What Is The Hymn Society's Annual Conference?

Updated

The Hymn Society's Annual Conference is the organization's main in-person gathering, bringing together people who care about congregational song—song leaders, students, mentors, and families among them. The conference is open to anyone interested in hymnody and congregational singing, though members receive special pricing. For the specific dates, location, and theme of a given year, you need to check that year's conference information, since the site presents the conference as a recurring event rather than a fixed program.

What Happens at the Conference

The Annual Conference is where the Society's mission—to encourage, promote, and enliven congregational singing—takes a visible, communal form. The homepage imagery captures the range of participants: song leaders at their best, students and mentors enjoying the conference together, and families singing as a unit. That mix suggests the event is designed for both professional development and shared worship, not a single audience.

Because the conference recurs annually, its content shifts year to year. The Society maintains a Conference Archives section, which is the practical way to see what past gatherings covered and to gauge whether the format suits you.

Who It's For

  • Song leaders — the site highlights "Resources for Song Leaders" alongside the conference, indicating this group is a core audience.
  • Students and mentors — the conference is presented as a setting where these relationships develop, and the Society points to scholarships as a way to participate.
  • Families — the image of a family singing together signals that the conference isn't limited to professionals.
  • Anyone drawn to congregational song — the Society frames singing together as a holy act that shapes faith and renews peace, which is the broad invitation behind the event.

Membership and Conference Pricing

Membership carries a concrete conference benefit: special pricing for Annual Conferences, along with free access to the latest issues of the Journal of Congregational Song and The Stanza. If you plan to attend, comparing the member rate plus dues against the non-member rate is the straightforward way to decide whether to join first. The site does not publish specific conference fees in the material available, so treat pricing as something to confirm on the current conference page.

How to Learn More

  1. Go to the Events section and open Annual Conference for the current year's details.
  2. Check Conference Archives to review past programs and get a realistic sense of the schedule and content.
  3. Look at Scholarships & Grants if cost or eligibility is a concern—the site explicitly connects scholarships to student and mentor participation.
  4. Review Membership to see whether member pricing and publications make joining worthwhile for you.

The conference is best understood as the in-person expression of a year-round mission. If you want to sing with others who take congregational song seriously, start with the current year's conference page and the archives to confirm the fit before registering.