Can we sing songs which have not been approved for worship in the GKSA?
We do not promote the order of Jesus Christ and the unity of God’s people when we sing songs that have not been approved for use in worship. Such a practice is understandable only when there is not a formal corpus of readily available songs.
How can we make song recommendations so that they can be evaluated by the GKSA?
Any church can send songs to the deputies for evaluation at jcp.rctshwane@gmail.com. Every song which is recommended must have a motivation to explain why the suggested song is necessary given the songs which have already been approved for use in the GKSA. Not the quantity of hymns but quality and liturgical functionality is of importance (See 2.2.4.3 of the GKSA Comprehensive Principle Design).
Why do the GKSA want to evaluate songs before they are approved for use in worship?
‘The song of the church is the confession of the church.’ The words we sing stay with us and influence our thinking and understanding of God’s Word. We learn what we sing and what we sing is what we believe (and come to believe) about God. Given this reality, we should consider songs to be akin to confessional statements. If a church in the GKSA was to recommend adopting a new confessional standard, it would be right and proper to expect all the other churches to be involved in evaluating the confession before it is accepted. The same idea holds true when it comes to the songs we sing. This is why the GKSA have established deputies to recommend Psalms, Bible Songs and Hymns for use in corporate worship.
Why did the GKSA decide to recommend the Book of Psalms for Worship?
Synod 2018 appointed deputies to recommend an English Language Psalter for use in the GKSA. The deputies evaluated a number of different Psalters, and decided to recommend the Book of Psalms for Worship. Their recommendation was primarily based on two factors:
1) Translation accuracy and excellence. The Book of Psalms for Worship is the best modern English metrical translation of the Psalms that is available.
2) The ability to use different melodies for different Psalms. The Scottish Psalm Singing tradition makes use of many Common Meter and Long Meter melodies. This allows for a number of different tunes to be used. The Genevan Psalm Singing tradition tends to have only one or two tunes that can work to sing a particular Psalm.
How does the licensing work for the BSW?
The Book of Psalms for Worship is produced by Crown and Covenant Publications. They are under the oversight of the Board of Education & Publication of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA). Churches which make use of the BSW (projecting the lyrics) are required to purchase an annual digital licence. The annual licence fee is determined by the number of members in the church, as well as the number of physical Psalters which the church owns (assuming many will project lyrics). Instead of each GKSA church purchasing their own licence, a single licence is purchased by the GKSA Admin Buro to enable the use of the BSW in all the English language ministries of the GKSA.