Melanie Howard, Ph.D., assistant professor and biblical & theological studies program director, has been praised for her work on the new Voices Together hymnal for Mennonite congregations in North America. Howard served as the New Testament scholar on a team that identified Scripture readings to include in the hymnal, which is scheduled for publication in 2020. “Dr. Howard’s scholarly knowledge of Scripture was crucial for identifying the more than seventy Scripture readings that will be included in the hymnal. Dr. Howard’s work with original language texts was critical in crafting arrangements of these readings suitable for use in worship and faithful to their primary sources,” stated a letter signed by Bradley Kauffman, general editor and project director for Voices Together; Sarah Kathleen Johnson, wordship resources editor; and Amy Gingerich, executive director for MennoMedia.
Voices Together is an international collaboration between Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada in partnership with MennoMedia, an interchurch media group. The volume is intended to succeed Hymnal: A Worship Book as a primary hymnal of the Mennonite Church in North America. In addition to songs, Voices Together provides resources for worship, including Scripture readings arranged for congregational use (voicestogetherhymnal.org ).