The Hymnody of the Evangelical Mennonites of Pennsylvania and the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Pennsylvania Conference

1858 – 1917

by Andrew J. Geissinger

October 25, 2008

[view the printable article with photos]

Introduction

The purpose of this study will be to trace the development of the music of the organizational forerunners of the Bible Fellowship Church1 from the beginning of the Evangelical Mennonite Society in 1858 until the publication of the church’s last hymnal, Rose of Sharon Hymns, by the Pennsylvania Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church in 1917. To do this, the Mennonite and also Lutheran and Reformed roots of the music of that original group will be explored. The church hymnals of the 1880s will be examined and compared to some of the German hymnals of other denominations, and we will look at some of the changes which were occurring during this time period. We will also attempt to determine some of the tunes used with the German hymns which are unfamiliar to most people today. Some of the issues which arose during this time relating to the proper use of music in worship will also be investigated. Finally, we will also examine some of the hymnals used by the church in the early 20th century.

One of the reasons the time period of 1858 until 1917 is being studied is because this is a time beyond the memory of anyone presently living. A few of the oldest church members, of course, might be able to remember something about some of the years just before 1917, and, of course, some can certainly recall singing hymns from Rose of Sharon Hymns, but other than that, this is a period with which people are generally unfamiliar. It is hoped that this study will begin to change that.

Overview

The hymns and music of the Evangelical Mennonites and the Pennsylvania Conference of the Evangelical United Mennonites and the Mennonite Brethren in Christ are drawn from several different categories of hymns. A significant number of hymn texts in the German hymnals of the 1880s had their origin as Lutheran or Reformed hymns or chorales from the 16th to 18th centuries. Additionally, a majority of hymns in the German hymnal of the Evangelical United Mennonites were sung to tunes dating from this same time period which were associated with various Lutheran chorales. The same hymnals also contain a body of German hymns of more recent vintage which appealed to groups ministering in Pennsylvania German areas that were strong supporters of revivalism such as the Evangelical Association and the United Brethren in Christ.

The Evangelical Mennonites and their successor organizations appear to be linked to the older Lutheran and Reformed hymns and chorales through their Mennonite heritage. In the 18th century, Mennonites in Pennsylvania began using Lutheran and Reformed hymnals in their worship. When Pennsylvania Mennonites began publishing their own hymnals, many Lutheran and Reformed hymns were included. It was natural, then, for the Evangelical Mennonites to continue to use some of those hymns, and when a German hymnal was published by the Evangelical United Mennonites, the input provided by the former Evangelical Mennonites, now the Pennsylvania Conference of the Evangelical United Mennonites, no doubt included some of these hymns. The western conferences of the Evangelical United Mennonites also had historic ties to the Mennonite communities in Pennsylvania. This fact also partly accounts for the inclusion of many Lutheran chorales and Reformed hymns in this German hymnal since this hymnal was a product of the entire denomination and not only the Pennsylvania Conference.

Another group of songs closely associated with the revivals and camp meetings of the Pennsylvania German evangelical groups and representing an oral tradition are the choruses. These appear in both English and German in a hymnal of the Pennsylvania Conference in the 1880s. The Evangelical Mennonites and their successors may have come to use the choruses, English and German, through contacts with other similar groups that used them in the area where the Evangelical Mennonites lived.

The church’s German hymnals also contained a significant number of German versions of gospel songs, a type of hymn written in English which gained great popularity after the Civil War.

The church’s first English hymnals appeared in the 1880s, too. They contained hymns of a number of the well-known English hymn writers of the 18th century, American hymns of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the newer gospel songs.

As time passed the use of English increased in importance in the church, and the gospel song became the dominant type of hymn contained in the English hymnals used by the church in the early 20th century.

During the time period under study, music in the worship services of the churches of the Evangelical Mennonites and later the Pennsylvania Conference of both the Evangelical United Mennonites and the Mennonite Brethren in Christ consisted of a cappella congregational singing. Choirs were not used. These practices were explicitly documented in the church discipline when the General Conference adopted a prohibition of the use of musical instruments and choirs in worship in 1882. This prohibition continued until 1916 when the General Conference placed the decision of whether to allow the use of instruments and choirs in worship services and Sunday schools in the hands of the various annual conferences. The churches in the Pennsylvania Conference began using pianos and organs in their worship services in the 1930s.

Ties to German Hymnody of the 16th through 18th Centuries in Deutsches Gesangbuch, the German Hymnal of the Evangelical United Mennonites

On the afternoon of Friday, June 6, 1879, at the First General Conference of the United Mennonites2 held at Blair, Ontario, the conference passed a resolution stating “that D. Brenneman, S. Eby, and B. Bowman, compose a committee to collect a variety of suitable hymns for hymn book.“3 Later that year, at the Special Conference held at the Upper Milford Evangelical Mennonite meetinghouse for the purpose of merging the United Mennonites and the Evangelical Mennonites, three others were added to this committee.4

One of the results of this committee’s work was the publication of a German hymnal in 1883 which was entitled Deutsches Gesangbuch der Evangelisch-vereinigten MennonitenGemeinschaft. Eine Auswahl geistlicher Lieder für Kirche, Haus und Sonntagschule. This hymnal shows considerable evidence of ties to a German hymnody extending as far back as the 16th Century in some cases. Therefore, we will examine this hymnody first in order to gain a better understanding of some of the hymns and music of the German hymnal of 1883.

Deutsches Gesangbuch contains the text of a number of hymns which originated as chorales in the Lutheran church in the 17th century. Additionally, a number of other Lutheran chorales are referenced in the hymnal as the source of the music which the compilers intended to be used with over half of the hymns in Deutsches Gesangbuch. 5

These hymns later appeared in the German hymnals used in Pennsylvania by both the Lutheran and German Reformed congregations as well as in the hymnals of Mennonite, Evangelical, and other groups.

Mennonite Hymnody

Historically, the Mennonites from southern Germany or Switzerland where the Swiss Brethren originated, used the Ausbund as their hymnal. When they migrated to America, some of them brought this hymnal with them. This hymnal was also published in America. American editions of the Ausbund contained 140 hymns. Many of the texts of these hymns were written by members of a group of Anabaptists who were imprisoned in the castle dungeon at Passau, Bavaria, on the Danube River in the 1530s. Christopher Saur published the earliest American editions of this hymnal at his printing press in Germantown in 1742, 1751, 1767, and 1785.6

As the 18th century progressed, however, the Ausbund was used less and less by American Mennonites. Many Mennonite congregations began to use hymnbooks of other religious groups. The Reformed hymnal by Ambrosii Lobwasser was one of those used.7 This hymnal was of European origin, but it began to be published in Pennsylvania in 1753. In 1925 Harold S. Bender, the Mennonite historian, discovered several unused copies of the 1763 edition of Lobwasser’s hymnal in the attic of the Groffdale Mennonite Church in Lancaster County.8 Furthermore, a letter of Martin Möllinger, a deacon in the Lancaster Mennonite Conference, written in 1821 testifies to the fact that Mennonite congregations were using Reformed hymnals in the late 18th century. Möllinger writes, “Since we had all sorts of hymnbooks, the old Swiss songbooks and Reformed hymnbooks, and not enough of what we had, our brethren decided to have a hymnbook printed for ourselves.”9 Scholars believe the Swiss songbooks he mentions here are a reference to the Ausbund, and the Reformed hymnbooks mentioned are the Lobwasser Hymnal. 10

While Möllinger’s comments refer specifically to the situation of Mennonites in Lancaster County, there is evidence of the use of Lutheran or Reformed hymnals by Mennonites in the Franconia Conference, too. For example, a number of the manuscript singing books (Notenbüchlein) made by teachers for some of their students in Mennonite schools in the Franconia district state, “Hermonisches Melodeyen Büchlein über die bekannteste Lieder im Marburger Gesangbuch.” Translated, that means “Harmonious melody booklet of the best known songs in the Marburg hymnal.”11 The Marburg Hymnal referred to here is a Lutheran hymnal used extensively by Lutheran congregations and other groups in 18th century Pennsylvania.12 In fact, Suzanne Gross tells us that the Marburger hymnal “came to be the unofficial hymnal not only of Pennsylvania Lutherans, but of all other German Protestant sects.”13

It should be pointed out that while these schools are referred to as Mennonite because they are associated with Mennonite congregations, these schools were not denominational schools. Many of the students in these schools were from Mennonite families, but these schools also had children from non-Mennonite families attending as well. Furthermore, the teachers in these schools were not necessarily Mennonite, either. One of the well-known teachers in some of the Mennonite schools of the late 18th century was Johann Adam Eyer who was originally from the Tohickon Lutheran congregation in Bedminster Township, Bucks County.14

This use of melodies associated with the hymns from a Lutheran hymnal in Mennonite schools could reflect a combination of several facts. First, it might be an indication that the Mennonites of the Franconia Conference area were using the Marburg hymnal in their worship services, and, therefore, the children were already familiar with many of the hymns in this hymnal. Second, it could constitute part of the means of transmission of Lutheran hymns to the Mennonite community, and third, it might simply reflect the fact that some of the teachers were Lutheran. It clearly shows that Mennonites in the Franconia congregations were influenced by their neighbors belonging to other religious groups at least with respect to the hymns and hymnals used in their worship.

The Ausbund was probably never as important among the Franconia Mennonites as it was among the Mennonites in Lancaster County. Suzanne Gross observes “The many extant eighteenth-century examples of the Ausbund come mostly from the Lancaster area. There are only a few extant copies of the Ausbund from Mennonite homes in Franconia.”15 This fact provides a further indication that by the late 18th century, Franconia Mennonites were using the Ausbund to only a limited degree and were using hymnals that were not Mennonite. Gross tells us that “the Lobwasser, Marburger, Kleine Davidische Psalterspiel . . . were all in use in Franconia Mennonite communities during the second half of the eighteenth-century.”16 Kleine Davidische Psalterspiel was a German Baptist hymnal.

By the first years of the 19th century, Mennonites in both the Franconia Conference and the Lancaster Conference felt the need to compile and publish their own hymnal for use in their congregations. The leaders of both conferences originally intended this publishing enterprise to be a joint effort of the two conferences. They wanted to publish one hymnal that would be used by both the Franconia Conference and Lancaster Conference Mennonites.17

This, however, was not to be. When representatives of the Franconia Conference met with two Lancaster Conference Mennonite bishops at the home of the aforementioned Martin Mellinger to discuss the proposed hymnal and select the hymns to be included in it, they soon discovered that the hymns collected by both groups for inclusion in the new hymnal did not contain a sufficient degree of overlap to include them all in one book. To include all of the hymns proposed by both groups would have resulted in a book that was much too large. Other disagreements concerning the nature of the new hymnal came into play here as well, and the two groups could not reach a compromise acceptable to both parties.18

As a result, the Franconia Mennonites, who had already received assurances from Michael Billmeyer, a printer from Germantown, that he would be willing to print their proposed new hymnal, proceeded on their own. The Franconia Conference’s new hymnal entitled Die kleine geistliche Harfe der Kinder Zions (The Small Spiritual Harp of the Children of Zion), and frequently known simply as Zions Harfe, was published and became available in 1803. It was the first Mennonite hymnal compiled in America. The Lancaster Conference published its new hymnal, Ein Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch (A Non-denominational Hymnal), the following year.19

The first edition of Zions Harfe contained a section at the beginning containing 30 psalms.20 A melody written out in musical notation was provided for the majority of those psalms.

The main section contained 475 hymns and was completely devoid of any musical notation whatsoever. The tunes the compilers intended the worshipers to use with each hymn were indicated by a printed reference to the name of a hymn commonly associated with the intended tune. This printed reference was placed just above the text of each hymn. Each hymn was numbered, but no title was given for the hymns. The indexes identify each hymn by the first line of the first verse. The practice of identifying a tune by reference to a hymn commonly associated with that tune was common in the German hymnals in Pennsylvania at this time. It is a practice which would continue with most German hymnals far into the 19th century at least for the larger hymnals intended for use in the regular worship services of the various denominations.

Another feature of Zions Harfe that was common in other German hymnals of the time was the limited number of tunes used. One of the indexes of this hymnal contains all of the 475 hymns divided into 48 different groups. Each hymn in this index is grouped together with the other hymns that use the same tune. Thus, the 475 hymns in the main section of Zions Harfe use only a total of 48 tunes or an average of nearly 10 hymns per tune!21

Zions Harfe went through several editions. In addition to the first 1803 edition, new editions were printed at Germantown in 1811 and 1820. The fourth edition was published at Northampton (i.e., Allentown) in 1834 and the fifth edition in Doylestown in 1848. There were also editions published in Lancaster (1870) and Elkhart, Indiana (1904).22

In comparing Zions Harfe with Ein Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch we find some interesting differences. Ein Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch contained 67 hymns found in the Ausbund. Zions Harfe contained only a few—a testimony to the limited importance of the Ausbund among the Franconia Mennonites. Ein Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch also contained written music for virtually all of the hymns contained in the hymnal.23

The Franconia Mennonite hymnal, Zions Harfe, contained many hymns of Lutheran and Reformed origin,24 and this hymn tradition would eventually account for a portion of the hymns and much of the music found in Deutsches Gesangbuch, the German hymnal of the Evangelical United Mennonites.

The Tunes of the German Hymns of the 16th to 18th Centuries

One of the problems in identifying the tunes used with the various hymns in the typical German hymnals of the 19th century is the fact that most of the older hymns could be sung to more than one tune. Additionally, most of the hymnals did not contain written music for the hymns. Instead, each hymn usually contained the title of another hymn above the text of the hymn which was intended to be the source for the melody of the hymn in question. So how can we know exactly which tunes were used by the Mennonite congregations using Zions Harfe? Or how can we know precisely which tunes were used by the Mennonite Brethren in Christ congregations in Pennsylvania?

The truth is that there will always be some doubt about this. Furthermore, it is always possible that some congregations used different melodies than other congregations did for certain hymns.

Nevertheless, there is a body of evidence available which allows us to identify fairly well which tunes were intended for the various hymns in the hymnals which are the subject of our study.

In the first place, we could examine Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch, the Lancaster Mennonite hymnal, for evidence of the likely tune for various hymns. As stated above, this hymnal was an exception to the general practice of publishing German hymnals in the 18th and 19th centuries that did not contain written music, and it contained a tune for virtually every hymn in the hymnal. A potential drawback in the use of this hymnal is that the hymnal reflects the practice of the Lancaster Mennonite community, and our study focuses, instead, on Mennonite groups within the counties where Franconia Mennonite congregations existed. Thus, there is the possibility that relying on the tunes in Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch to determine what tune was used for a hymn in either Zions Harfe or Deutsches Gesangbuch could yield inaccurate results. After all, it is possible that Lancaster Mennonites used a different tune for the same hymn than was used in the counties east of Lancaster.

Fortunately, dozens of manuscript tune books called Notenbüchlein still exist today. They were created in the Mennonite schools in the Franconia area between about 1780 and the 1830s. These tune books were normally created by the teachers in these schools for students attending the school. The tune books were frequently made as rewards for outstanding work a student may have done in the schools, perhaps in singing.25

Figure 1. Page from Manuscript Tune Book (Notenbüchlein) for Henrich Meyer. Bedminster Township, 1804. This tune book is typical of the dozens of Notenbüchlein still known to exist. Middle C is on the lowest line of each staff which is the same practice followed for the Psalms which appear in Zions Harfe. The first staff on this page shows the tune for “Nun ruhen alle Wälder.” The second staff shows the tune for “Nun sich der Tag geendet hat.” These two tunes are likely the same or very similar tunes to those intended to be used with many of the hymns in Deutsches Gesangbuch, the German hymnal of the Evangelical United Mennonites. (Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, Pa.)

The Notenbüchlein typically showed the tunes written out in musical notation for many of the hymns that commonly appeared in the hymnals in Eastern Pennsylvania during this time period. The complete tune of one hymn was usually written on one line, and most of the words of the first line of the hymn to which a tune was to be sung were written above the musical notation in order to identify the hymn. Most of these tune books do not contain the entire text of the hymns. Presumably a person would have to consult the published hymnals to obtain the words. While the Notenbüchlein were not entirely consistent as to which tune was used for a particular hymn, in most cases one tune predominated for a given hymn in the dozens of Notenbüchlein still in existence today.26 Thus, we can develop a fairly good idea of which tune was usually used for a givell hymn ill the communities where the Notenbuchlein were found. One ofthe things we must keep in mind, though, when attempting to arrive at a conclusion as to what tune was used with a particular hymn, is that the tunes in the Notenbuchlein represent the practice of a somewhat earlier time period than the period of our study. It is possible that over time people may have begun to use a different tune with a particular hymn than the tune to which a hymn was sung to during the earlier period.

We will now examine the tunes which appear in the Notenbuchlein which are the likely tunes designated to be used for the majority of hymns in Deutsches Gesangbuch.

1. Herr Jesu Christ dich zu uns wend

This hymn appears in both Zions Harfe and Deutsches Gesangbuch.27 The Notenbuchlein overwhelmingly use the first melody below for this hymn.28 It is well-established, however, that the second tune below, the well-known “Old Hundredth,” was also used with this hymn. We are Ullaware of any instance of the use of Old Hundredth with this hymn in the Notenbuchlein, but the Lancaster Mennonite hymnal, Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch, suggests the melody to be used with this hynln as the melody associated with the 134th Psalnl, and the melody which appears with the 134th Psalm in Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch is Old Hundredth.29 The 134th Psalm also appears in Zions Harfe with the same melody, but there is no referellce ill Zions Harfe indicating that that melody was used with this hymn. 30

a. Melody for “Herr Jesu Christ dich zu uns wend,” from Henrich Meyer’s Notenbuchlein, 1804.31

b. “Old Hundredth” as transcribed fronl Zions Harfe, first edition, 1803.32 7

2. Nun sich der Tag geendet hat

This was a very well-known hymn which commonly appeared in German hymnals of the 18th and 19th cel1tllries. It appears in Zions Harfe33 and is the hymn most frequently found in the 68 Notenbuchlein studied by Suzanne Gross.34 The text of this hymn does not appear in Deutsches Gesangbuch, but the hymn is cited in that hymnal as the source for the music to be used with 50 of the hymns which do appear in that hymnal.

Melody for Nun sich der Tag geendet hat, from Hemich Meyer’s Notenbuchlein, 1804.35

3. Es ist gewifilich an der Zeit

This hymn was also well-known and appears in Zions Harfe. 36 Like the preceding hymn, the text does not appear in Deutsches Gesangbuch, but it is cited as the source for the music of 35 of the hymns in that hymnal.

Melody for Es ist gewifilich an der Zeit from Henrich Meyer’s Notenbuchlein, 1804.37

4. AIle Menschen mussen sterben

The text of this Lutheran chorale appears in both Zions Harfe and Deutsches Gesangbuch. 38 The tune shown here appears in many of the Notenbuchlein.

Melody for Alle Menschen mussen sterben from Henrich Meyers Notenbuchlein, 1804.39

5. Was Gott thut, daft ist wohlgethan

This 17th century Lutheran chorale appears in Zions Harje. 40 The text is not included in Deutsches Gesangbuch, but the n1usic to this chorale is directed to be used for three of the hymns in that hymnal. This tune appears in the majority of the Notenbuchlein examined in the Gross study.41

Melody for Was Gott thut daft ist wohlegethan from Abraham Geissinger’s Notenbuchlein, 1810.42

6. Wer nur den lieben Gott laftt walten

This chorale melody also appears in the majority of the lVotenbiichlein studied in the Gross dissertation.43 The melody was written by George Neumark and first published in 1657. Bach used it as the basis for some of his compositions. The text to the chorale is in Zions Harje.f.f but not in Deutsches Gesangbuch. Eleven hymns in Deutsches Gesangbuch use the melody associated with this chorale.

Melody for Wer nur den lieben Gott laftt vV{llten from Abraham Geissinger’s Notenbiichlein, 1810.45

7. Nun ruhen all Walder

The text of this chorale also appears in Zions Harfe6 It is not in Deutsches Gesclngbuch., but the tune belovv is the most likely tune used for two of the hymns in the latter hymnal. Melody for Nun ruhen aile Walder from Abraham Geissinger’s Notenbuchlein, 1810.47

8. Mir nach, spricht Christus unser Held

The text to this hymn was written by a Lutheran convert to Catholicism, Johann Scheffler aka Angelus Silesius. The text to the hymn does not appear in Deutsches Gesangbuch, but it is included in Zions Harfe. 48 The tune, however, to which Deutsches Gesangbuch likely refers when citing this hymn is a variant of a tune associated with the Lutheran chorale Mach’s mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Gut written by the German Lutheran composer Johann Hermann Schein in 1628. The particular variant of this tune shown here is the tune most commonly used in the Notenbuchlein for this hymn. 49

Melody for Mir nach spricht Christus unser Held from Henrich Meyer’s Notenbuchlein, 1804. 50

9. Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier

The original version of the tune to this 17th century Lutheran chorale was composed by Johann Rudolf Ahle. The hymn appears in Zions Harfe. 51 The tune listed here is a close variant of the original and is by far the most conlmon appearing in the Notenbiichlein for this hymn.52 Two of the hymns in Deutsches Gesangbuch are designated as using the melody associated with this chorale.

Melody for “Liebster Jesu wir sind hier” from Abraham Geissinger’s Notenbiichlein, 1810.53

The tunes to several other chorales probably also date from the time period of the tunes shown above. They include “Jesus meine Zuversicht,” “Ach mein Jesu welch verderben,” “Sollt es gleich bisweilen scheinen,” “Mein erst Gefuhl sei Preis und Dank,” and “Ach war ich doch schon droben.,,54

Hymnody of the Evangelical Mennonites, 1858 -1879

The Evangelical Mennonites formally organized themselves as die Evangelische Mennoniten Gemeinschaft (Evangelical Mennnite Society) in September 1858. Three congregations were represented at the initial conference.55 The question immediately arises as to what songs the congregations in this new fellowship sang.

Unfortunately, there is very little detailed evidence of what went on musically in the congregations of the Evangelical Mennonite Society during the years 1858 to 1879. For one thing, this group did not have its own denominational hymnals, and few hymnals of other denominations that are known to have been owned by church members exist today.

Furthermore, the only references to music in the minutes of the semi-annual preachers conferences during this time period were stated in only the most general and unenlightening terms. The following statements from the June, 1866 conference are typical. “In the forenoon there was an open worship service. Brother David Henning opened with the reading of the fourth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, singing and prayer.” Later in the same paragraph we learn that “Brother Eusebius Hershey earnestly admonished and then dismissed the congregation with singing, prayer and God’s blessing.” In the afternoon, the “session was opened by … William Gehman, with reading of the 127th Psalm, singing, prayer and a suitable message to the Conference.” Finally, “At 5:30 p.m. the meeting was closed with singing and prayer by William N. Shelly.,,56

The Evangelical Mennonite Society published a German faith and order and church discipline in 1866, and the following year it published an English version of this faith and order called Doctrine of Faith and Church Discipline of the Evangelical Mennonite Society of East Pennsylvania. This document likewise makes no mention of music except for the brief statement in Section 4 of the portion which deals with officers. Section 4 deals specifically with officers of the conferences and states in part, “It shall be the duty of the President to open the meeting with singing and prayer.”57

It is possible, however, to reach some tentative, albeit somewhat speculative, conclusions about what was going on in the church during these years with respect to music and singing by examining what we know about the church’s origins and also by considering some of the evidence pertaining to the years immediately following the merger of the Evangelical Mennonites with the United Mennonites in 1879.

Since the Evangelical Mennonites had their origin in John H. Oberholtzer’s Mennonite group,58 the question of what hymns were sung and what hymnals were used by the Evangelical Mennonites after they were first organized in 1858 raises another question: What hymnals were the Oberholtzer Mennonites using in the 1840s and 1850s? The answer to this latter question could shed some light on the answer to the former.

The Oberholtzer Mennonites had their origins in the Franconia Conference, but due to a number of issues which arose around the progressive proposals of Rev. John H. Oberholtzer, Oberholtzer and the ministers who supported him were excommunicated from the Franconia Conference. Oberholtzer and his followers then formed their own Mennonite conference in 1847. During the 1840s and 1850s the Oberholtzer Mennonites did not have any published hymnals of their own. The Oberholtzer Mennonites later became part of the General Conference of the Mennonite Church in North America, but that group did not publish its first hymnal until 1873.59

Therefore we are faced with the fact that in the 1850s, when the Evangelical Mennonites first formed as a separate body, the only Mennonite hymnal in use in the counties where Mennonite congregations of the Franconia Conference existed (the same area where the original Evangelical Mennonite congregations were located) was the Franconia Mennonite hymnal, Zions Harfe.

Thus, the Oberholtzer Mennonites probably continued to use that hymnal at this time,60 and I would argue that the Evangelical Mennonites likely also continued to use this hymnal, at least for a time. After all, most of the original members of the Evangelical Mennonites came from families which were traditionally Mennonite. Families such as Gehman, Musselman, Shelly, Hiestand, Bechtel, Schantz, and others could trace their Mennonite ancestry to the immigrant.61 At the time the Evangelical Mennonites were organized most of these people would have spent most of their lives in the Franconia Conference and would have grown up using Zions Harfe. They would have been very familiar with the hymns in this hymnal. Many of them probably owned copies of this hymnal, and it would have been logical for them to continue to use this hymnal for worship for a while. More research is needed in this area to establish the facts more definitely.

Even if Zions Harfe was in fact used by the Evangelical Mennonites at the beginning of their history, it is unlikely that that situation would have continued throughout this entire period of more than twenty years. What other hymnals were used by the Evangelical Mennonite congregations during this period? The truth is that at this time we just do not know. Very few hymnals from this period that were owned by known Evangelical Mennonites are known to exist today. Harvey B. Musselman, the future presiding elder, did own a copy of the 1871 edition of Jübeltöne, an Evangelical Association songbook.62 But Musselman was only a child during this period, so he may not have possessed this book during this time. Perhaps the book was originally owned by his parents. If so, this might provide one clue as to what hymnals were used in the Evangelical Mennonite churches.

It is possible that no standard hymnal was used by most or all of the Evangelical Mennonite congregations. Perhaps church members purchased various hymnals of other denominations as they saw fit (we must remember that during the time period in question it would have been very unusual for a congregation to buy hymnals for use in its services—the hymnals used were normally owned by the individual congregants) and brought what they had to the worship services, revivals, or prayer meetings.

Other trends also occurred in the musical life of the Evangelical Mennonites between the years 1858 and 1879. This can be inferred by considering the content of the German hymnals this group used in the 1880s. When a church adopts a new hymnal, we would not expect the entire content or even most of the content of the new hymnal to consist of new material. Instead, the normal pattern would be that some new material would be introduced, but most of the hymns would be hymns with which most of the people using the hymnal would already be familiar. Thus, by examining the content of the new denominational hymnals published in the 1880s, we can gain some insight into some of the changes which occurred during the years prior to the publication of those hymnals.

The Pennsylvania Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ used two German denominational hymnals in the 1880s. The first of these, Deutsches Gesangbuch, has already been mentioned. The other hymnal was part of a book which can probably be better viewed as two hymnals in one. This hymnal was first published in 1887. Embossed on the leather cover are the words Ebenezer Hymnal, and inside the hymnal are two completely separate sections, one in English and one in German. Each section had its own title page and index. The title of the English portion of this hymnal was The Ebenezer Hymnal for Revival, Holiness, Prayer, and Camp Meetings. The title of the German section was Die Deutsche Ausgabe der englischen und deutschen Frohen Botschaftslieder zum Gebrauch bei Erweckungs- und Gebetsversammlungen. 63 Unlike Deutsches Gesangbuch which was published by the General Conference of the Evangelical United Mennonite Church, The Ebenezer Hymnal/Frohe Botschaftslieder was an initiative solely of the Pennsylvania Conference of the church which by that time was called the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church.

The following chart is a summary of a comparison of Deutsches Gesangbuch and Frohe Botschaftslieder with six other 19th century German hymnals from other denominations which shows the number of hymns from each hymnal which are found in Deutsches Gesangbuch and Frohe Botschaftslieder. The 1891 edition of Frohe Botschaftslieder64 is used here for convenience, but there would be no substantial difference in the results had the 1887 edition been used instead.

The totals show a certain amount of overlap with Mennonite, Lutheran, and Reformed hymnals, which no doubt reflects the Mennonite background of the Evangelical Mennonites, Evangelical United Mennonites, and Mennonite Brethren in Christ as discussed earlier in this paper.

A comparison of hymns in several German hymnals65
with those in Deutsches Gesangbuch, 1883,
and Frohe Botschaftslieder, 1891 edition.

Hymnal	Pub. Year	Denomination	No. of Hymns	No. in DG*	%	No. in FB*	%
Evangelisches Gesangbuch	1850	Evangelical Association	506	94	22.7	15	9.4
Geistliche Viole	1848	Evangelical Association	205	60	14.5	33	20.6
Zions Harfe	1848	Mennonite	499	39	9.4	18	11.3
Gemeinschaftliche Gesangbuch	1849	Lutheran and Reformed	494	36	8.7	11	6.9
Deutsches Gesangbuch	1874	Reformed	550	68	16.4	22	13.8
Gebet und Danklieder	1886	Evangelical Association	213	49	11.8	46	28.8

* KEY

• DG = Deutsches Gesangbuch, 1883, of the Evangelical United Mennonites
• FB = Frohe Botschaftslieder, 1891, of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Pennsylvania Conference

Explanation of chart.

• No. of Hymns is the number of hymns in each of the six hymnals listed in the left column.
• No. in DG is the number of hymns in each hymnal in the left column that also appear in Deutsches Gesangbuch of the Evangelical United Mennonites.
• % in the column to the right of the No. in DG column refers to the number of hymns in that column expressed as a percentage of the number of hymns in Deutsches Gesangbuch (415).
• No. in FB is the number of hymns in each hymnal in the left column that also appear in Frohe Botschaftslieder of the Pennsylvania Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ.
• % in the column to the right of the No. in FB column refers to the number of hymns in that column expressed as a percentage of the number of hymns in the main portion of Frohe Botschaftslieder (160). The latter number does not include the choruses.
• Note: Evangelisches Gesangbuch and Geistliche Viole are bound together in the same volume.

The hymnal, though, containing the largest number of hymns which appear in Deutsches Gesangbuch is Evangelisches Gesangbuch of the Evangelical Association. Furthermore, the edition of Evangelisches Gesangbuch which was used for this analysis was bound with the twelfth edition of Geistliche Viole which is also listed in the above summary. This edition of Geistliche Viole contains an entirely different set of hymns than those found in Evangelisches Gesangbuch—there is no overlap between the two. This means that the combined Evangelisches Gesangbuch/Geistliche Viole accounted for 154 of the 415 hymns found in the Evangelical United Mennonite Deutsches Gesangbuch, or 37 percent of the total.

Frohe Botschaftslieder also shows a similar trend, although in some respects the pattern is different than that found in Deutsches Gesangbuch. For example, we find only 15 hymns in Frohe Botschaftslieder that are also found in Evangelisches Gesangbuch. This constitutes a smaller number of hymns than those from Zions Harfe (18) and the Reformed Deutsches Gesangbuch of 1874 (22). Frohe Botschaftslieder, however, uses 33 hymns from Geistliche Viole—more than one fifth of the 160 hymns in Frohe Botschaftslieder. Additionally, 46 of the hymns in Frohe Botschaftslieder (29 percent) are also found in another Evangelical Association songbook called Gebet und Danklieder.

The greater emphasis placed on the use of hymns from Geistliche Viole as opposed to Evangelisches Gesangbuch in Frohe Botschaftslieder should not surprise us in light of the intended use of the latter hymnal as stated on its title page: “For use at revival and prayer meetings.” Don Yoder informs us that Evangelisches Gesangbuch contained the “more churchly hymns, the great majority of them inherited from the general body of Lutheran and Reformed hymnody” whereas Geistliche Viole contained the “bush-meeting favorites, many of them translations of English Methodist hymns, or original German productions by the bush-meeting evangelists themselves.”66

The tendency to borrow hymns that were being used by the Evangelical Association and probably other similar groups, undoubtedly began during the period 1858 – 1879 when the Evangelical Mennonite Society was still an independent Mennonite group. The Evangelical Mennonites had contact with like-minded believers from other groups who were interested in revival, and these contacts likely resulted in exposure of Evangelical Mennonites to the music of some of these groups including the Evangelical Association.

We will mention some of the known contacts here, but there were probably many more which were never documented. First of all, it appears that both William Gehman and William N. Shelly, two of the original ministers of the Evangelical Mennonites, participated in some of the non-denominational revivals promoted by Edwin Long.67 Several Evangelical Association ministers also preached at some of Rev. Long’s tent revivals. Thus, the participation of Evangelical Mennonite ministers in these revivals provided a good opportunity for contact with ministers of the Evangelical Association and other groups. The fact that Evangelical Mennonite preachers took part in these revival meetings shows that the Evangelical Mennonites were not a group attempting to isolate themselves from the rest of society. They were willing to work with other religious groups to proclaim the Gospel, and they were no doubt affected in various ways by the contacts made at these meetings. Over time we would expect contacts of this nature with other religious groups to affect the type of music they would sing in their worship services, prayer meetings, revival meetings, and Sunday schools.

Eusebius Hershey, a traveling preacher who had a long association with the Evangelical Mennonites and their successor groups, came to the Evangelical Mennonites from the United Brethren in Christ, a group very similar to the Evangelical Association.68 Hershey may have also preached in some of Edwin Long’s revival meetings.69

We also find reference in the minutes of the semi-annual conferences of this period to the attendance of ministers from some of these other groups. Christian Peffly of Lebanon County and a member of the United Brethren in Christ attended several conferences of the Evangelical Mennonites in the 1860s and 1870s as an advisory member and even preached at some of those conferences.70

In the November 1873 conference, John F. Weishampel and Samuel Steigerwald from the German Eldership of the Congregation of God were advisory members. Weishampel was also an advisory member at the conference of November 1874.71 The German Eldership was part of the Church of God founded by John Winebrenner earlier in the 19th century. This group was also similar in outlook to the Evangelical Association and the United Brethren in Christ.

The conference minutes also show that in October 1878, J. Frey, an Evangelical preacher, was an advisory member of the conference.72 The term “evangelical” as used here is probably not intended in its general sense but instead is most likely a specific reference to the Evangelical Association.

Two other trends can be seen in the church’s hymnals of the 1880s which probably had their genesis during the years of the independent Evangelical Mennonite Society. The first of these was the use of the Pennsylvania Dutch choruses.

The Ebenezer Hymnal and Frohe Botschaftslieder of 1887 contained dozens of these choruses in English and in German.73 These choruses had originally developed spontaneously in the camp-meetings of what Don Yoder calls the bush-meeting Dutch.74 The songs and tunes of these choruses were not written down but were transmitted orally from person to person, generation to generation, and location to location. The Evangelical Mennonites never had their own camp meetings. The church’s first camp meeting was not held until 1881 after the merger with the United Mennonites.75 Other groups in the general vicinity where the Evangelical Mennonite congregations existed, though, did have camp meetings, and it is possible that some of the Evangelical Mennonites attended these meetings from time to time. Perhaps this is where the Evangelical Mennonites first learned these choruses. We will discuss the Pennsylvania Dutch choruses in more detail later in this paper.

Another trend we see in the church’s hymnals of the 1880s which likely began to affect the church’s music during the latter part of the period 1858 to 1879 is the inclusion of what came to be known as the gospel song. This was a new style of hymn which arose mostly after the Civil War and was popularized by Ira D. Sankey and others in the 1870s. Music publishers soon began publishing many books filled with this new style of hymn, and the music of many denominations was affected by these hymns to one extent or another.

In the case of the Evangelical United Mennonites/Mennonite Brethren in Christ, we find that some of the gospel songs appear in both the 1881 English hymnal (A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns) and The Ebenezer Hymnal of 1887. Although the gospel songs were always originally composed in English, German versions of some of these hymns were prepared for use in German hymnals as well, and we find that both Deutsches Gesangbuch and Frohe Botschaftslieder contain German versions of some of the gospel hymns.

The music of the Evangelical United Mennonites and Mennonite Brethren in Christ, 1879 – 1917: Musical Instruments and Choirs

With the merger of the Evangelical Mennonite Society and the United Mennonites to form the Evangelical United Mennonite Church in November 1879 came a more formalized organizational structure. The former Evangelical Mennonite Society would now become the Pennsylvania Conference in the new, larger church body. A presiding elder would be appointed to oversee the affairs of the Pennsylvania Conference. The Evangelical United Mennonites already had a church newspaper, and they also planned to publish official church hymnals in the near future. This latter initiative had already begun prior to the merger with the appointment of a hymnal committee. The group would also have a detailed church discipline to define how the church and its congregations should operate. The latter two developments are of particular interest to those investigating the musical developments in the Pennsylvania Conference of the Evangelical United Mennonite Church.

We can safely assume that music in the Evangelical Mennonite Society consisted of strictly a cappella hymn singing by the congregation. The United Mennonites apparently held to similar principles concerning music in their services, so there was really no change in musical practice when the Evangelical Mennonites became part of the Evangelical United Mennonites. The use of instruments in worship, though, was never discussed in the conference minutes of the Evangelical Mennonites, nor was it mentioned in the group’s church discipline published in 1866 and 1867.

The 1880 church discipline of the Evangelical United Mennonites likewise made no mention of the use of musical instruments in worship. The General Conference of October 1882, however, took a strong and explicit stand against the use of organs and choirs in worship services when it passed the following resolution:

Whereas, we see the evil effects of musical instruments and choirs in our sister churches, we are enabled to profit by the experience of others, and being desirous of warding off all the evils that may retard the cause of Christ, therefore Resolved, That no organ or choir be allowed in our churches.76

The church discipline was subsequently modified to reflect this change. The essential elements of this prohibition remained in place with only slight modification for many years.

The following year a discussion of the use of musical instruments in worship commenced in the Gospel Banner with an article by Elder Jacob Good entitled “Be not Conformed to this World, But be ye Transformed by the Renewing of your Minds.” This discussion is enlightening and gives us better insight into the thinking that was behind the prohibition. Elder Good wrote:

Is it right for a Christian to conform to this world by having and using musical instruments in his house? Do not all musical instruments belong to the world? Did not the world make them? Did not the world always use them, and does not the world still use them? Can we as Christ’s followers glorify God with them? If so, then they ought to be in every house and in every church, for we are commanded to do all that we do to the glory of God. What does the apostle mean when he says, glorify God in your bodies and in your spirits, which are God’s. And again, Present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. Again we read, Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priest- hood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, (not with a dead organ, which is as dead in itself as Diana, the great goddess of the Ephesians) as lively stones with spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. I think we are the only instruments that God will accept to glorify himself. Now, my dear fellow-pilgrims, the reason I write upon this subject is, because a good many of our dear church members have organs in their houses, and some of our dear ministers too, who should be ensamples unto the flock. Is it possible that a sanctified Christian, one who enjoys full salvation, perfect love, holiness, can at the same time enjoy himself in that which belongs to the world? We read that Christ has given us an example that we should follow his steps. Did Christ use organs? Did his apostles use any? Did the primitive church or our forefathers use organs? Oh, my dear beloved brethren, I truly fear that we are drifting away from God and primitive purity by too much conforming to this world in many things.77

The following April the Gospel Banner printed two responses to Elder Good’s February article. I do not know if the writers of either of these articles were members of the Evangelical United Mennonite Church. The first of these articles was entitled “Musical Instruments.” In this article H. C. Berger argues against Elder Good’s argument opposing the use of musical instruments in both church and home. He states that we must rely on the Bible to guide us in this matter, and then he cites a series of Old Testament passages where the use of musical instruments is approved by God. Berger concludes that the passages he cites show “plainly that we have a perfect right to have and use musical instruments in our churches.”78

The second article, “Praise Ye the Lord” by E. Howard also cites several Old Testament passages which he says show “that it is right to praise the Lord on instruments of music.” Howard, though, states “We do not think that musical instruments ought to be taken into our places of public worship” for two reasons. First, because “there are many of our brethren and sisters that cannot sing with an instrument, therefore, are deprived of a blessing that they might receive in the act of singing.” Second, musical instruments “have a tendency to lead toward choir singing, which often runs into style and aristocracy more than the praise of God.”79

Two more articles on this subject appeared in May. S. Y. Shantz takes a position against the use of musical instruments and criticizes H. C. Berger for quoting entirely from the Old Testament to support his position. Shantz states that nothing in the Gospel of Christ or the apostles’ writings commands the use of musical instruments in worship. He also contends that musical instruments were not used in the church in the first centuries. Shantz goes on to argue that the use of musical instruments in worship “leads to pride and worldliness in the churches and is one of the enemy’s instruments by which to lead church members astray.” He says that the purchase of musical instruments constitutes poor stewardship of the goods God has given man because it can deprive a person’s family of the necessaries of life, and the funds used to purchase instruments would often be better used to feed and clothe the poor and spread the Gospel.80

In the same issue Abraham H. Moyer supports Elder Good’s original article and criticizes the two articles in the April 1 issue on the grounds that the supporters of using musical instruments rely on Old Testament passages to prove their point, but there is nothing in the New Testament to support their use.81

This 1883 discussion in the Gospel Banner of whether musical instruments should be allowed to be used in worship and in the homes of believers concluded in the May 15, 1883 issue where the editors briefly quote from other letters they received on the subject. Elder Peter Naftzger wrote that Jubal, the first man in the Bible to fashion and use musical instruments, was not a child of God and therefore his actions in using musical instruments were not approved by God. Believers should not imitate him. Naftzger went on to write, “I have always noticed that when a people has lost the power of God then comes fashion, pride, secret societies, musical instruments, etc., in the church. They have lost the power but still cling to a form. The choir does the singing while the congregation and preacher sit down and do nothing. Then the preacher gets up, reads his sermon, and calls it Gospel . . . Oh, for more of the spirit of God and no musical instruments in the church. Then I think we would see more genuine conversions and . . . more holy living.”82 Another reader wrote, “I never feel better than when at church, singing and can hear others singing the beautiful songs of Zion. We want no choir set apart to do the singing, but we want the whole congregation to help sing. That makes sweeter music than all the organs.”83

As can be seen from the resolution at the 1882 General Conference quoted above and the comments of some of those writing in the Gospel Banner the following year, the issue of the appropriate way to worship God through music was not only an issue of whether musical instruments should be used in worship, but it was also an issue of whether choirs should be permitted in worship as well.

The concern about the use of choirs appears to be two-fold. On the one hand, it was thought that in order to worship God properly, the congregation members should be involved in the singing themselves. The church leaders felt that active participation of the worshipers in singing in a service would be much more beneficial to those worshipers than simply listening to a select group of people sing. Some of the above quotations clearly reflect this concern.

A second concern about the use of choirs is that some denominations at that time apparently hired people to participate in their choirs with complete disregard as to whether they were converted or not. The purpose of this, of course, would be to obtain singers for the choir with the musical experience needed to sing well—experience which may have been difficult to find among the members of the congregation itself.

We can see this second concern expressed in articles and letters that appeared in the Gospel Banner in later years. In 1885, for example, one article in the Gospel Banner states, in part, that

God would have us yield our obedience before we offer our praise . . . When this rule is understood we shall see no more of this monopolizing the music of the church by hired quartettes and godless choirs. It is true there are churches where there would be no singing if it were not furnished by unconverted people; but what have such churches to do with singing anyway? Would it not be far more appropriate for them to take away the noise of their viols, and their harps, and turn to God with fasting, and prayer, and lamentations for their sins, until God shall give to them his joy and his peace, and awaken their hearts to sing his praise.84

An article in the Gospel Banner in 1886 expresses it this way:

To sing without the help of the Spirit is as displeasing to God as to preach or pray without the help of the Spirit . . . Ungodly singing is just as displeasing to God and just as truly hypocrisy in His sight as ungodly preaching or praying. Yet many churches that would not think of employing an ungodly man to occupy their pulpit, will invite the unsaved into the sanctuary to lead in singing the songs of Zion: and are so blinded that they see nothing wrong or inconsistent in such a course . . . In thousands of cases persons are employed to take charge of the singing in the public congregation, without regard to their spirituality or even morality. The question is not, “Will he sing in the power of the Spirit, and souls be convicted and saved in consequence?” but, “Has he a good voice, and will his singing attract the world and help to make ours a ‘popular’ church?”85

Another article in the Gospel Banner in 1886 by Bishop R. S. Foster reprinted from the Methodist Exchange also expresses similar sentiments concerning this issue:

Can any one going into a Methodist church in any of our chief cities distinguish the attire of the communicants from that of the theatre and ball goers? Is not worldliness seen in the music? Elaborately dressed and ornamented choirs who, in many cases, make no profession of religion, and are often sneering skeptics, go through a cold, artistic or operatic performance, which is as much in harmony with spiritual worship as an opera or theatre. Under worldly performances spirituality is frozen to death.86

The prohibition of the use of choirs in Evangelical United Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren in Christ churches, then, was an effort by the leaders of the church to guard against this two-fold abuse in the use of choirs which they saw occurring in some other denominations.

So far we have looked at the church’s prohibition of the use of musical instruments and choirs through the views of men from the western conferences of the church or from entirely different denominations. There is, however, direct evidence showing that the ministers of the Pennsylvania Conference also strongly supported this position.

Eusebius Hershey, one of the older generation of Pennsylvania Conference ministers, voices his support for the prohibition of organs and choirs in a letter he sent to the Gospel Banner. This letter appeared in the February 1, 1888 edition of the paper.

I spent one Sunday in Strasburg, Va., . . . I heard the Christian minister preach a short sermon . . . Their singing was like in our churches, without a choir and no organ. After the sermon the minister said he would like to hear the Presbyterian minister preach his farewell sermon; so we went over, the building being near by. When we came in we heard choir singing with the music of the organ, and such a great difference it was.
The next day I conversed with the Christian minister on the organ subject, and he said it hurts the singing in the congregation. However, the worldly minded with the popular churches do not want the spirit, with the understanding also.
. . . Whenever we as a branch of the Christian church are not satisfied with the Discipline of the General Conference held in Indiana in reference to organ and choir singing, then we can break up house-keeping as a church, and unite with some other branch of the church that makes use of wood instead of heart melody.
The organ, if allowed, takes three steps: 1. Into the family. 2. Into the Sabbath- school. 3. Right before the minister, and the feather and bustle sisters, and the fashionable mustache men and the boys will lead in the praises of Almighty God.87

Younger ministers in the Pennsylvania Conference also strongly supported the church’s stand on musical instruments. We can see evidence of this in an article in 1893 on “Our Sunday School Work.” In this article William B. Musselman advocated using new songs in the Sunday School in order to maintain interest in the work of the school. To facilitate this, Musselman advocated training those attending the Sunday Schools in how to read and sing the musical notes. He considered it much better to learn to read music than to rely on instruments. Musselman writes:

We are compelled to learn music either vocal or instrumental to keep up the interest. Will we learn notes like our forefathers did or will we come down to the modern way of singing by instrumental music in our Sunday-school? Will we stoop to instrumental music in our school? We say no! a thousand times no!88

At some point, apparently early in his career as a minister, Musselman’s brother, Harvey B. Musselman, wrote a small pamphlet named “Vocal and Instrumental Music in Worship According to God’s Word.” In this pamphlet Musselman argues against the use of musical instruments in worship using some of the same arguments that had already appeared in the pages of the Gospel Banner. After making it clear that the scriptures command the praising of God through singing, Musselman argues against the arguments of those who find support in the Old Testament for the use of musical instruments in the worship of God. 89

In Musselman’s view, Jubal, the first to use musical instruments, was a man of the flesh, and, as such, Christians today are not to imitate his acts, including the use of musical instruments. Additionally, Musselman takes the position that although David did use instruments in the worship of God, not everything David did was necessarily commended by God. Musselman argued that David’s use of instruments was something David himself conceived, and David’s actions in this case were not authorized by God.90

He finishes by quoting John Wesley as saying, “I have no objection to instruments of music in our chapels, provided they are neither heard nor seen.” Musselman’s response to that was, “I say the same, though I think the expense of purchase had better be spared.”91

The Musselman brothers undoubtedly changed their position on this issue eventually as did the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church as a whole. After all, both brothers lived well into the 20th century and would have been around when instruments began to be introduced into the services of the various congregations of this church. In fact, H. B. Musselman was even the Presiding Elder of one of the Pennsylvania Conference districts during the time when many of that district’s churches began using pianos or organs in their church services.

The article on “Musical Instruments and Choirs” in the 1914 church discipline remained very little changed from the 1882 General Conference’s resolution. It stated, “Seeing as we do the evil effects of musical instruments and choirs in our sister churches, and being desirous of warding off all that may retard the cause of Christ, it is not allowed to introduce either musical instruments or choirs into our regular Church or Sunday School services.”92

Change, however, was on the way. At the 1904 General Conference, the Nebraska Conference requested that the Discipline be modified to allow musical instruments to be used in City Mission work. The General Conference approved the request and the Discipline was modified accordingly.93 At the 1916 General Conference, the Nebraska Conference submitted another request regarding the use of musical instruments stating that “in our humble judgment there is no definite Scripture in support of Section 13, Chapt. 2 of our Discipline in regard to musical instruments and choirs, but that the following Scriptures sanction and encourage the use of them; Psa. 33: 1-13; 92: 1-4; 98: 1-6; Eph. 5: 19; Amos 6: 1-6; II Chron. 30: 21. Resolved, That we recommend the General Conference to erase said article from our Church Discipline.”94

The General Conference of 1916 considered the Nebraska Conference’s request but decided not to remove the existing article on musical instruments and choirs. The existing wording remained completely intact, but the General Conference added a brief clause at the end of the article which undermined the stated prohibition of musical instruments and choirs in worship services and Sunday schools.

The resolution of the General Conference stated, “Resolved, That the following be added to Article XIII in General Rules: ‘Except by the consent of Annual Conference.’”95 The issue whether to prohibit musical instruments and choirs in the services was now in the hands of the several annual conferences.

After the change to Article XIII was made, the relevant clause in the church discipline now read in its entirety, “MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND CHOIRS. Seeing as we do the evil effects of musical instruments and choirs in our sister churches, and being desirous of warding off all that may retard the cause of Christ, it is not allowed to introduce either musical instruments or choirs into our regular church and Sunday school services except by the consent of the Annual Conferences.”96

Myron Tweed, citing a 1969 letter from Jasper Huffman, believes that much of the impetus leading to the acceptance of the use of musical instruments in regular worship services and Sunday schools was the result of their successful use in city mission work.97

Tweed also states that all of the annual conferences except Michigan were in sympathy with the resolution permitting the annual conferences to approve the use of musical instruments and that the nature of the wording of the resolution (in which the existing wording was retained) was due to a reluctance on the part of the conference to alienate the conservative areas of the church.98 Whether in sympathy or not, however, the congregations of the Pennsylvania Conference do not seem to have introduced pianos and organs into their worship services until the 1930s.

Hymns and Hymnals of the Evangelical United Mennonites: The Hymnal Committee, 1879

As stated earlier, the 1879 General Conference of the United Mennonites appointed a hymnal committee to select hymns for a proposed hymnal the church planned to publish. The minutes of the Special Conference which convened later that year for the purpose of uniting the United Mennonites with the Evangelical Mennonites, however, state that “A. Kauffman, M. Winch and D. Gehman were appointed as a committee to gather songs for our hymnbook.”99

The wording of these minutes makes it sound as if these men comprised the entire hymnal committee. That interpretation, however, is untenable. First of all, business of this nature would be inappropriate for a special conference called for the purpose of uniting two groups, and, as we have already seen, the act of appointing a hymnal committee was in fact addressed at the previous general conference in 1879. Second, the preface in both hymnals that were the product of the committee’s work refer to the committee that was appointed at the general conference of 1879, stating, “The result of the labors of said committee is this collection of ‘psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.’”100 No mention at all is made of the committee appointed at the special conference. Finally, the committee appointed at the special conference appears to be composed entirely of men from the new Pennsylvania Conference of the church.101 It makes little sense to appoint a hymn committee with members from only one conference, particularly when it is from a conference which has just joined the main group.

What actually happened here is that a group of men was appointed from the Pennsylvania Conference to provide input from the new conference for the new hymnal which was to be published. Since the Pennsylvania Conference had no representation on the existing committee because it was not part of the church when that committee was appointed, it was decided to remedy that situation by appointing the men mentioned in the minutes above, and, in this context, it made sense to take this action at the special conference, since the next general conference would not occur until 1882. This new committee should be viewed either as an addition to the membership of the existing hymnal committee, or it could perhaps be seen as a sort of sub-committee responsible for providing input from the Pennsylvania Conference to the main hymnal committee.

Hymns and Hymnals of the Evangelical United Mennonites: A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns (1881)

The work of the hymnal committee resulted in the publication of two hymnals. The first of these was an English hymnal published in 1881 called A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns.

This hymnal contained 834 hymns which were broken down into 90 topical categories. These categories had to do with the various aspects of God such as the existence of God, the attributes of God, and the Trinity. Several categories exist for Christ such as his offices, his life and example, his sufferings, and so forth. Categories exist for the Gospel, invitation, repentance, justification, conversion, and regeneration. The categories listed in the contents almost constitute a doctrinal statement. Myron Tweed observes that “the hymn topics found in the collection emphasized the doctrines and practices of the Church . . . Christ’s incarnation, and various phases of His life and ministry were represented by a generous portion of selections. All phases of Christian experience from the repentance and justification of the seeker to the consecration and sanctification of the believer were expressed in the hymns. Selections were provided for church ordinances.”102 All of the hymns in each category were grouped together in the hymnal.

The hymns contained in A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns (1881) are selected largely from more traditional hymns of the time. Most of the hymns were written by English and American hymn writers of the 18th century and first half of the 19th century. The hymn writers of those hymns, although not named in the hymnal, include Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, William Cowper, Henry F. Lyte, Charles Everest, Joseph Addison Alexander, Lowell Mason, and others. Some of the hymns of this type include “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” “There is a Fountain Filled With Blood,” “Alas, and Did My Saviour Bleed,” “My Faith Looks Up to Thee,” “There is a Land of Pure Delight,” “There is a House Not Made With Hands,” “The Lord Jehovah Reigns,” and many others.103

The contemporary religious music of that time was the gospel songs (see Appendix). Some gospel songs were included in A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns. The gospel songs appearing in this hymnal included “Take the Name of Jesus With You,” “All the Way My Saviour Leads Me,” “Almost Persuaded,” “I Gave My Life for Thee,” “I’ve Reached the Land of Corn and Wine (Beulah Land),” and others.104

This hymnal contains no music, and it does not specify the tune to be used with each hymn. The only reference to the tunes to be used is an indication with each hymn of the meter, such as L.M. for Long Meter, S.M. for Short Meter, C.M. for Common Meter, and others. These meters were commonly shown with each hymn in the hymnals of the 19th century. They are usually included in hymnals today as well, although we tend to ignore them. Each meter is an indicator of a specific number of lines and a specific number of syllables in each line for each hymn. Any hymn designated with a particular meter can be sung to any tune written for that meter. It is likely that many of these hymns were sung to a variety of tunes depending on the congregation singing them.

A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns (1881) was used in the Spring City congregation.105 It is not known if any other Pennsylvania Conference churches used it. The Spring City congregation began in 1892, eleven years after the hymnal was published,106 so it is unclear how the church obtained them. The church may have purchased some remaining hymnals at a discount—we know there were some unsold copies remaining as late as 1888—or perhaps these hymnals were first used by another congregation and the Spring City congregation obtained them from that congregation sometime after revised English hymnals were published in 1893.107

Hymns and Hymnals of the Evangelical United Mennonites: Deutsches Gesangbuch (1883)

The second hymnal produced by the hymnal committee was the previously mentioned German hymnal named Deutsches Gesangbuch. It was published in 1883. It contained 415 hymns. Like A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns, it was organized into many topical categories and sub-categories. There is no music in this hymnal. The tunes for most of the hymns are identified as they were in most text-only German hymnals of the 19th century: The name of the hymn associated with the intended tune was printed above the text of the hymn.

Many of the hymns are commonly found in the German hymnals of other denominations such as the Mennonite, Reformed, Lutheran, Brethren, and Evangelical churches. Some of the hymns are of the older variety of Lutheran and Reformed hymns or chorales dating to the 17th century or earlier.

The following table lists some of the older German hymns found in Deutsches Gesangbuch along with the name of the tune to which they were to be sung. It is not a complete list. The hymn number in the hymnal is also listed.

German (European origin) Hymn Texts in Deutsches Gesangbuch

Hymn or Chorale Title	Hymn Number	Name of Tune Used
Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend	222	Herr Jesu Christ! dich zu uns wend
Alle Menschen müssen sterben	341	Alle Menschen müssen sterben
Ich habe nun den Grund gefunden	24	Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten
Jesu, meines Lebens Leben	47	Ach mein Jesu, welch Verderben
Sei getreu, bis an den Tod	333	Sei getreu, bis an den Tod
Ringe recht wenn Gottes Gnade	171	Jesu, Jesu, Brunn des Lebens
Bedenke mensch das Ende	336	Von Grönlands eis’gen Zinken
O Jesu Christe, wahres Licht	110	Herr Jesu Christ! dich zu uns wend
Mein Gott das Herz ich bringe dir	178	Nun sich der Tag geendet hat
Was mich auf dieser Welt betrübt	293	Nun sich der Tag geendet hat
Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her	31	Herr Jesu Christ! dich zu uns wend
Himmel, Erde, Luft und Meer	8	Geist vom Vater und vom Sohn
Siegesfürst und Ehrenkönig	63	Alle Menschen müssen sterben
Wir singen dir, Immanuel	29	Herr Jesu Christ! dich zu uns wend
Also hat Gott die Welt geliebet	25	Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten
Das neugeborne Kindelein	32	Herr Jesu Christ! dich zu uns wend
Ich singe dir mit Herz und Mund	258	Nun sich der Tag geendet hat
Jesus Christus herrscht als König	68	Licht des Lebens, himmlisch Feuer
Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade	230	Ach wär ich doch schon droben

As examples, the complete text of some of the verses of two of these hymns which appeared in Deutsches Gesangbuch are shown below with a translation. The melodies to these hymns can be found earlier in this paper. The translations are not intended to be sung to the music.

Herr Jesu Christ! dich zu uns wend

1. Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend Lord Jesus Christ, turn yourself to us
Den heilgen Geist du zu uns send; Send the Holy Ghost to us;
Mit Lieb und Gnad er uns regier With love and mercy he rules us
Und uns den Weg zur Wahrheit führ. And leads us on the way to the truth.

2. Tu auf den Mund zum Lobe dein, Open the mouth to your praise,
Bereit das Herz zur Andacht sein; Prepare the heart for worship;
Den Glauben mehr, stärk den Verstand, The faith more, increase the judgment,
Dass uns dein Nam werd wohl bekannt; That your name becomes well known to us;

Alle Menschen müssen sterben

1. Alle Menschen müssen sterben, All people must die,
Alles Fleisch ist gleich dem Heu, all flesh is equal to the hay,
Was da lebet, muss verderben, What lives, must perish,
Soll es anders werden neu. Should it otherwise become new.
Dieser Leib, der muss verwesen, This body, it must decay,
Wenn er anders soll genesen If it otherwise should recuperate,
Der so grossen Herrlichkeit, that such great glory,
Die den Frommen ist bereit. that is prepared for the pious.

2. Drum so will ich dieses Leben, Therefore I want to give this life,
Wenn es meinem Gott beliebt, if it pleases my God,
Auch ganz willig von mir geben, also completely willingly from me,
Bin darüber nicht betrübt; am not grieved about that;
Denn in meines Jesu Wunden Then in my Jesus’ wounds
Hab ich schon Erlösung funden, I have already found redemption,
Und mein Trost in Todesnot and my comfort in death’s distress
In des Herren Jesu Tod. in the Lord Jesus’ death.

As discussed earlier, there was a tendency to select more hymns from some of the Evangelical Association hymnals than from the hymnals of Mennonite, Lutheran, or Reformed groups. Two examples of hymns of this type are shown below. Figures 4 and 5 show the music which had to be obtained from other sources. The corresponding text of some of the verses as they appeared in Deutsches Gesangbuch are shown below each figure.

Gott ist die Liebe109

1. Gott ist die Liebe, God is love,
Läßt mich erlösen, Causes me to be saved,
Gott ist die Liebe, God is love,
Er liebt auch mich. He loves me, too.

Chorus:
Drum sag’ ich noch einmal, Therefore, I say once more,
Gott ist die Liebe, Gott ist die Liebe, God is love, God is love,
Er liebt auch mich. He loves me, too.

2. Ich lag in Banden I lay in bonds,
Der schnöden Sünde; of contemptible sin;
Ich lag in Banden I lay in bonds,
Und konnt nicht los. and could not loose (i.e., the bonds).

3. Er sandte Jesum He sent Jesus Den treuen Heiland,
the faithful saviour, Er sandte Jesum He sent Jesus
Und macht mich los. and made me loose (from the bonds).

Nun legt des Christen Harnisch an111

1. Nun legt des Christen Harnisch an, Now put the Christian armor on,
Halt’t stets das Kreuz im Sinn. Always hold the cross in inclination.
Als junge Kämpfer angetan As young warriors do
Marschieren wir dahin. We are marching there.

Chorus:
Wir marschieren zum verheissnen We are marching to the promised Land
der Ruh, land of rest, Der Heimat der Frommen geht es zu, It reaches the home of the pious,
Lobsingend ziehen wir dahin, Singing praises we are moving there,
Lobsingend ziehen wir dahin. Singing praises we are moving there.

2. Begegnen auf der Reis’ uns schon Many enemies oppose us on the journey–
Viel Feinde—lass es sein. Let it be.
Uns winkt von fern die Siegeskron; The victory crown signals us from far;
Wir schlagen mutig drein. We fight courageously in it.

A significant number of the hymns in this hymnal are German versions of the gospel songs that were being promoted by hymn writers such as Ira Sankey, Philip P. Bliss, William J. Kirkpatrick, John R. Sweney, Robert Lowry, and many others. Some examples of this type of hymn in Deutsches Gesangbuch include “Sammeln wir am Strom uns Alle” (“Shall We Gather at the River”), “Ich sehe eine rothe Fluth” (“The Cleansing Wave”), and “Bist du traurig” (“Tell It to Jesus”).

Like many German hymnals of the 18th and 19th centuries, the number of tunes used is rather limited. In Deutsches Gesangbuch six of the tunes associated with German hymns and chorales from the 17th and 18th centuries account for the music intended to be used with more than half of the hymns in this hymnal. A total of 106 tunes are used for the 415 hymns in the hymnal, but the reason the number is that high is because many of the hymns toward the end of the hymnal are newer hymns which are associated with a specific melody not used with other hymns. The table below shows the number of times the more frequently cited tunes are used.

Frequency of Most Commonly Used Tunes in Deutsches Gesangbuch

Tune	No. of Times Used
Herr Jesu Christ! Dich zu uns wend	74
Nun sich der Tag geendet hat 50	50
Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit 35	35
Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten 11	11
Jesus Heiland meiner Seele 9	9
Schaffet, schaffet, Menschenkinder 8	8
Alle Menschen müssen sterben	7
Hört, wie die Wächter schrein	11
Von Grönlands eis’gen Zinken	8
Jesu, Jesu, Brunn des Lebens	23
Mein Gemüth erfreuet sich	8
Ich habe nun den Grund gefunden	17

The Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Pennsylvania Conference: The Ebenezer Hymnal/Frohe Botschaftslieder (1887/1891)

At the annual conference of the Pennsylvania Conference in 1886, William B. Musselman requested permission from the conference to issue a book of revival songs with the provision that it be printed at the Mennonite Brethren in Christ printing establishment if it could be printed there as inexpensively as at other establishments. The annual conference then approved a resolution appointing an examining committee to examine the proposed hymns for this hymnal. The committee consisted of Joel Brunner, W. C. Detwiler, and Abraham Kauffman.112

The following year the annual conference approved another resolution appointing a committee to examine the hymns in Musselman’s proposed hymnal. This time the committee was composed of Joel Brunner, George Campbell, and Abraham Kauffman.113

William B. Musselman’s new hymnal became available later the same year. It was not published at the denomination’s printing establishment, however. Instead, Musselman had it published by John J. Hood in Philadelphia, a well-known publisher of hymnals and religious music.

This hymnal was The Ebenezer Hymnal, although that title actually applied more properly to the English section of the book. The English title, however, did appear on the cover of the hymnal. The German section, Die Deutsche Ausgabe der englischen und deutschen Frohen Botschaftslieder, zum Gebrauch bei Erweckungs- und Gebetsversammlungen, had its own title page, and in the 1887 edition, the German portion was actually the first portion of the book. This combined hymnal was republished in 1891 with Frohe Botschaftslieder being revised and moved to the second half of the book.

Perhaps the placing of the German portion of the hymnal after the English portion in the 1891 edition was another indication of the increasing importance of English in the church. The revisions consisted of adding an additional hymn at the end of the main section of hymns and replacing a few of the other hymns. The English portion of the hymnal was never revised. Both the English and German portions of this hymnal were also published separately.

Like the other 19th century hymnals published by the church, The Ebenezer Hymnal contained no music. In the English section of the hymnal this was dealt with by placing the name of a hymn that was commonly associated with the intended melody directly above the text of the hymn in a few cases. In many more cases the hymnal cites the name of a different hymnal and the number of the hymn in that hymnal which is to be used with the particular hymn in The Ebenezer Hymnal. In fact, the hymns referenced in this way were always the same hymn as the one found in The Ebenezer Hymnal. The only difference was that the hymn referenced in the other hymnal had the music for the hymn, but The Ebenezer Hymnal did not. The two most commonly cited hymnbooks containing the melodies of hymns in The Ebenezer Hymnal are Temple Trio114 and The Quartet, both of which were published, probably not coincidentally, by John J. Hood of Philadelphia, the same firm which published The Ebenezer Hymnal. 34 of the hymns in The Ebenezer Hymnal are from Temple Trio and 32 come from The Quartet. Several other hymnals are cited as well but much less frequently.

The Ebenezer Hymnal contained 178 hymns in the main portion of the English section of the hymnal. Some of these were drawn from English and American hymn writers prior to 1850. Examples of these include “A Charge to Keep I have,” “Alas and Did My Saviour Bleed,” “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” “Arise, My Soul, Arise,” “Blest Be the Tie That Binds,” “Blow Ye, the Trumpet, Blow,” “How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours,” and “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.”115

A much larger proportion, perhaps 125 or 130 hymns, were gospel songss. Virtually all of these were written after the Civil War. Thus, The Ebenezer Hymnal moved decidedly in the direction of making the gospel song the dominant type of hymn used in the Pennsylvania Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ—a trend that would occur in the denomination as a whole and in many other denominations in the United States as well.

Figures 8 and 9 are two examples of less familiar gospel hymns found in The Ebenezer Hymnal. The examples are from Temple Trio, but the words for these hymns in The Ebenezer Hymnal are identical.116

Frohe Botschaftslieder, the German hymnal bound with The Ebenezer Hymnal, still contains a significant element of the older German hymnody that we find in many of the German hymnals of the 19th century. Some of the older German hymns and chorales are included. These include “Also hat Gott die Welt geliebet,” “Bedenke, Mensch! das Ende,” “Ermuntert euch, ihr Frommen,” “Treuer Meister, deine Worte,” “Herr Jesu Christ! dich zu uns wend,” “Das neugeborne Kindelein,” and “Was mich auf dieser Welt betrübt.”117

Tunes associated with the older German hymns which are used with various hymns in the hymnal include “Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten,” “Ringe recht, wenn Gottes Gnade,” “Sollt es gleich bisweilen scheinen,” “Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit,” “Herr Jesu Christ! dich zu uns wend,” “Nun sich der Tag geendet hat,” “O Gott, du frommer Gott,” “Ich habe nun den Grund gefunden,” “Bedenke, Mensch, das Ende,” “Mein Gott, das Herz ich bringe dir,” and “Was Gott thut, das ist wohlgethan.”118

This hymnal also includes a significant number of hymns from Methodist and Evangelical hymn writers.119 German translations of Methodist hymns include “Komm, sehnend Sünder, steh’ nun still,” “Blast, die Trompete, blast,” “Hört, wie die Wächter schrein,” and “Mein Seel ist so herrlich.” Examples of hymns by Evangelical hymn writers include “Die Wasserbäche rauschen dar,” and “Brüder, wacht! im Glauben steht,” by Daniel Bertolet, “Kommt, Brüder, kommt, wir eilen fort,” and “Wer will mit uns nach Zion gehen,” by Johannes Walter, “Komm Jung, komm Alt, zum Gnadenbrunn,” by Johannes Dreisbach, and “Komm Geist vom Thron herab,” by William W. Orwig.120

All of the hymns in the previous paragraph and the vast majority of hymns not mentioned here which were written by Methodist or Evangelical hymn writers and which are also found in Frohe Botschaftslieder can also be found in the 12th edition of Geistliche Viole, the Evangelical Association hymnal mentioned earlier. A total of 33 hymns appear in both hymnals.

Frohe Botschaftslieder also contained a significant number of gospel songs. A minimum of about 30 of the hymns in Frohe Botschaftslieder are German translations of gospel songs. The actual total of gospel songs might be significantly more, but a closer study of the hymns in this hymnal is needed to determine that. Unlike The Ebenezer Hymnal, though, gospel songs do not make up a majority of the hymns in Frohe Botschaftslieder.

Below are two verses from an 18th century hymn written by Philip Friedrich Hiller which appears in Frohe Botschaftslieder. The music to this hymn is displayed in figure 10. This hymn also appears in Geistliche Viole. The words to this hymn are not completely the same in all hymnals, but the text which appears in Frohe Botschaftslieder is identical to that found in Geistliche Viole. 121 The hymns in figures 4 and 5 above are also found in Frohe Botschaftslieder.

Ich will streben nach dem Leben

1. Ich will streben nach dem Leben, I want to strive after the life
Wo ich selig bin. where I am blessed.
Ich will ringen einzudringen, I want to wrestle to enter in,
Bis dass ich’s gewinn. Until I win it.
Hält man mich, so lauf ich fort; One holds me, so I run on;
Bin ich matt, so ruft das Wort: I am feeble, so calls the Word:
Nur in Hoffen fortgeloffen, Only in hope run on (?)
Bis zum Kleinod hin. Until at the jewel there.

2. Als berufen zu den Stufen When appointed to the ranks
Vor des Lammes Thron, Before the lamb’s throne,
Will ich eilen; Das Verweilen I want to hurry; the stay
Bringt oft um den Lohn. often brings around the wage.
Wer auf läuft, und läuft zu schlecht, Whoever runs, and runs too badly,
Der versäumt sein Kronenrecht. He misses his crown right.
Was dahinten, das mag schwinden What is back there, that will fade
Ich will nichts davon. I want nothing of it.

An unusual feature, unique at the time, ofbotl1 the English and German portions of The Ebenezer Hymnal is the inclusion of a group of choruses that had become popular an10ng the Pennsylvania GermaI1 bush-meeting churches. The hymnal contains 39 English choruses and 53 German choruses. It was in The Ebenezer Hymnal and Frohe Botschaftslieder that these choruses were published for the first time. 122

These choruses had developed largely in the camp meetings of the bush-meeting groups. In many cases the choruses first originated as English choruses in Methodist camp meetings and tl1en were borrowed by the Pennsylvania German groups. In any case they were transmitted from person to person by memory, a method which sometimes caused variation in both the text and music of these choruses. 123

Not all of the choruses sung in the church are necessarily found in The Ebenezer Hymnal. For example, “0, wie lieblich, wie lieblich,” one of the best-known choruses, does not appear there. The typical usage of these choruses appears to be in special meetings of the church such as prayer meetings, revival meetings, and camp-meetings.

Today the choruses are usually sung by tl1emselves by those who still sing them occasionally, bllt in the 19th century and even in the early 20th century the choruses were usually sung with verses from a hymn, or perhaps with verses from more than one hymn. Don Yoder has identified four types of hymns from which verses were chosen for use with the choruses. First, there are the High German hymns of European origin. Second, there are Pennsylvania translations of the Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley hymns. Third, there are Pennsylvania translations of camp meeting hymns written in America for the original frontier revivals in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Finally, there are original revival songs by Pennsylvania folk poets. 124

When singing the choruses with verses, the pattern would be different than what most people are familiar with to today. The chorus would be sung first, and then the verse would be sung after the chorus.

Unlike the typical choruses or refrains in the gospel hymns, which were written to be sung with 011e specific hymn, each of the Pennsylvania Dutch camp meeting choruses could be sung to verses of many different hymns, and, furthermore, the verses of a given hymn could be sung to many different choruses. For example, Johannes Walter’s hymn “Kommt, Bruder, kommt, wir eilen fort” was perhaps the most popular hymI1 used with these choruses. Verses from this hymn were used with many of the choruses. 125 A review of Don Yoder’s commeI1ts to many of the 150 song texts he provides in Pennsylvania Spirituals gives the reader some idea of the variety of hyn1ns which were used with any given chorus. 126 Specific hymns are suggested to be used with most of the choruses in The Ebenezer Hymnal, but there is no reason to believe that those were always the hymns with which they were sung by people from the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. 127 Several examples of choruses appear below. Some of these examples illustrate the characteristics of these choruses discussed above.

1. Wir gehen nach dem Himmel128

CHORUS
We’re going to heaven,
We’re going to heaven,
We’re going to heaven,
Where joy lasts forever.

VERSE
O, if I were only there already,
my Saviour, if I were there,
Where the hosts are praising you,
and singing hallelujah! 129 .

2. Selig im Himmel, selig in da Seel 130

CHORUS
Happy in heaven,
Happy in the soul,
Happy in heaven,
We all want to go.
And so happy in heaven and so happy in the soul,
Happy in heaven, hallelujah!

VERSE
O, if I were only there already,
My saviour, if I were there,
Happy in heaven, hallelujah!
Where the hosts are praising you,
And singing hallelujah.
Happy in heaven, hallelujah! 131

3. Meini Heimat iss nicht hier132

My homeland is not here,
My homeland is not here.
I know a better homeland than this.
My homeland is not here.

4. Un wann der Kampfvorbei iss (And when the battle’s over)133

Translation:
And when the battle is over,
We shall get the crown,
We shall get the crown,
We shall get the crown,
And when the battle is over,
We shall get the crown, in the new Jerusalem.
A crown, a crown, a crown, a crown,
And when the battle is over,
We shall get the crown, in the new Jerusalem.

5. Lobet ihn 134

Praise him, praise him!
Who gave his life for us, praise him!
He came down to us,
With patience until the grave.
Who gave his life for us, praise him!

6. Ehri ehri sei den Lamm135

Honor, honor, be to the lamb,
Be to the lamb, be to the lamb.
Honor, honor, be to the lamb,
In heaven and on earth.

7. Hallich auf da Reis 136

Happy on the journey, happy on the journey,
Thank God, it’s happy on the journey.

8. Glorie zu Gott, wir drinken Lebenswasser137

Glory to God, we’re drinking living water.
Glory to God, we’re on the journey home.

The Mennonite Brethren in Christ: A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns, Revised Edition, 1893

After eleven years, some segments of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ felt the church hymnal, A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns, needed revision. In April 1892 the Ontario Conference passed a resolution to “call the attention of General Conference to a cheaper edition of the church hymnbook.,,138 At the General Conference in October of the same year, the conference passed a resolution stating “That we have an amended and revised church hymn book-that some of the old hymns be expunged and replaced by new ones for regular church service-and that a supplement of revival hymns be added.,,139

This conference also appointed a committee of three men to revise the church hymnal. The committee included W. B. Musselman, D. Brenneman, and H. S. Hallman. All three of the men on this committee had experience in compiling hymnals. Daniel Brenneman had compiled Balm of Gilead on his own in the 1870s, and in 1879 he was appointed to the committee which selected the hymns for A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns and Deutsches Gesangbuch. Willianl B. Musseinlall was the compiler for The Ebenezer Hymnal and Frohe Botschaftslieder which were published in 1887 and also for the revised Frohe Botschaftslieder of 1891. Henry S. Hallman had compiled Songs of Glad Tidings.

The main section of this new hymnal had the same title as the 1881 edition of the hymnal: A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns. Like its predecessor, this hymnal contained no music. The contents of the main section were very similar to the contents of the 1881 edition. Some hymns were removed. Others were added. The bulk of the content of the main section of this revised edition, however, was identical to the content found in the original 1881 edition of the hymnal. The main section of the revised edition contained only 791 hymns compared to 834 in the 1881 edition. The entire hymnal was printed in a smaller format in order to place more of the content on each page. The result was a hymnal that was significantly thinner than the original edition of 1881.140

The biggest difference in content of this revised hymnal was the inclusion of a section at the end called Revival Hymns. The purpose of Revival Hymns was similar to that of The Ebenezer Hymnal. According to the preface of Revival Hymns, “This collection of hymns is to be used principally in revival, prayer, fellowship, and camp meetings.” The complete title included similar wording. It contained 189 hymns mainly of the gospel song type. Several of the gospel song collections from which the songs in this hymnal were taken were also consulted by the compilers of The Ebenezer Hymnal. These include The Quartet, Temple Trio, Songs of Joy and Gladness, Songs of Redeeming Love, No. 2, and Gospel Hymns. In addition to its inclusion in the hymnal with the revised edition of A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns, Revival Hymns was also printed under separate cover for convenience in its use in the special services and meetings for which it was designed. 141

Both the revised edition of A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns and the version of Revival Hymns published separately appear to have been used in at least some churches in the Pennsylvania Conference.

The Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Pennsylvania Conference: 20th Century Hymnals before 1917

Frohe Botschaftslieder was the last German hymnal published by any portion of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church, and as time passed there was less and less singing and preaching in German in the church. The Mennonite Brethren in Christ congregation in Coopersburg, Pa., though, did use a German hymnal at least as late as the pastorate of Emanuel N. Cassel who was the pastor there from 1910 until 1914. The hymnal used was the text-only version of Evangeliums-Lieder 1 und 2. This hymnal was published in 1897. It contained mainly gospel songs that had appeared in some of the hymnals in the Gospel Hymns series which Ira D. Sankey and others had compiled since the 1870s. The hymns in this hymnal, though, were translated into German. In addition some original German hymns were added to the hymnal such as “Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend,” “Ich will streben nach dem Leben,” and “Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’.”142

A rather unusual hymnal was apparently used in some congregations of the Pennsylvania Conference in the early 20th century. Judging from the copyrights of some of the hymns this hymnal could have been used as early as perhaps 1903 and may have been used in some congregations until Rose of Sharon Hymns was published in 1917.

This hymnal has no real title. The spine merely says “Hymnal.” In some cases the owners had their names engraved on the front of this hymnal. The hymnal is actually comprised of contents from six different smaller hymnals. The entire contents of each of those six hymnals are not always included. The original numbering of the hymns as found in the original six hymnals is retained, and in some cases large gaps appear between the numbers indicating some of the hymns from the original hymnals were left out. One of the six hymnals does not have the title listed, so the name of that hymnal is unknown. The first hymnal bound in the larger hymnal is Garden of Spices. The second is Songs of Christian Service, the third is unknown, and the fourth is Gospel Hosannas. The fifth hymnal is entitled Joyful Melodies for Revival, Tent and Camp Meeting. The hymns in that hymnal were selected by C. H. Brunner. The last hymnal is named Songs of Praise and Victory. The vast majority of the hymns in all six hymnals are gospel songs.143

The music to the hymns in this hymnal is included.

This hymnal is rather crudely bound. The print on many of the pages does not align squarely on the page, and on many pages the print is at the edge of the page. In some cases the printed material runs off the page.

Another hymnal probably used in some congregations prior to 1917 was Garden of Spices, the same hymnal which was contained in the Hymnal mentioned above. Some Mennonite Brethren in Christ members are known to have possessed this hymnal. It contains 347 hymns. The majority of the hymns in Garden of Spices are gospel songs, many of which were written by the compilers Flora B. Nelson, Fannie Birdsall, or T. H. Nelson, but well-known gospel song writers such as William J. Kirkpatrick, Fanny Crosby, H. L. Gilmour, W. H. Doane, John R. Sweney, Robert Lowry, Elisha A. Hoffman, and Phoebe Palmer Knapp are also represented.144

Garden of Spices, nevertheless, contains a number of standard church hymns from the 18th and early 19th centuries. Most of these are contained among the last third of the hymns in the hymnal.

Several pages in the latter part of the hymnal contain a standard tune at the top of the page with the words to three or four hymns below it on the same page. Those hymns are all intended to be sung to that same tune. Additionally, the last 64 hymns are printed in a compact form in which only the beginning of the melody is printed on one short line. Approximately four hymns can be placed on each page using this format. Therefore, only 26 pages are used to print the last 99 hymns which appear in this hymnal.145

The Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Pennsylvania Conference: Rose of Sharon Hymns, 1917

By 1915 a number of people in the Pennsylvania Conference felt the need for the conference to publish a new hymnal. The annual conference of that year authorized the presiding elder, Harvey B. Musselman to appoint a committee to include himself to compile a hymnal if the committee deemed it advisable. In addition to himself, Musselman appointed J. F. Barrall, Charles H. Brunner, Emanuel N. Cassel, and William G. Gehman.146

The following year, 1916, the committee reported favorably to annual conference on the proposal to publish a hymnal. The conference then passed a resolution to move forward with compiling and publishing the new hymnal. The same members of the committee were reappointed, and Rose of Sharon Hymns was published the following year.147

Rose of Sharon Hymns was used widely in the conference. Some people living today can still recall singing from it. The hymnal consisted of 755 hymns, and a heavy emphasis was placed on the gospel hymn. Myron Tweed estimates that about 73 percent of the hymnal consisted of gospel songs based on the fact that there are that many refrain type hymns in the hymnal.148

Many of the gospel songs were relatively new, written by writers still living at the time of publication. The hymns of certain hymn writers predominated. The most frequently used hymns were those of Rev. D. Wesley Myland. Myland wrote the words or music to nearly 100 of the hymns which were included in this hymnal. Other major contributors included Thoro Harris who wrote the words or music to 58 hymns in this hymnal. William J. Kirkpatrick wrote the music to 42 of the hymns and the words to one of them, and C. Austin Miles wrote the words or music to 35 more. These four writers alone wrote the words or music to more than 30% of the hymns included in Rose of Sharon Hymns. 149

Rev. Charles H. Brunner, who was on the committee that selected the hymns, wrote the words and music to four of the hymns found in Rose of Sharon Hymns. He also wrote the music to two other hymns found in the hymnal. Rev. Harvey B. Musselman wrote the words to two of the hymns in this hymnal. The music to one of those was one of the six which C. H. Brunner set to music. Figures 14 and 15 below show two of these hymns. To make it easier to read the words, the text of these hymns has been provided below the respective images.150

Most hymns in Rose of Sharon Hymns are no longer sung today. The majority are not contained in modern hymnals, and today’s worshipers are unfamiliar with them. The same could also be said of most hymns found in the Hymnal and Garden of Spices discussed above. This is not surprising when we consider that much of the material in these hymnals was relatively new. Most new material does not normally stand the test of time. A certain sifting occurs, and in time only those hymns generally recognized as truly superior would continue to find their way into hymnals. “I Love to Tell the Story,” “Higher Ground,” “He Hideth My Soul,” “The Ninety and Nine,” “Dwelling in Beulah Land,” and “Does Jesus Care?” are a few of the hymns found in Rose of Sharon Hymns which still appeared in many hymnals of the late 20th century.

Fellowship With Jesus

1. Walking with my Saviour, what a fellowship
Going at His bidding, He’ll not let me slip.
Trav’ling thro’ the valleys, climbing up the hills,
He is ever with me, joy my bosom thrills.

Chorus:
Let us live for Jesus; Keep our vision clear;
Lift our heads, beholding, Christ will soon be here.

2. Living for my Saviour, who His life imparts;
Shining thro’ the darkness into sinful hearts,
Lives of self-denial; living for the lost;
Drawing them to Jesus, His pure life they cost.

3. Suff’ring for my Saviour, who as Head complete,
Sanctifies my trials, makes my bitter sweet.
Pattern and Example, may we follow Him;
If we gladly suffer, we shall reign with Him.

4. Working for my Saviour makes my rest so sweet;
Leading sick and lost ones to my Saviour’s feet.
Seeking precious jewels, busy ev’ry day
Gath’ring out the Bride for that Millennial day.

5. Watching for my Saviour coming in the air;
Dearest of ten thousands, fairest of the fair.
He will change our bodies like unto His own;
He will bind the devil, then His “Kingdom Come.”

We Shall Meet Again?

1. Shall we meet one another again,
When earth’s sorrows forever are o’er?

There with Jesus forever to reign,
Shall we meet on the other shore?

3. What a glorious meeting ‘twill be,
In the home of the pure and the blest!
On the banks of the bright, jasper sea,
In that land of eternal rest.

Chorus:
Yes we’ll meet to part, no, never,
When this earthly life is over,
In that land where naught can sever,
We shall soon meet with Jesus there.

4. Then at last at the close of earth’s day,
When the fight with all sin shall be o’er;
With the saints robed in pure white array,
We shall dwell on the glory shore.

2. Many lov’d ones were torn from our side,
And were laid in the cold, silent, tomb;
Shall we meet them again with delight,
When from glory our Lord shall come?

Rose of Sharon Hymns was, of course, the last hymnal published by the Pennsylvania Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. In the future, congregations would adopt various non-denominational hymnals for their congregational singing.

Conclusion

The original Evangelical Mennonites had their roots among the Mennonites of southeastern Pennsylvania, and their early hymnody, therefore, reflected this background and the Lutheran and Reformed background which was behind much of the hymnody of the Mennonites in this area in the first half of the 19th century. Evidence of this background still appeared in the German hymnals officially published by the Evangelical United Mennonites and the Pennsylvania Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ in the 1880s.

Two major factors governed the evolution of the church’s hymnody as the 19th century progressed. First, the Evangelical Mennonite interest in revival and the Pennsylvania German background of most of the early members naturally led them to adopt many of the hymns and choruses that were used by the principal proponents of revival among the Pennsylvania German population in the geographical area where the Evangelical Mennonites originated. Those groups were the Evangelical Association and the United Brethren in Christ.

Second, the long-term trend toward greater assimilation of the Pennsylvania German population with the larger American society and the consequent increased use of English among that population, led the Pennsylvania Conference and the denomination as a whole to look beyond German sources for its musical inspiration. The church’s German hymnals of the 1880s both contained German translations of a number of the newer gospel hymns which were used so successfully in the Moody and Sankey revivals and other revivals of the time. The English hymnals of both the denomination and the Pennsylvania Conference reflected the increasing use of gospel songs as well.

By the 20th century, the gospel song had become the dominant type of hymn found in the hymnals used in Pennsylvania Conference churches. Rose of Sharon Hymns published by the conference in 1917 was the most important example of this, and the importance of the gospel song in the church would continue for many years after that but perhaps not to the same extreme found in Rose of Sharon Hymns and the other 20th century hymnals used by the church prior to that hymnal’s publication.

The Pennsylvania German heritage of the conference lived on for a while through the singing of the choruses in both German and English, but as time passed these were sung less and less frequently. Later efforts to preserve these choruses give us an idea of how these choruses were sung. Don Yoder recorded Harvey B. Musselman singing some of the German choruses in 1951, and Isaac Clarence Kulp recorded Ira Bright, Grace Bright, and Miriam Horn, of Calvary Bible Fellowship in Coopersburg, singing dozens of these choruses in German in the late 1950s and early 1960s. While these choruses are rarely sung in the church today (the Zionsville congregation, though, usually sings two or three of these at the annual New Years Eve service), a number of older church members can still recall a few of them, testifying to the fact that these choruses were still used at times by some congregations until well into the 20th century.

APPENDIX

The Gospel Song or Gospel Hymn

The gospel song or gospel hymn developed out of “several currents of American sacred music and three religious movements” during the period 1831 to 1875, according to James Sallee. 151 The religious movements include the city revivals, the Sunday School movement, and the Young Men’s Christian Association.152

One of the trends in sacred music to which Sallee refers is Rev. Joshua Leavitt’s The Christian Lyre published in 1831 for Rev. Charles G. Finney’s city revival meetings. Another of these trends is the movement promoted by Lowell Mason and Thomas Hastings to reform church music. The music written by men such as William Bradbury, George F. Root, and William J. Kirkpatrick for Sunday Schools also contributed to the development of the gospel song.153

Gospel songs were produced by the urban revivals of the mid-19th century. They succeeded the revival music from earlier in the century which was associated with camp meetings in rural areas of the country and were designed to appeal to the somewhat more sophisticated tastes of the city dweller.154

In order to better understand the nature of the gospel song, we will briefly examine some of the characteristics that occur frequently in many of these songs.

The Form of the Gospel Song

Most gospel songs contained a refrain or chorus which was sung after each verse of the song. One can see this in the hymns shown in figures 8, 9, 14, and 15 in this paper. There are, however, exceptions to this. The hymns, “Almost Persuaded” and “Hallelujah, What a Savior!” by the well-known gospel song writer Philip P. Bliss are examples of this exception. Another example of this exception is the hymn “I Gave My Life for Thee” in which Bliss set Frances Havergal’s words to music.155

The Rhythm of the Gospel Song

The tunes to the gospel songs are generally rather fast and contain notes of varied duration. Rhythm is more complex than in the traditional hymn. Gospel songs frequently make use of dotted rhythms such as dotted eighth- and sixteenth-note combinations.156 Examples of hymns using this type of rhythm include “Beulah Land” by John R. Sweney, and “At Calvary” by William R. Newell and Daniel B. Towner.

Sometimes gospel songs make use of a steady succession of eighth-notes as in the Bliss hymn “I Am So Glad That My Father in Heaven” (“Jesus Loves Even Me”).

Many gospel songs also make use of more complex time signatures such as six-four, sixeight, nine-eight, or even twelve-eight time. “My Redeemer” by Bliss and James McGranahan and “Anywhere With Jesus” by Jessie Pounds and Daniel B. Towner are good examples of this.

The Harmony of the Gospel

Song Gospel songs are almost always written in a major key. The songs are typically written in four parts, and the harmony is usually relatively simple. The most frequently used chords are the three major chords which are part of all major keys: the tonic, based on the first step of the scale, the subdominant, based on the fourth step of the scale, and the dominant, which is based on the fifth step of the scale. Other chords are used but much less frequently than the major chords. Chromaticism is introduced through secondary dominant chords and diminished seventh chords or by using ornamental notes which are not part of the chord being played or sung.157

For the most part, chord changes are relatively infrequent. It is common for chord changes to occur once per measure, and in some cases chord changes are even less frequent than that.158 In some measures, though, the chord changes will occur more frequently.

The Text of the Gospel Song

The main purpose of the typical gospel song is to testify, persuade, exhort, or warn. They deal principally with various aspects of individual salvation. Some of the themes found frequently in these songs include the Second Coming of Christ, the death and resurrection of Christ, heaven, the walk of the believer with Christ, and the joy of life with Christ. Many of the songs focus on Christ as redeemer. Man is viewed as weak, weary, or sinful and in need of a Savior. In short, these songs focus on the gospel.159

Examples of songs of persuasion or warning include “Almost Persuaded” by Philip P. Bliss and “Jesus is Calling” by Fanny J. Crosby and George C. Stebbins.160 Some examples of songs of personal testimony include “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart,” “I Love to Tell the Story,” and “Blessed Assurance.”161 Songs like “Throw Out the Life-Line” and “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning” exemplify the deep concern for lost souls found in many gospel songs and exhort the believer to help spread the gospel.162 The hymn “Beulah Land” is a well-known example of a gospel song which speaks of heaven.163

END NOTES

1 The organizational roots of the present-day Bible Fellowship Church can be traced to several Mennonite ministers and their followers who supported the revival methods common among Methodists and similar denominations. Forced from the East Pennsylvania Conference of Mennonites (the Mennonite group which John H. Oberholtzer and his followers started in 1847) to which they belonged, this group formally organized itself as die Evangelische Mennoniten Gemeinschaft (Evangelical Mennonite Society) on September 24, 1858 at a conference held in the home of David Musselman in Upper Milford Twp., Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. This group continued as an independent group until it merged with the United Mennonites of Canada, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio at a Special Conference in the Upper Milford Evangelical Mennonite meetinghouse in Pennsylvania on November 6 – 8, 1879. The new group called itself the Evangelical United Mennonites, and the former Evangelical Mennonites became the Pennsylvania Conference in the new body. In December 1883 at a Special Uniting Conference in Harrisburg, Montgomery County, Ohio, the Swank branch of the Brethren in Christ merged with the Evangelical United Mennonites to form the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. This name was retained until 1947 when the name was changed to the United Missionary Church. After this name change, the Pennsylvania Conference continued to use Mennonite Brethren in Christ as its name, and in 1952 the Pennsylvania Conference separated from the United Missionary Church. In 1959 this now independent group changed its name to Bible Fellowship Church, the name it has retained until the present.

2 The United Mennonites were formed in 1875 as a union between the Reformed Mennonites, which had congregations in Ontario and Indiana, and the New Mennonites which had congregations in Ontario. The former group was organized in 1874 after some ministers in both Indiana and Ontario were excommunicated by the Mennonite Church in those areas because of their support of new methods of church work including prayer meetings, revival meetings, and other related methods. The New Mennonites arose in various places in Ontario between about 1850 and 1860. This group also advocated the revival methods which the Reformed Mennonites engaged in. A detailed account of the origin of the United Mennonites can be found in Everek Richard Storms, History of the United Missionary Church (Elkhart, IN: Bethel Publishing Company, 1958), 30-50.

3 “Minutes of the 1st General Conference of the United Mennonites Held in Blair, Ontario, June 4, 5 and 6, 1879,” Gospel Banner, July 1879, 3.

4 Richard E. Taylor, ed., Verhandlungen (Coopersburg, PA: The Historical Committee of the Bible Fellowship Church, 1989), 126.

5 Deutsches Gesangbuch der Evangelisch-vereinigten Mennoniten-Gemeinschaft. Eine Auswahl geistlicher Lieder für Kirche, Haus und Sonntagschule (Goshen, IN: Druckerei der evangelisch-vereinigten Mennoniten, 1883).

6 Suzanne E. Gross, “Hymnody of Eastern Pennsylvania German Mennonite Communities: Notenbüchlein (Manuscript Songbooks) from 1780 to 1835” (Ph. D. dissertation, University of Maryland, 1994), 24; Harold S. Bender, “Hymnology of the American Mennonites,” in The Mennonite Encyclopedia (Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1956), vol. 2, 879.

7 The short name of the Lobwasser Hymnal was Neu vermehrt und vollständiges Gesang-Buch. Gross, Hymnody, 27 note 14; Mary Jane Lederach Hershey, This Teaching I Present: Fraktur from the Skippack and Salford Mennonite Meetinghouse Schools, 1747-1836 (Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 2003), 179; John L. Ruth, Maintaining the Right Fellowship: A narrative account of life in the oldest Mennonite Community in North America (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1984), 176.

8 Bender, “Hymnology,” 879.

9 Harold Bender, “The Correspondence of Martin Mellinger,” Mennonite Quarterly Review, V (January, 1931), 56.

10 Harold S. Bender, “Hymnology,” 879; Gross, Hymnody, 30; Bender, “Correspondence,” 56nn2-3.

11 The Notenbüchlein of Maria Alltörffern, 1785, of the Lower Salford School, and Elisabeth Hege and Elisabeth Schwartz, 1784, both of the Franconia School, all contain this statement on the bookplates of their respective tune books. Photographs of the bookplates of these tune books are contained in Hershey, This Teaching I Present, 89-91, plates 36-38. The Notenbüchlein of Maria Bächtel, 1788, from the Swamp School (Milford Township), and the Notenbüchlein made by Johann Adam Eyer for Henrich Honsperger, 1780, from the Birkenseher (Perkasie) school (Hilltown Township) also contain the same statement on their respective bookplates. Photographs of these bookplates and the bookplate of Maria Alltörffern mentioned earlier are reproduced in Cory M. Amsler, ed., Bucks County Fraktur (Kutztown, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1999), 103, figure 72, 115, figure 81, 120, figure 85, and 133, figure 88. The bookplate of Henrich Honsperger’s tune book is also reproduced in Frederick S. Weiser, “I A E S D: The Story of Johann Adam Eyer (1755-1837) Schoolmaster and Fraktur Artist With a 53 Translation of His Roster Book, 1779-1787,” in Ebbes fer Alle-Ebber Ebbes fer Dich/Something for Everyone— Something for You: Essays In Memoriam Albert Franklin Buffington (Breinigsville, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1980), 443, figure 2. See also page 462 of Weiser’s work for a statement on the similarity of Lutheran, Reformed, and Mennonite hymnody in Pennsylvania. See also Ruth, Maintaining the Right Fellowship, 176.

12 Vollständiges Marburger Gesang-Buch, zur Ubung der Gottseligkeit, in 615. Christlichen und Trostreichen Psalmen und Gesängen Herrn D. Martin Luthers und anderer Gottseliger Lehrer, Ordentlich in XII. Theile verfasset, Mit und ohne Rupferstück gezieret Und mit nöthigen Registern, auch einer Verzeichnis versehen, unter welche Titul die im Anhang befindliche Lieder gehörig Auch zur Beförderung des so Kirchen- als PrivatGottesdienstes, Mit erbaulichen Morgen- Abend- Buß- Beicht- und Communion-Gebätlein vermehret (Marburg und Frankfurt: Heinrich Ludwig Brönner, 1783).

13 Gross, Hymnody, 28, 28n18.

14 Gross, Hymnody, 28; Dennis K. Moyer, Fraktur Writings and Folk Art Drawings of the Schwenkfelder Library Collection (Kutztown, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1997), 60; Weiser, “Johann Adam Eyer,” 439, 442.

15 Gross, Hymnody, 33.

16 Ibid., 30; Hershey, This Teaching I Present, 179.

17 Gross, Hymnody, 30-33; Bender, “Hymnology,” 879-880.

18 Gross, Hymnody, 30-33; Bender, “Hymnology,” 879-880; Bender, “Correspondence,” 56; Ruth, Maintaining the Right Fellowship, 177.

19 Gross, Hymnody, 31-33; Bender, “Hymnology,” 880; Bender, “Correspondence,” 56-57; Ruth, Maintaining the Right Fellowship, 178.

20 Bender, “Hymnology,” 880; Section containing Psalms in Die kleine geistliche Harfe der Kinder Zions, oder auserlesene geistreiche Gesänge, allen wahren heilsbegierigen Säuglingen Gemeinden des HErrn zum Dienst und Gebrauch mit Fleiß zusammen getragen, und in gegenwärtiger Form und Ordnung gestellt; nebst einem dreyfachen Register (Germantown, PA: Michael Billmeyer, 1803), 1-40. Zions Harfe (1803) in future citations.

21 “Ein Register solcher Lieder und Psalmen, welche auf einerley Melodie können gesungen werden,” in Zions Harfe (1803), no page numbers in this section.

22 Gross, Hymnody, 31; Bender, “Hymnology,” 880.

23 Suzanne Gross states that three Ausbund hymns were included in Zions Harfe. John Ruth says two, and Theron Schlabach says there were four. The author of the present work has not compared the two hymnals to see which number is correct, but the difference is insignificant. Gross, Hymnody, 33; Ruth, Maintaining the Right Fellowship, 177-178; Theron F. Schlabach, Peace, Faith, Nation: Mennonites and Amish in Nineteenth-Century America (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1988), 92.

24 Weiser, “Johann Adam Eyer,” 462.

25 Ibid.; The doctoral dissertation of Suzanne Gross is an in-depth study of 68 of the Notenbüchlein. Gross, Hymnody; Mary Jane Lederach Hershey, “The Notenbüchlein Tradition in Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Community Schools,” in Bucks County Fraktur, 115-149.

26 Weiser, Johann Adam Eyer, 462; Hershey, “The Notenbüchlein Tradition,” 115-149.

27 “Sammlung alter und neuer Geistreichen Gesänge,” in Zions Harfe (1803), 3; Deutsches Gesangbuch, 196.

28 Gross, Hymnody, 552.

29 This can be seen in the most recent edition of Unpartheyisches Gesang-Buch the bulk of whose contents appear to be the same as the 1841 edition of that hymnal. Psalm section in Unpartheyisches Gesang-Buch Enthaltend Geistreiche Lieder und Psalmen, Zum allgemeinen Gebrauch Des Wahren Gottesdienstes, 45th ed. (Verlag von den Amischen Gemeinden in Lancaster County, Pa., 2006), 70; “Unpartheyisches Gesang-Buch, Zum allgemeinen Gebrauch Des Wahren Gottesdienstes,” in Unpartheyisches Gesang-Buch, 4-5.

30 Section containing Psalms in Zions Harfe (1803), 36.

31 Manuscript Tune Book of Henrich Meyer, Bedminster Township, Bucks County, PA, 1804, tune no. 3. Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, PA.

32 Psalms in Zions Harfe (1803), 36.

33 “Sammlung,” in Zions Harfe (1803), 333.

34 Gross, Hymnody, 442.

35 Manuscript Tune Book for Henrich Meyer, tune no. 30.

36 “Sammlung,” in Zions Harfe (1803), 278.

37 Manuscript Tune Book for Henrich Meyer, tune no. 85.

38 “Sammlung,” in Zions Harfe (1803), 248; Deutsches Gesangbuch, 295.

39 Manuscript Tune Book for Henrich Meyer, tune no. 66. 54

40 “Sammlung,” in Zions Harfe (1803), 205. 41 Gross, Hymnody, 684.

42 Manuscript Tune Book of Abraham Geissinger, 1810, tune no. 603. Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, PA.

43 Gross, Hymnody, 692.

44 “Sammlung,” in Zions Harfe (1803), 301.

45 Manuscript Tune Book of Abraham Geissinger, 1810, tune no. 619.

46 “Sammlung,” in Zions Harfe (1803), 336.

47 Manuscript Tune Book for Henrich Meyer, tune no. 29.

48 “Sammlung,” in Zions Harfe (1803), 187.

49 Gross, Hymnody, 619.

50 Manuscript Tune Book for Henrich Meyer, tune no. 16.

51 “Sammlung,” in Zions Harfe (1803), 3.

52 Gross, Hymnody, 595.

53 Manuscript Tune Book of Abraham Geissinger, 1810, tune no. 372.

54 Deutsches Gesangbuch.

55 “Doctrine of Faith and Church Discipline of the Evangelical Mennonite Society of East Pennsylvania,“ in “. . . What mean these stones?” ed. Leonard E. Buck (Coopersburg, PA: The Historical Committee, Bible Fellowship Church, 1983), 23.

56 Taylor, ed., Verhandlungen, 45.

57 “Doctrine of Faith,” 37.

58 One account of the events leading to the separation of the Evangelical Mennonites from the Oberholtzer Mennonites can be found in Harold P. Shelly, The Bible Fellowship Church formerly Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Pennsylvania Conference, originally die Evangelische Mennoniten Gemeinschaft von Ost-Pennsylvanien, (Bethlehem, PA: Historical Committee, Bible Fellowship Church, 1992), 11-21.

59 W[illia]m H. S[helly], “Our Hymn Books,” Eastern District Messenger, October 1947, 7.

60 At least two other writers have come to the same conclusion, but neither of them provides the sources on which those conclusions are based. Shelly, “Our Hymn Books,” 7; Samuel Floyd Pannabecker, Open Doors: The History of the General Conference Mennonite Church (Newton, KS: Faith and Life Press, 1975), 29.

61 Hiestand, Bechtel, and Schantz are not recognizable as family names of early members of the Evangelical Mennonites, but they are maiden names of some of the women who were original members.

62 H. B. Musselman’s copy of this hymnal is item no. 1168 in the Bible Fellowship Church Archives. Jubeltöne: Eine Sammlung von Liedern und Melodien aus deutschen und englischen Quellen zum Gebrauch für Sonntagschulen und den Familienkreis, 6th ed. (Cleveland: Verlagshaus der Evangelischen Gemeinschaft, 1871).

63 Elder W. B. Musselmen, comp., Die Deutsche Ausgabe der englischen und deutschen Frohen Botschaftslieder, zum Gebrauch bei Erweckungs- und Gebetsversammlungen/The Ebenezer Hymnal: For Revival, Holiness, Prayer, and Camp Meetings (Philadelphia: John J. Hood, 1887).

64 Elder W. B. Musselman, comp., Die Deutsche Ausgabe der englischen und deutschen Frohen Botschaftslieder, zum Gebrauch bei Erweckungs- und Gebetversammlungen (Philadelphia: John J. Hood, 1891). Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891) in future citations.

65 The publication information on these six hymnals follows. Evangelisches Gesangbuch and Geistliche Viole were bound together in the same volume: Evangelisches Gesangbuch oder Eine Sammlung Geistreicher Lieder zum Gebrauch der Evangelischen Gemeinschaft und aller heilsuchenden Seelen (Cleveland: W. F. Schneider, 1850); Geistliche Viole oder Eine kleine Sammlung Geistreicher Lieder zum Gebrauch der Evangelischen Gemeinschaft und heilsuchender Seelen überhaupt, 12th ed. (Cleveland: W. F. Schneider, 1848); Die kleine geistliche Harfe der Kinder Zions, oder auserlesene geistreiche Gesänge, allen wahren heilsbegierigen Säuglingen der Weisheit, insonderheit aber allen Christlichen Gemeinden des Herrn zum Dienst und Gebrauch mit Fleiß zusammen getragen, und in gegenwärtiger Form und Ordnung gestellt; mit einem dreyfachen Register, nebst einer Zugabe, 5th ed. (Doylestown, Pennsylvania: Jung und Löb, 1848); Das Gemeinschaftliche Gesangbuch, zum gottesdienstlichen Gebrauch in Nord-Amerika, 6th ed. (Philadelphia: Wm. G. Mentz, 1849); Deutsches Gesangbuch. Eine Auswahl geistlicher Lieder aus allen Zeiten der christlichen Kirche für öffentlichen und häuslichen Gebrauch (Philadelphia: Lindsay und Blakiston, 1874); Gebet- und Danklieder für Erweckungs- und Gebetversammlungen (Cleveland: Verlagshaus der Evangelischen Gemeinschaft, 1886).

66 Don Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals (Lancaster, PA: Pennsylvania Folklife Society, 1961), 393-394. A bushmeeting is a camp meeting. 55

67 Rev. Edwin M. Long, The Union Tabernacle; or, Movable Tent-Church: showing in its rise and success a new department of Christian enterprise (Philadelphia: Parry & McMillan, 1859), 28. Rev. Long lists the surnames of 105 ministers who preached sermons in the tabernacle. Among them are Mennonites Gilman and Shelley. These are almost certainly William Gehman and William N. Shelly. The name Gilman appears to be a typographical error. It is probably a misspelling of Gehman, the only other surname with a similar spelling that fits known Mennonite ministers. Gilman is not a surname known among Mennonites in the part of Pennsylvania which encompasses our study, and Wenger’s lists of Mennonite ministers contain no ministers with that surname [see John C. Wenger, History of the Mennonites of the Franconia Conference (Telford, PA: Franconia Mennonite Historical Society, 1937, 1985 reprint), 249-296 and 376-387]. Among Mennonite ministers named Gehman living during this time are John Z. Gehman and his son, John L. Gehman, the latter of whom was not ordained until 1858. In light of Long’s specific mention of his dealings with Mennonites in the Hosensack Valley (the Upper Milford Mennonite congregation is the closest to Hosensack and the Hosensack Valley) and his mention of the prayer meeting controversy at the Upper Milford Mennonite congregation, however, we must conclude that the reference to “Gilman” is most likely a reference to William Gehman, one of the Upper Milford Mennonite ministers, who was the only other Gehman that was a Mennonite minister at that time. There are only two ministers in Wenger’s Mennonite ministerial lists in the late 1850s named Shelly. One of them is Samuel M. Shelly, and the other is William N. Shelly. Considering William N. Shelly’s association with the Evangelical Mennonites, we must conclude that the man mentioned in Long’s list is almost certainly the latter. See also Shelly, Bible Fellowship Church, 53n32. 68 Taylor, ed., Verhandlungen, 27.

69 Long, Union Tabernacle, 28. The sole representative of the United Brethren in Christ in Long’s list of ministers who preached in the tabernacle is a Rev. Hershey.

70 Taylor, ed., Verhandlungen, 30, 32, 37, 39, 41, 49, 51, 57, 61, 65, 69, 88, 104, and 114.

71 Ibid., 79 and 88.

72 Ibid., 117.

73 Ebenezer Hymnal,135-141; Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 134-142.

74 The groups Don Yoder includes under the term “Bush-Meeting Dutch” are the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, the Evangelical Association, the Church of God (Winebrennerians), the United Zion’s Children, the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, the United Brethren (Old Constitution), the United Christians (Hoffmanites), the Evangelical Congregational Church, and the Holiness Christian Church. The same meaning is intended whenever this terminology is used in the present paper as well. Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, vii, 2n2.

75 Shelly, Bible Fellowship Church, 108.

76 “General Conference Minutes,” Gospel Banner, October 15, 1882, 1.

77 Elder Jacob Good, “Be not Conformed to this World, But be ye Transformed by the Renewing of your Minds,” Gospel Banner, February 15, 1883, 31.

78 H. C. Berger, “Musical Instruments,” Gospel Banner, April 1, 1883, 55.

79 E. Howard, “Praise Ye the Lord,” Gospel Banner, April 1, 1883, 55.

80 S. Y. Shantz, “Musical Instruments,” Gospel Banner, May 1, 1883, 71.

81 Abraham H. Moyer, “Musical Instruments,” Gospel Banner, May 1, 1883, 71.

82 “M. Instruments,” Gospel Banner, May 15, 1883, 79.

83 Ibid.

84 “The Service of Song,” Gospel Banner, September 15, 1885, 9.

85 “Singing Without the Spirit,” Gospel Banner, August 15, 1886, 3.

86 Bishop R. S. Foster, “The State of the Church,” Gospel Banner, November 15, 1886, 1-2.

87 Eusebius Hershey, “It Hurts the Singing,” Gospel Banner, February 1, 1888, 13.

88 William B. Musselman, “Our Sunday School Work,” Gospel Banner, March 28, 1893, 4.

89 Harvey B. Musselman, Vocal and Instrumental Music in Worship According to God’s Word (Bethlehem, PA: n.d.).

90 Ibid.

91 Ibid.

92 The Doctrines and Discipline of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church (1914), 44-45.

93 General Conference Journal Containing the Proceedings of the General Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church, Held in Nappanee, Indiana, October 5th, 1904 (Berlin, Ontario: H. S. Hallman, 1904) http://bfchistory.org/gencon1904.htm

94 Minutes of the Ninth General Conference, Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church, October 1916 56 http://bfchistory.org/gencon1916.htm

95 Ibid.

96 The Doctrines and Discipline of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church, Containing All Revisions, including those made at General Conference, Held at New Carlisle, Ohio, Oct. 11-16, 1916 (The General Conference Executive Board, 1916), 44-45.

97 Myron Leland Tweed, “A Study of the Function of Music Within the United Missionary Communion” (Ph. D. diss., University of Southern California, 1970), 60-61.

98 Ibid., 61.

99 Taylor, ed., Verhandlungen, 126.

100 “Preface,” in A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns, Adapted to Public, Social, and Family Devotion, and Designed for the Use of the Evangelical United Mennonites and All Lovers of Zion (Goshen, IN: The Evangelical United Mennonite Publishing Society, 1881), iii; “Vorwort,” in Deutsches Gesangbuch.

101 A. Kauffman is the minister Abraham Kauffman (1840-1889) and D. Gehman is David Gehman (1802-1881) who was the former deacon at the Upper Milford Evangelical Mennonite congregation and the secretary of many sessions of the semi-annual conferences of the Evangelical Mennonites. Both, obviously, were from the new Pennsylvania Conference of the Evangelical United Mennonites. At this time, the identity of M. Winch is unknown, but from the context, it is safe to say that he, too, was probably from the Pennsylvania Conference.

102 Tweed, “Study,” 105 and 108.

103 “Index,” in A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns (1881), 585-600.

104 Ibid.

105 Three copies of A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns exist in the Archives of the Bible Fellowship Church. All three copies state that they are the property of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Spring City, Pa.

106 Carl T. Martin, A Century of Faith, http://bfchistory.org/scity.htm.

107 In 1885 the General Conference voted to bind the remaining unbound English hymnals and reduce the price to 75 cents per copy. At the 1888 General Conference the conference voted to send all remaining unbound English hymnals to Berlin, Ontario, and the bound English hymnals to Brown City, Michigan. It is unclear that there were any unsold copies remaining for purchase by 1892. “Proceedings of the General Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ,” Gospel Banner, November 1, 1885, 9-10; “General Conference Proceedings,” Gospel Banner, November 1, 1888.

108 Walter Rauschenbusch and Ira D. Sankey, comps., Evangeliums-Lieder 1 und 2 (Gospel Hymns) mit deutschen Kernliedern (Chicago: The Biglow & Main Company, 1897), Hymn No. 210. This version contains music to the hymns. A text-only edition of this was also published. See footnote 142.

109 Deutsches Gesangbuch, Hymn No. 398, 351-153.

110 Gebet und Danklieder, Hymn No. 92, 82-83.

111 Deutsches Gesangbuch, Hymn No. 404, 357.

112 Taylor, ed., Verhandlungen, 159.

113 Ibid., 167.

114 Temple Trio (Philadelphia: John J. Hood, 1886).

115 Ebenezer Hymnal, 142-143.

116 Temple Trio, 110-111; Ebenezer Hymnal, 131-132.

117 Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 143-148.

118 “Melodien-Register,” in Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 149-150.

119 The term “Evangelical” here refers to writers who belonged to the Evangelical Association.

120 Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 354-361.

121 Geistliche Viole, 79-80; Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 45-46.

122 Ebenezer Hymnal, 135-141; Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 134-142.

123 Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 187, 343-348, 379-382, 388.

124 Ibid., 353-354.

125 Ibid., 349.

126 For spiritual No. 62, “Ich vair so garn” (Yoder’s spelling), for example, Yoder states that he recorded Christian Longenecker singing this spiritual with a verse from the hymn, “Kommt, Brüder, kommt, wir eilen fort.” He mentions that it is listed in Frohe Botschafter with the hymn “Was mich auf dieser Welt betrübt,” and he mentions that it appears in English in a United Evangelical hymnal with the Isaac Watts hymn, “There is a land of pure delight.” Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals., 247.

127 Ebenezer Hymnal, 135-141; Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 134-142. 57

128 Don Yoder recorded Harvey B. Musselman singing this chorus on January 20, 1951. Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 324. The chorus also appears in Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 139.

129 Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 324. The translations of the choruses and verses of this example and the following examples are not the English versions of these songs and are not intended to be sung to the melodies provided here. The translations are provided only to convey the meaning of the German or Pennsylvania German words to the reader.

130 Don Yoder also recorded Harvey B. Musselman singing this chorus on January 20, 1951. Note the use of the same hymn with this chorus as with the previous chorus. Ibid., 308. Also see Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 139.

131 Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 308.

132 June Hersh and Thelma Heist, interview by Andrew J. Geissinger, May 6, 2008; Robert Kauffman, interview by Andrew J. Geissinger, September 2008. The words and music to this chorus were obtained primarily from June Hersh and Thelma Heist. June Hersh and Thelma Heist use “nicht” in this chorus for the fourth word in the first line and in the second and fourth lines as well, but Robert Kauffman suggests that the Pennsylvania German “net” was used. No doubt both were used depending on who did the singing. This chorus is in Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 134. A version of the chorus also appears in Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 263.

133 Most of the choruses had both a German version and an English version of the words. That is the case with this chorus. The English version of this chorus is provided directly below the German version. The English version is not the same thing as an English translation of the German. A translation is only concerned with accurately conveying the meaning of the words. The English version of these choruses must also fit the music in addition to conveying the meaning. Thus, the meaning of the words of the English versions of the choruses do not necessarily conform precisely to the meaning of the words of the German versions of the same choruses. This same principle, of course, holds true whenever someone writes a version of a song in a different language than the original. The tune used here for this chorus is the one traditionally sung at the Zionsville Bible Fellowship Church. The chorus can be found in German in Frohe Botschaftslieder, and the English version used here is in The Ebenezer Hymnal. Frohe Botschaftslieder (1891), 142; The Ebenezer Hymnal, 135. Two other versions of this chorus using variants of the same tune appear in Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 296-298. This chorus also appears in English in Rose of Sharon Hymns with the Isaac Watts hymn “Am I a soldier of the cross,” the same hymn suggested for use with this chorus in The Ebenezer Hymnal. The tune used in Rose of Sharon Hymns is also a variant of the tune shown in this paper. The Rose of Sharon Hymns version places the verses of the hymn before the chorus instead of after the chorus as the chorus would have been traditionally sung. Rose of Sharon Hymns (The Hymn Book Committee of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ of Pennsylvania, 1917), 373.

134 The melody and words used here were sung by Ira Bright of the Calvary Bible Fellowship congregation in Coopersburg, Pa. Ira Bright and Grace Bright singing, recorded by Isaac Clarence Kulp, ca. 1958, Tape 49-1, Isaac Clarence Kulp Audio-Visual Collection, Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, PA. A version of this chorus with a variant of the same tune is listed in Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 261. Here and there an occasional chorus was published individually. “Lobet Ihn,” for example, appears as the chorus of the hymn “Kennt ihr Ihn, den theuren Freund” in many editions of the Evangelical Association’s songbook, Jubeltöne. See for example Jubeltöne: Eine Sammlung von Liedern und Melodien aus deutschen und englischen Quellen zum Gebrauch für Sonntagschulen und den Familienkreis, 34th ed. (Cleveland: Lauer & Mattill, 1889), 26-27. Earlier editions of Jubeltöne also contain this. A chorus called “Lobet ihn” appears in Frohe Botschaftslieder (see Chorus No. 24, p. 137), but while some of the wording is the same as the chorus under discussion here, the wording is sufficiently different that it cannot be sung to the melody in any of the sources listed here.

135 The words and music shown here are a version sung by Ira Bright. Ira Bright and Grace Bright singing. This chorus is also listed in Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 189.

136 The melody and words are from a recording of Ira Bright and Grace Bright. The words and melody shown here are repeated, and the second time through the chorus on the word “Gott” in the second line, Grace Bright, singing the melody, sings a B-flat instead of the C that was sung the first time through. The impression on the listener is that this is probably inadvertent rather than an attempt to deliberately sing the chorus differently the second time through. This may be an indication that these choruses, normally sung from memory and without music, were not always sung precisely the same way every time even when sung by the same person. In the version on the recording, Ira Bright sings a harmony part which has not been included in this paper. Ira Bright and Grace singing. Two versions of this chorus are listed in Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 235-236.

137 Words and melody are from a recording of Ira Bright singing this chorus. This chorus is repeated. Bright sings a B-flat instead of an F on the second last note of the repeat. Ira Bright and Grace Bright singing. The English 58 version listed here is found in Ebenezer Hymnal, 138. The Pennsylvania German version is also listed in Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 222.

138 Tweed, A Study of the Function of Music, 115.

139 “Proceedings of the Third General Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ,” Gospel Banner, October 15, 1892. These minutes are also available at http://bfchistory.org/gencon1892.htm

140 A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns, Adapted to Public, Social, and Family Devotion, and Designed for the Use of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ and All Lovers of Zion, rev. ed. (Berlin, Ontario: The Gospel Banner Office, 1893); Tweed, A Study of the Function of Music, 115-116.

141 Revival Hymns for the Use of Revival, Prayer, Fellowship, and Camp-Meetings (Berlin, Ontario: The Gospel Banner Office, 1893), iv; Tweed, A Study of the Function of Music, 116-118.

142 Walter Rauschenbusch and Ira D. Sankey, compilers, Evangeliums-Lieder 1 und 2 (Gospel Hymns) mit deutschen Kernliedern, text-only edition (Chicago: The Biglow & Main Company, 1897). The hymnal named in footnote 108 above is the edition of this same hymnal with music.

143 Hymnal (no publication information).

144 Flora B. Nelson, Fannie Birdsall, and T. H. Nelson, comps. and eds., Garden of Spices: A Choice Collection for Revival Meetings, Missionary Meetings, Rescue Work, Church and Sunday Schools (Indianapolis: Grace Publishing Co., n.d.).

145 Ibid., Hymn Nos. 249-347.

146 C. H. Brunner, ed., Proceedings Thirty-Second Annual Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, of Pennsylvania, Convened in Royersford, Pa., October 14-18, 1915 (Published by Order of Conference, 1915), 32.

147 C. H. Brunner, ed., Proceedings Thirty-Third Annual Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Chris, of Pennsylvania Convened in Philadelphia September 21-25, 1916 (Published by Order of Conference, 1916), 30-31.

148 Tweed, A Study of the Function of Music, 126. Estimating the number of gospel songs by counting the number of refrain-type hymns is, of course, imprecise. Most gospel hymns do have a chorus or refrain, but there are a number of exceptions. Furthermore, songs that contain a refrain do exist that should not be classified as gospel hymns. This does not change the main point that the vast majority of the hymns in Rose of Sharon Hymns are gospel songs.

149 Rose of Sharon Hymns; Compare also Tweed, A Study of the Function of Music, 126-127.

150 Rose of Sharon Hymns, Hymn nos. 425, 429, 435, 498, 502, 508 and 633; see also Tweed, A Study of the Function of Music, 127.

151 James Sallee, A History of Evangelistic Hymnody (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1978), 44.

152 Ibid., 44-54.

153 Ibid.

154 Yoder, Pennsylvania Spirituals, 423; H. Wiley Hitchcock, introduction to Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6, by Ira D. Sankey, James McGranahan, and Geo. C. Stebbins, Excelsior ed. (New York: The Biglow & Main Co., 1895; repr., New York: Da Capo Press, 1972).

155 Sallee, History, 77, 96; Hitchcock, introduction.

156 Sallee, History, 96, 98.

157 Ibid., 98.

158 Ibid.

159 Ibid., 77, 96-97.

160 Ibid., 87-88.

161 Ibid., 93-95.

162 Ibid., 79-80.

163 Ibid., 92.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns, Adapted to Public, Social, and Family Devotion, and Designed for the Use of the Evangelical United Mennonites and All Lovers of Zion. Goshen, IN: The Evangelical United Mennonite Publishing Society, 1881.

A Choice Collection of Spiritual Hymns, Adapted to Public, Social, and Family Devotion, and Designed for the Use of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ and All Lovers of Zion. rev. ed. Berlin, Ontario: The Gospel Banner Office, 1893.

Amsler, Cory M., ed. Bucks County Fraktur. Kutztown, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1999.

Bender, Harold S. “Hymnology of the American Mennonites.” In Vol. 2, The Mennonite Encyclopedia, 879-886. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1956.

_______. “The Correspondence of Martin Mellinger.” Mennonite Quarterly Review V (January 1931): 42-64.

Bright, Ira and Grace Bright singing. Recorded by Isaac Clarence Kulp, ca. 1958. Tape 49-1, Isaac Clarence Kulp Audio-Visual Collection, Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, PA.

Brunner, C. H., ed. Proceedings Thirty-Second Annual Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, of Pennsylvania, Convened in Royersford, Pa., October 14-18, 1915. Published by Order of Conference, 1915.

Brunner, C. H. ed. Proceedings Thirty-Third Annual Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, of Pennsylvania Convened in Philadelphia September 21-25, 1916. Published by Order of Conference, 1916.

Das Gemeinschaftliche Gesangbuch, zum gottesdienstlichen Gebrauch in Nord-Amerika. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Wm. G. Mentz, 1849.

Deutsches Gesangbuch der Evangelisch-vereinigten Mennoniten-Gemeinschaft. Eine Auswahl geistlicher Lieder für Kirche, Haus und Sonntagschule. Goshen, IN: Druckerei der evangelisch-vereinigten Mennoniten, 1883.

Deutsches Gesangbuch. Eine Auswahl geistlicher Lieder aus allen Zeiten der christlichen Kirche für öffentlichen und häuslichen Gebrauch. Philadelphia: Lindsay und Blakiston, 1874.

Die kleine geistliche Harfe der Kinder Zions, oder auserlesene geistreiche Gesänge, allen wahren heilsbegierigen Säuglingen Gemeinden des HErrn zum Dienst und Gebrauch mit Fleiß zusammen getragen, und in gegenwärtiger Form und Ordnung gestellt; nebst einem dreyfachen Register. Germantown, PA: Michael Billmeyer, 1803.

Die kleine geistliche Harfe der Kinder Zions, oder auserlesene geistreiche Gesänge, allen wahren heilsbegierigen Säuglingen der Weisheit, insonderheit aber allen Christlichen Gemeinden des Herrn zum Dienst und Gebrauch mit Fleiß zusammen getragen, und in gegenwärtiger Form und Ordnung gestellt; mit einem dreyfachen Register, nebst einer Zugabe. 5th ed. Doylestown, PA: Jung und Löb, 1848.

“Doctrine of Faith and Church Discipline of the Evangelical Mennonite Society of East Pennsylvania.” In “. . . . What mean these stones?” edited by Leonard E. Buck, 21-42. Coopersburg, PA: The Historical Committee, Bible Fellowship Church, 1983.

Evangelisches Gesangbuch oder Eine Sammlung Geistreicher Lieder zum Gebrauch der Evangelischen Gemeinschaft und aller heilsuchenden Seelen. Cleveland: W. F. Schneider, 1850. This edition bound with Geistliche Viole, 12th edition.

Gebet- und Danklieder für Erweckungs- und Gebetversammlungen. Cleveland: Verlagshaus der Evangelischen Gemeinschaft, 1886.

Geistliche Viole oder Eine kleine Sammlung Geistreicher Lieder zum Gebrauch der Evangelischen Gemeinschaft und heilsuchender Seelen überhaupt. 12th ed. Cleveland: W. F. Schneider, 1848. Bound with Evangelisches Gesangbuch.

General Conference Journal Containing the Proceedings of the General Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church, Held in Nappanee, Indiana, October 5th, 1904. Berlin, Ontario: H. S. Hallman, 1904. http://bfchistory.org/gencon1904.htm.

Gospel Banner.

Gross, Suzanne E. “Hymnody of Eastern Pennsylvania German Mennonite Communities: Notenbüchlein (Manuscript Songbooks) from 1780 to 1835.” Ph. D. diss., University of Maryland, 1994.

Hershey, Mary Jane Lederach. “The Notenbüchlein Tradition in Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Community Schools.” In Bucks County Fraktur, edited by Cory M. Amsler, 115-149. Kutztown, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1999.

_______. This Teaching I Present: Fraktur from the Skippack and Salford Mennonite Meetinghouse Schools, 1747-1836. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 2003.

Hymnal. No publication information.

Jubeltöne: Eine Sammlung von Liedern und Melodien aus deutschen und englischen Quellen zum Gebrauch für Sonntagschulen und den Familienkreis. 6th ed. Cleveland: Verlagshaus der Evangelischen Gemeinschaft, 1871.

Jubeltöne: Eine Sammlung von Liedern und Melodien aus deutschen und englischen Quellen zum Gebrauch für Sonntagschulen und den Familienkreis. 34th ed. Cleveland: Lauer & Mattill, 1889.

Long, Edwin M. The Union Tabernacle; or, Movable Tent-Church: showing in its rise and success a new department of Christian enterprise. Philadelphia: Parry & McMillan, 1859.

Martin, Carl T. A Century of Faith. http://bfchistory.org/scity.htm.

Minutes of the Ninth General Conference, Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church, October 1916. http://bfchistory.org/gencon1916.htm.

Moyer, Dennis K. Fraktur Writings and Folk Art Drawings of the Schwenkfelder Library Collection. Kutztown, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1997.

Musselman, Harvey B. Vocal and Instrumental Music in Worship According to God’s Word. Bethlehem, PA: n.d.

Musselman, W. B., comp. Die Deutsche Ausgabe der englischen und deutschen Frohen Botschaftslieder, zum Gebrauch bei Erweckungs- und Gebetsversammlungen. Philadelphia: John J. Hood, 1887. Bound with The Ebenezer Hymnal.

_______. Die Deutsche Ausgabe der englischen und deutschen Frohen Botschaftslieder, zum Gebrauch bei Erweckungs- und Gebetsversammlungen. Philadelphia: John J. Hood, 1891. Bound with an 1891 printing of The Ebenezer Hymnal.

_______. The Ebenezer Hymnal: For Revival, Holiness, Prayer, and Camp Meetings. Philadelphia: John J. Hood, 1887. Bound with Frohe Botschaftslieder (1887) when printed in 1887 and bound with Frohe Botschafter (1891) when printed in 1891.

Manuscript Tune Book Collection, Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, PA.

Nelson, Flora B., Fannie Birdsall, and T. H. Nelson, comps. and eds. Garden of Spices: A Choice Collection for Revival Meetings, Missionary Meetings, Rescue Work, Church and Sunday Schools. Indianapolis: Grace Publishing Co., n.d.

Pannabecker, Samuel Floyd. Open Doors: The History of the General Conference Mennonite Church. Newton, KS: Faith and Life Press, 1975.

Rauschenbusch, Walter, and Ira D. Sankey, comps. Evangeliums-Lieder 1 und 2 (Gospel Hymns) mit deutschen Kernliedern. Chicago: The Biglow & Main Company, 1897.

_______. Evangeliums-Lieder 1 und 2 (Gospel Hymns) mit deutschen Kernliedern. Ohne Noten. Chicago: The Biglow & Main Company, 1897. Words only.

Revival Hymns for the Use of Revival, Prayer, Fellowship, and Camp-Meetings. Berlin, Ontario: The Gospel Banner Office, 1893.

Rose of Sharon Hymns. The Hymn Book Committee of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ of Pennsylvania, 1917.

Ruth, John L. Maintaining the Right Fellowship: A narrative account of life in the oldest Mennonite Community in North America. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1984.

Sallee, James. A History of Evangelistic Hymnody. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1978.

Sankey, Ira D., James McGranahan, and Geo. C. Stebbins. Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6, Excelsior ed. New York: The Biglow & Main Co., 1895; repr., New York: Da Capo Press, 1972.

Schlabach, Theron F. Peace, Faith, Nation: Mennonites and Amish in Nineteenth-Century America. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1988.

Shelly, Harold P. The Bible Fellowship Church formerly Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Pennsylvania Conference, originally die Evangelische Mennoniten Gemeinschaft von Ost- Pennsylvanien. Bethlehem, PA: Historical Committee, Bible Fellowship Church, 1992.

S[helly], W[illia]m H. “Our Hymn Books.” Eastern District Messenger, October 1947.

Storms, Everek Richard. History of the United Missionary Church. Elkhart, IN: Bethel Publishing Company, 1958.

Taylor, Richard E., ed. Verhandlungen. Coopersburg, PA: The Historical Committee of the Bible Fellowship Church, 1989.

Temple Trio. Philadelphia: John J. Hood, 1886.

The Doctrines and Discipline of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church. 1914.

The Doctrines and Discipline of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church

Tweed, Myron Leland. “A Study of the Function of Music Within the United Missionary Communion.” Ph. D. diss., Univeristy of Southern California, 1970.

Unpartheyisches Gesang-Buch Enthaltend Geistreiche Lieder und Psalmen, Zum allgemeinen Gebrauch Des Wahren Gottesdienstes, 45th ed. Verlag von den Amischen Gemeinden in Lancaster County, Pa., 2006. 63 Vollständiges Marburger Gesang-Buch, zur Ubung der Gottseligkeit, in 615. Christlichen und Trostreichen Psalmen und Gesängen Herrn D. Martin Luthers und anderer Gottseliger Lehrer, Ordentlich in XII. Theile verfasset, Mit und ohne Rupferstück gezieret Und mit nöthigen Registern, auch einer Verzeichnis versehen, unter welche Titul die im Anhang befindliche Lieder gehörig Auch zur Beförderung des so Kirchen- als Privat-Gottesdienstes, Mit erbaulichen Morgen- Abend- Buß- Beicht- und Communion-Gebätlein vermehret. Marburg and Frankfurt: Heinrich Ludwig Brönner, 1783. Weiser, Frederick S. “I A E S D: The Story of Johann Adam Eyer (1755-1837) Schoolmaster and Fraktur Artist With a Translation of His Roster Book, 1779-1787.” In Ebbes fer Alle-Ebber Ebbes fer Dich/Something for Everyone—Something for You: Essays In Memoriam Albert Franklin Buffington, 435-506. Breinigsville, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1980. Wenger, John C. History of the Mennonites of the Franconia Conference. Telford, PA: Franconia Mennonite Historical Society, 1937; 1985 reprint. Yoder, Don. Pennsylvania Spirituals. Lancaster, PA: Pennsylvania Folklife Society, 1961.