Two Princeton Seminary Staff Honored at Hymn Society Annual Conference

During the Hymn Society’s Annual Conference — hosted this year by Princeton Theological Seminary from July 19–22 — two members of the Seminary’s chapel leadership team received major recognition. Dr. Melissa Haupt, Assistant Director of Worship, was inaugurated as the organization’s new president. Dr. Martin Tel, C.F. Seabrook Director of Music, was inducted as a fellow of the Hymn Society.

“Since its founding The Hymn Society has been a group for all who believe that congregational song is an integral component of worship and that value and encourage the writing and singing of new texts and tunes,” Haupt said. “I hope to continue to promote the mission of The Hymn Society by encouraging our staff to continue to dream and implement new programs and ideas, while working to ensure they have the resources needed to do so.”

I know of no other guild that brings together such an ecumenical spectrum of singers…you’ll see progressive Pentecostals and conservative Mennonites, Catholics and Protestants, young and old, all singing together — not debating, not arguing, but making a beautiful sound in unison and harmony. Where else can you find this?

According to Hymn Society custom, Haupt served on the executive committee as president-elect for two years before becoming president. As president, she will now serve a two-year term.

Tel was one of five people recognized this year as a fellow, which is the highest honor the Hymn Society can confer. Selected by the Hymn Society’s executive committee, fellows are typically hymn authors and composers, scholars, and editors of hymn collections. Tel, whose courses at Princeton Seminary cover musical resources for the congregation, the Psalms in worship, and collaborative worship planning, has contributed to or edited several books about the music sung in Christian worship.

“It is a deep honor for me personally to be named a fellow of this organization,” Tel said. “I’ve learned so much from other Hymns Society Fellows.”

Tel and Haupt are cornerstones of the Seminary’s Chapel Office Team, which celebrates music from across the Christian tradition during daily services in the Seminary Chapel. Tel facilitates the musical ministry for daily worship and directs the campus choirs and Haupt coordinates the Seminary’s worship life and offers pastoral care to the community.

“The music we make — the rhythms, tunes, and inflections — is a window into the diverse expressions of our community and our common Christian faith,” said Tel. “When we sing songs, anthems, and spiritual songs at Princeton Seminary, we are indeed expressing a faith that is deep within our community. I think that’s what people experience when they join our community in song.”

This year marked the first time since 1980 that The Hymn Society’s annual conference — the foremost gathering focused exclusively on congregational song in the U.S. and Canada — was held in Princeton. The conference draws top scholars who deliver plenary addresses and lead breakout sessions. Seminary faculty and staff were actively involved throughout the four-day event.

On the conference’s opening day President Jonathan Lee Walton, PhD, welcomed attendees. Dr. Mina Choi, MDiv ’16, the Seminary’s Coordinator of Worship and Music who is also part of the chapel office team, led an organ masterclass at the conference and helped lead morning prayers along with Haupt and Tel. On its final day, Dr. Keri Day, the Elmer G. Homrighausen Chair & Professor of Constructive Theology and African American Religion, delivered a plenary address on “Being Earwitnesses.” Nathan Stucky, MDiv ’10, PhD ’15, Director of the Farminary Project, also served as a plenary speaker on the topic of “All Creatures Here Below” and led a special session that allowed participants to work at the Farminary during a portion of the conference.

Dr. Brian Shetler, Head of Special Collections and Archives, arranged a pop-up exhibit of materials from the Seminary’s rare book and manuscript collection. The display featured historically significant editions of hymnbooks and psalters from the 16th-20th centuries, highlighting works from the Benson Collection, one of the Seminary’s most significant rare book holdings and the third-largest collection of hymnals in North America.

During a Tuesday breakout session, Tel and Paul Rorem, PhD ’80, a longtime Seminary professor until his retirement in 2021, shared their experiences working with church musicians, teachers, and pastors while using Rorem’s 2024 book, Singing Church History: Introducing the Christian Story through Hymn Texts.

Founded in 1922, the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada aims to encourage, promote, and enliven congregational singing by providing resources, leading events, and sharing news about church music, hymnology, and congregational song. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization continues to advance the study and practice of hymns in contemporary worship. Tel believes the Hymn Society exists not just for hymnologists and hymn-writers but anyone who loves to sing together in community.

“I know of no other guild that brings together such an ecumenical spectrum of singers,” he said. “Watch videos of the Hymn Society’s hymn festivals held in our Seminary Chapel and you’ll see progressive Pentecostals and conservative Mennonites, Catholics and Protestants, young and old, all singing together — not debating, not arguing, but making a beautiful sound in unison and harmony. Where else can you find this?”

For Haupt, the Hymn Society continues to express its belief that singing with others is a holy act that can shape, heal, transform, and renew — both in praise and lament. “The church continues to sing in hope, in pain, in prayer, in joy, and in trust to our God who is faithful, whose steadfast love never ceases, and whose mercies are new every morning,” she said.