About

Then Let Us Sing! is a new online musical portal, available in the fall of 2024. It will contain most of the pieces you’ve come to love from Voices United, More Voices, and Nos voix unies, plus a growing collection of NEW music. This digital platform will provide copyright cleared to all available hymns for print, projection, and streaming.

This resource is an investment in the faith formation and spiritual health of our United Church. It will provide adaptable tools to worship and music leaders, strengthen our ecumenical relationships, and introduce new music regularly to make this a living resource.

In order to develop Then Let Us Sing! in the most just and faithful way possible, we are engaging in a unique partnership with Hope Publishing Company and OneLicense.net (GIA Publications), industry leaders in the areas of Christian music publishing and worship music copyright. Our service partners’ expertise will help us ensure the just administration of copyright, empowering artists and creative communities across the world while ensuring dynamic access to customizable musical content for United Churches.

Use this informational brochure [PDF] to share the exciting news on the Then Let Us Sing! initiative – an online music resource.

For more short introductory videos to Then Let Us Sing! check out our playlist on YouTube.

Who We Are

Then Let Us Sing! is a new music resource and portal from The United Church of Canada, being developed by a diverse mix of volunteers and General Council staff from across Canada, each bringing their unique gifts and expertise to the project. Then Let Us Sing! also benefits greatly through consultation with representatives from United Church ecumenical partners.

There are five active sub-committees working on different aspects of Then Let Us Sing! to ensure our values of deep spirituality, bold discipleship, and daring justice are integrated and reflected through all aspects of this new resource.

Editorial Team

The Editorial Team brings together the work of the Then Let Us Sing! subcommittees while supporting the work of the Music Editor to oversee and make decisions on the overall project.

  • Chris Dumas, General Council staff
  • Bruce Harding, Music Editor
  • Catherine Faith MacLean, lead Education, Justice, and Ethos
  • Lloyd MacLean, General Council staff
  • Maren McLean-Persaud, co-lead, Material Curation
  • Sartu Mohamed, General Council staff
  • Paul Sales, lead, Marketing, Animation, and Fundraising
  • Alydia Smith, General Council staff
  • Joshua Zentner-Barrett, co-lead Material Curation, Music United

Education, Justice, Ethos

The Education Justice, and Ethos (EJE) sub-committee articulates the overarching faith formation goals of Then Let Us Sing! This sub-committee works to create strong theological criteria and rubric for music selection and edits from an anti-oppression, anti-colonial lens — including an ethical framework for copyright. EJE strives to build relationships with groups historically underrepresented in liturgical resources, and maintains relationships with ecumenical partners.

  • Cheryl Lindsay, Cleveland, OH (United Church of Christ – USA)
  • Catherine Faith MacLean, Edmonton, AB (EJE lead)
  • Lloyd MacLean, Salt Springs, NS
  • Alydia Smith, General Council staff
  • Peter Stickney, United Church of Christ Musicians Association – UCCMA
  • Becca Whitla, Toronto, ON and Saskatoon, SK
  • Emo Yango, General Council staff

Material Curation

The Material Curation sub-committee solicits new music from a large diversity of contributors and reviews it for inclusion in Then Let Us Sing! This sub-committee also introduces music that is already beloved, but perhaps unknown to the wider church, working to solicit work that represents more of a balance in various aspects of social locations than previous United Church hymn collections and sorting existing hymns for re-engraving, updating them where possible to meet our anti-oppression and anti-colonial lens.

  • Matthew Boutda, Toronto, ON
  • Deb Bradley, Toronto, ON
  • Bruce Harding, Surrey, BC
  • David Kai, Dashwood, ON
  • Amy Lee, Scarborough, ON
  • Sandra Litt, Hamilton, ON
  • Lloyd MacLean, Salt Springs, NS
  • Maren McLean-Persaud, Calgary, AB (Material Curation co-lead)
  • Sartu Mohamed, General Council staff
  • Geoffrey Pritchard, Edmonton, AB
  • Norman Robert, Montreal, QC
  • David Roger-Gagnon, Montreal, QC
  • Monica Rosborough, Athabasca, AB
  • Alydia Smith, General Council staff
  • Joshua Zentner-Barrett, Ottawa, ON (Material Curation co-lead)

Marketing, Animation, and Funding

The Marketing, Animation, and Funding (MAF) sub-committee works to coordinate a marketing strategy for Then Let Us Sing!, organizing promotional events and connecting with major church events and gatherings from 2020–2025. MAF also works with Mission & Service and the United Church Foundation to secure funding for Then Let Us Sing!

  • Chris Dumas, General Council staff
  • Rae Fletcher, General Council staff
  • Bill Gillard, General Council staff
  • Aaron Gallegos, General Council staff
  • Diana Hannaford-Wilcox, Thunder Bay, ON
  • Sarah Lough, Bond Head, ON
  • Lloyd MacLean, Salt Springs, NS
  • Kevin Parks, Halifax, NS
  • David Patterson, Orleans, ON
  • Paul Sales, Orleans, ON
  • Karen Seunarine, General Council staff
  • Alydia Smith, General Council staff
  • Emo Yango, General Council staff

Web Content Developer Consultant

  • Allan Buckingham, Banff, AB

ASL Interpretation Team

  • Robert Bhola, 258 Signs
  • Helen Bickle
  • Juan Jaramillo, 258 Signs
  • Leah Riddell
  • Heidi Tawse, Co-ordinator, Interpreter Consultant
  • Kim Upton
  • Phil Wilson, Co-ordinator, Interpreter Consultant

Additional Consultants

  • John Ambrose
  • Seiichi Ariga
  • Teresa Burnett-Cole
  • Andrew Donaldson
  • Jack Eby
  • Pamela Eby
  • Fred Graham
  • Wenh-ng In
  • Swee-Hong Lim
  • Jason Locke
  • Susan Lukey
  • Dianet Martínez Valdés
  • Deborah Park
  • Lydia Pedersen
  • Tom Reynolds
  • Noel Suministrado

Ministries in French Consultants

  • Claire Borel
  • Jessica Gauthier
  • Michel Gauthier
  • Pierre Goldberger
  • David Lefneski
  • Chad Linsley
  • Marie-Claire Saindon

Thank You!

We are grateful to the organization 258 Signs and the more than 50 people who have joined us for consultation meetings, sing and share sessions, and editorial review, including our currently inactive and former committee members:

  • Tonya Antone
  • Susan Blaine, United Church of Christ-USA
  • Darlene Brewer
  • Allan Buckingham
  • Hilary Donaldson
  • Matt Fraser
  • Aimee Gavin, General Council staff
  • Tessica Hackshaw
  • Terry Head
  • Tilman Jessen
  • Susan McPherson Derendy