participation in the "Gather into One" seminar at Calvin College in Summer 2004, I had the privilege of interviewing four worship leaders and educators ("enliveners" 1) familiar with the joys and challenges of leading congregations in cross-cultural song. Research for this project was made possible by participation in the "Gather Into One" seminar directed by C. Michael Hawn at Calvin College in the summer of 2004. The support of the Seminars in Christian Scholarship and the Luce Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. I also wish to thank Alison Adam, C. Michael Hawn, Swee-Hong Lim, and Helen Phelan for sharing their wisdom and insights through the interviews.
The four enliveners interviewed for this research have graciously agreed to share the transcripts of their interviews on this website. The transcripts can be viewed by clicking each enlivener's name at the top or bottom of this page. As you read, please remember that these are conversations, not scholarly publications, and therefore employ a different communication style than an article or book. This material is under copyright and should not be quoted or reproduced without written permission. Please contact the researcher (Lisa Huisman Koops) or the interviewees if you have questions about the material.
The purpose of my research was to explore pedagogical principles for cross-cultural congregational song expressed in the interviews of the enliveners. In order to analyze the interviews and arrive at emergent principles, I applied codes to each segment of the interview. These codes are included in the transcripts in order to help you scan for pertinent information and categorize what is presented. Keep in mind that coding is subjective, and there are many other ways to interpret this data than the principles at which I arrived.
The four main principles I found as a result of analyzing these transcripts are as follows:
- Know why you are worshiping using world songs, and communicate this to your congregation, both in words and in actions.
- Adapt your instruction based on your community; there is no one-size-fits-all approach to teaching cross-cultural song.
- Use scaffolding techniques: know what skills and knowledge your congregation needs in order to worship using specific songs, and provide support for them to obtain these skills and knowledge.
- Find a balance between authenticity (knowing the context of a song and how it is sung in its home culture) and accessibility (realizing there is no "one true authentic" version of a song).
It is our hope that these conversations will prove to be encouraging and challenging to worship leaders interested in helping their congregations join the chorus of God's faithful singing around the world.
Read the interviews: Alison Adam, C. Michael Hawn, Swee-Hong Lim, and Helen Phelan
Resources
The following books and articles contain a wealth of ideas and stories about teaching cross-cultural song to congregations:
Donaldson, A. (2001). Singing global song: The gifts are many; the body is one. The
Hymn: A Journal of Congregational Song, 52 (4), 4-7.
Farlee, R. B. (Ed.) (1998). Leading the Church's Song. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress.
Hawn, C. M. (1999). Halle, Halle: We Sing the World Round. Garland, TX: Choristers Guild.
Hawn, C. M. (2000). From center to spectrum: Singing with the faithful of every time and place.
The Hymn: A Journal of Congregational Song, 51 (1), 28-35.
Hawn, C. M. (2003). Gather Into One: Praying and Singing Globally. Grand Rapids, MI:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Hopson, H. H. (2004). Ways to improve congregational singing. The Hymn: A Journal of
Congregational Song, 55 (1), 11-16.
1 Hawn uses the term "enliveners," learned from Roman Catholic educator Michael Warren, to refer to congregational song leaders who energetically and carefully facilitate cross-cultural singing in congregations (C. Michael Hawn, "From Center to Spectrum: Singing with the Faithful of Every Time and Place," The Hymn: A Journal of Congregational Song 51, no. 1 [January 2000]: 28-35; C. Michael Hawn, Gather Into One: Praying and Singing Globally [Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003], 249-259); this is an appropriate title for all four of the study participants.
Contact Anne Zaki