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Music

Evangelism
Students from the Community Music Project rehearse for a 2022 Christmas concert to help Guatemalans in need of cataract surgery. File photo courtesy of Haven United Methodist Church.

Church’s free music lessons transform the community

Haven United Methodist Church in East Providence, Rhode Island, offers free music lessons and transforms the community. The church’s Community Music Project has become its most significant ministry.
Church History
The famed British carol “Good King Wenceslas” is inspired by a Christian martyr who remains an important figure in his Czech homeland. The real Wenceslas — known as Václav the Good — lived from about A.D. 907 to 929. For nearly 100 years, a large statue of him as an armed knight on horseback has stood proudly in Prague’s Wenceslas Square. It was sculpted by Josef Václav Myslbek. Photo by Ales Tosovsky, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The real story behind ‘Good King Wenceslas’

The famed British carol about a generous king on a cold winter’s night takes inspiration from a very real Christian martyr who remains an important figure in his Czech homeland. Some United Methodists see lessons in his story for today.
Worship
A women’s choir performs during the April 23, 2023, worship service at Central United Methodist Church of Quéssua, part of the Quéssua Mission in east Angola. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

‘Vamos à igreja’: Worship music in Angola

Church services in Africa often last several hours, and are full of joyful, infectious music. During a trip to Angola, videographer Joey Butler and photographer Mike DuBose were able to capture music during worship at two United Methodist churches.
Faith Stories
The Rev. Carlton R. “Sam” Young was a comprehensive contributor to church music for decades. He edited The Methodist Hymnal (1966) and The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), and earned distinction as a composer, arranger, conductor, teacher and scholar. Young died May 21 at age 97. 2020 photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Remembering United Methodism’s maestro

The Rev. Carlton R. “Sam” Young edited The United Methodist Hymnal but also stood out as a composer, arranger, conductor and scholar. He died May 21 at age 97.

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