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Tomorrow I will spend the morning at Seattle First Baptist Church, attending a "Hymnsing Workshop". It's been an extremely hectic and stressful couple weeks, and I haven't had a chance to prepare for it like I wanted to. I'll be taking a few of my hymnals to show off (including the 1837 Harmonist James sent me), and will have some sort of little handout to let people know if they need help with finding a hymn or a hymnal I'm at their service, to talk up polyglot hymnsinging, to commemorate the Evergreen Hymn Sings of a decade or so ago, and to encourage folks to check out the local shapenote singings. The workshop will be led by Margie Paynton, who was for quite a while the organist at University Baptist Church (now dissolved), where I spent my first 13 years.

Do your churches put on hymn sings, either in morning worship ("Stump the Pianist Sunday" is something some churches do on Fifth Sundays, I think) or at other times? What are they like? Are they themed (like the Evergreen Hymn Sings were) or pretty much random user-generated songlists (like we had at Fremont Baptist years back in our evening service)?

These links are to PDF versions of the PowerPoint projections I used at the Evergreen Hymn Sings #2-5. (#1 was held at University Baptist, arranged and led by Tim Phillips (now pastor at First Baptist; Margie did not however play for it).
- We'll sing of the shepherd that died
- To God Be the Glory!
- Foot-Stompin' Hymns!
- Hark! the song of Jubilee
- Wesley, Watts and the AGO

It was a very pleasant, informative, well-directed morning of learning and thinking and singing.

Glad you could be a participant. Sounds like great stuff.

At the hymn sing workshop on Saturday, I heard that Sunday morning worship at First Baptist was going to be a lot of hymns celebrating their 150th anniversary.

Here are the hymnic/musical items from the service:
> Organ prelude: ST. ELIZABETH, arr. A. Smith
Call to Worship: "Faith Writes the Hymn" by Shirley Erena Murray (read as alternating couplets by One and All)
>>> Gathering Hymn: Come Christians, Join in Song to DARWALL
>>> Hymn: God of love, and God of our salvation (Journey to Commitment) to BLOTT EN DAG
>> Offertory: "How Can I Keep from Singing", arr. Greg Gilpin, sung by Sanctuary Choir (about 40 voices)
>>> Hymn: "Every Time I Feel the Spirit"
>>> Hymn (remain seated) "How Can We Sing Our Love for God" to KINGSFOLD
Time with Children: Margie Paynton (involved learning the gestures to be used in the last song of the service)
>>> Hymn: For Everyone Born a Place at the Table (tune by Brian Mann)
>>> Hymn: Great is Your Faithfulness (refrain in Spanish, "Oh tu fidelidad")
>>> Sung Benediction: Prayer of Peace (based on a Navajo prayer; sung in voice, voice accompanied by gestures, and gestures only)
> Postlude: Every Time I Feel the Spirit, setting by D. Kidwell

At coffee hour they had a booklet of "Heritage Hymns" available for the taking, so I took one. Here are what they identify as their "heritage hymns":

Love divine, all loves excelling BEECHER
For the beauty of the earth DIX
Bring us home KOMM UND SEGNE UNS
Precious Lord, take my hand PRECIOUS LORD (< MAITLAND)
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound NEW BRITAIN
God of grace, and God of glory CWM RHONDDA
Let us build a house where love can dwell ALL ARE WELCOME
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide EVENTIDE
Bring many names, beautiful and good WESTCHASE
This is my song, O God of all the nations FINLANDIA
You have come down to the lakeshore (Tu has venido a la orilla) PESCADOR DE HOMBRES

What are your (or your church's) "heritage hymns"?