thehymnsociety.org

The Hymn Society lists a dedicated Scholarships & Grants section on its website, and its conference materials invite students and mentors to "Learn About Scholarships." That confirms scholarships and grants exist as a formal part of the organization's offerings — but the homepage evidence available here does not specify award amounts, eligibility rules, deadlines, or application steps. To get those details, you need to open the Scholarships & Grants page directly.

What the available site evidence shows

• The main navigation includes a Scholarships & Grants entry alongside Resources, Events, Membership, and Publications & Blogs.
• A conference photo caption reads "Students and Mentors Enjoying Our Conference" with the prompt "Learn About Scholarships" — suggesting scholarship support is tied at least partly to conference participation and to student/mentor relationships.
• The site's stated mission is to "encourage, promote, and enliven congregational singing," which frames scholarships and grants as support for people engaged in that work.

Who this likely applies to

Based on the site's structure and language, the scholarships and grants are most plausibly aimed at:

• Students studying hymnology, church music, or related fields
• Mentors working with students in those areas
• Hymn writers, including beginners and intermediate writers (the site separately runs a three-day "Writing the Church's Song" retreat for this group)
• Researchers and congregational song leaders connected to the Society's mission

Treat this as an inference from the site's categories, not a confirmed eligibility list.

What is not stated in the available evidence

The homepage material does not include:

• Dollar amounts or numbers of awards
• Whether grants are for research, travel, composition, or conference attendance
• Application deadlines or required materials
• Whether membership is a prerequisite

Because these details are absent, do not assume any of them. Check the Scholarships & Grants page for the authoritative terms.

How to find the specifics

1. Go to thehymnsociety.org.
2. Open the Scholarships & Grants item in the main menu.
3. Read the eligibility criteria and application instructions listed there.
4. If the page is unclear, use the site's Contact Us link to ask directly.

Related programs worth knowing about

If your interest is in hymn writing rather than a scholarship, the Society also runs Writing the Church's Song, described as a three-day writing retreat for beginner and intermediate hymn writers. That is a separate program from the scholarships and grants, but it serves a related purpose: supporting people who create and lead congregational song.

Membership in The Hymn Society gives you free access to the latest issues of the Journal of Congregational Song and The Stanza, along with special pricing for the Society's Annual Conferences. It also supports the organization's mission to encourage, promote, and enliven congregational singing. These are the benefits the Society itself lists on its membership page, so they are the concrete, verifiable reasons to join.

The Benefits at a Glance

The membership page states these benefits directly: "Benefits include free access to the latest issues of the Journal of Congregational Song and The Stanza, as well as special pricing for our Annual Conferences, and more." The "and more" is left open, so treat the four items above as the confirmed core rather than an exhaustive list.

Who Gets the Most Out of Membership

Membership fits people whose work or interest centers on congregational song:

• Song leaders and worship planners who want ongoing resources and a network of peers. The Society's own site highlights "Song Leaders At Their Best" and "Resources for Song Leaders."
• Hymn writers, including beginners and intermediates. The Society runs Writing the Church's Song, a three-day writing retreat for those skill levels.
• Students and emerging scholars, who can look into the Society's scholarships and grants.
• Anyone who wants to support the mission of shaping faith, healing brokenness, transforming lives, and renewing peace through singing together.

If you only want to attend one conference and have no interest in the publications or the wider network, the special conference pricing alone may not be worth it. If you expect to attend regularly or want the journals, the bundled access makes membership the more economical route.

How to Join and Manage Your Account

1. Go to the Society's website and open the membership section.
2. Choose your membership option and complete the sign-up.
3. Use the Member Login link in the site header to access your account afterward.
4. Once logged in, you can manage your membership details and reach member-only content.

The site also has a Donate option and an Online Store if you want to support the Society or buy resources beyond your dues.

What Membership Does Not Automatically Include

The membership page does not state that dues cover conference registration itself — only that members get special pricing. So budget for the conference fee separately. It also does not list every possible benefit, so if a specific resource matters to you, check the Resources section or contact the Society before joining.

The Hymn Society offers song leaders a dedicated resource hub on its website, including a page specifically titled "Resources for Song Leaders," alongside hymn collections, publications and blogs, videos, and research materials. Most of these are listed under the site's Resources menu, and some items — such as journal issues and conference access — are tied to membership or the online store rather than being fully open.

What you'll find under Resources

The site organizes its song-leader material into a few broad categories:

• Resources for Song Leaders — a page explicitly aimed at people who lead congregational singing, listed on the homepage under the heading "Song Leaders At Their Best."
• Hymn Collections — gathered hymn and song collections, including the centennial collection Storehouse of Song.
• Publications & Blogs — including the Journal of Congregational Song and The Stanza.
• Videos — including the Society's introductory video and interview series.
• Research — research-oriented material on congregational song.
• All Resources — a combined index if you'd rather browse everything in one place.

The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology

The site also links to The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology, a reference work useful when you need background on a hymn's text, tune, or author before introducing it to a congregation.

Publications and the membership boundary

Two recurring publications are named on the site:

Membership benefits listed on the site include free access to the latest issues of both, plus special pricing for the Annual Conference. The site also shows a Member Login and an Online Store, so expect some resources to sit behind a login or a purchase rather than being downloadable directly.

Events and training for song leaders

Beyond static resources, the Society runs an Annual Conference and maintains Conference Archives. It also hosts a Writing the Church's Song retreat — described as a three-day writing retreat for beginner and intermediate hymn writers — which is relevant if your interest as a song leader extends to writing or adapting texts. The 100 Years of Song interview series (a sixth series of nine online interviews with Hymn Society Fellows and leaders) is another way to hear practitioners discuss the study and practice of congregational song.

How to start

1. Go to the site and open the Resources menu.
2. Choose Resources for Song Leaders if you want the most directly relevant page, or All Resources to see the full list.
3. Check Hymn Collections for repertoire, and Publications & Blogs for the journal and The Stanza.
4. If an item requires access, use Member Login or the Online Store — the site does not indicate these are free.

One caveat: the site's own descriptions are brief, so the exact contents of each collection or issue aren't spelled out on the pages summarized here. If you need to know whether a specific hymn or article is included, check the individual resource page or contact the Society through the Contact Us link.

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.

The Hymn Society is an organization whose mission is to encourage, promote, and enliven congregational singing. Its stated vision is "to sing the world God imagines," and it describes singing together as a holy act that shapes faith, heals brokenness, transforms lives, and renews peace. It is aimed at anyone involved in or drawn to congregational song — song leaders, hymn writers, students, mentors, church musicians, and members of faith communities — and it offers resources, events, publications, scholarships, and grants as ways to take part.

What the organization does

The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada frames its work around a single purpose: strengthening the practice of singing together in congregations. Its materials describe that practice in both practical and spiritual terms — as something that forms faith and builds peace, not just a musical activity.

Its public-facing work falls into a few broad areas:

• Resources for song leaders — practical support for people who lead congregational singing.
• Events and conferences — including an Annual Conference and an interview series.
• Publications and blogs — including the Journal of Congregational Song and The Stanza.
• Scholarships and grants — financial support tied to study and participation.
• Hymn collections — curated and published collections of congregational song.

Who it is for

The Society's own materials show a deliberately broad audience. Its homepage imagery and headings name several groups directly:

If you lead singing, write hymns, study congregational song, or simply want your congregation's singing to be stronger, the Society's programming is built with you in mind.

Programs worth knowing about

Writing the Church's Song

This is a three-day writing retreat for beginner and intermediate hymn writers. The Society describes it as time away for people who work for the church week in and week out — space to rest, reflect, and re-inspire. If you write hymns and want structured time and guidance, this is the most direct entry point.

100 Years of Song interview series

Following the Society's centennial in 2022, it launched a series of nine online interviews with Hymn Society Fellows and leaders. A sixth series is scheduled for 2026–2027. Each interview shares a person's story along with their experience and perspectives on the study and practice of congregational song. This is a low-commitment way to learn from people deeply involved in the field.

Annual Conference

The Annual Conference is a recurring gathering, with conference archives available for past events. Membership includes special pricing for Annual Conferences.

Storehouse of Song

A hymn and song collection released in celebration of the Society's 2022 centennial. According to the introduction by editorial committee member Andrew Donaldson, FHS, the Centennial Committee charged the editorial team with a guiding vision for the collection — one centered on singing community, hospitality, and solidarity.

Publications

Two periodicals anchor the Society's publishing work:

• Journal of Congregational Song — the Society's journal; members get free access to the latest issues.
• The Stanza — also free to members in its latest issues.

Both are listed among the benefits of membership, alongside conference pricing and other resources.

How to get involved

The most direct route is membership. According to the Society, member benefits include:

• Free access to the latest issues of the Journal of Congregational Song and The Stanza
• Special pricing for Annual Conferences
• Additional member resources

Beyond membership, you can:

• Attend the Annual Conference — see the Events section for current dates and registration.
• Apply for scholarships or grants — the Society lists scholarships and grants as a category of its work.
• Join the writing retreat — if you write hymns, Writing the Church's Song is designed for beginners and intermediate writers.
• Explore the resource library — hymn collections, publications, blogs, videos, and research are all gathered under Resources.
• Watch the interview series — online and open to viewers interested in congregational song.

The site also maintains an online store, a contact page, and a member login area, so you can join, ask questions, or purchase materials directly.

A quick way to decide

If you want to learn about congregational song, start with the interview series and the resource library. If you want to participate, look at the Annual Conference and the writing retreat. If you want ongoing access to the Journal and The Stanza plus conference discounts, membership is the clearest path. And if you need financial support for study or attendance, the scholarships and grants page is where to look.