Deborah Loftis takes over as executive director of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada in November.
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RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — A Baptist woman has been tapped to head an organization of church leaders and artists dedicated to preserving the congregational singing of hymns.
Deborah Carlton Loftis, visiting professor of church music at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, was elected in March to become the next executive director of the the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada.
She is scheduled to begin duties in November, when Carl Daw, an Episcopal priest and writer who has led the society since 1996, retires.
The society, which was founded as the Hymn Society of America in 1922 and changed its name in 1991, is open to individuals and institutions who believe congregational singing is an integral part of worship. The society promotes the writing and singing of new hymns and conducts research about congregational singing.
“Hymnody and congregational singing is a passion of mine and is at the heart of what I teach,” Loftis said. She has been a member of the society since her student days. She has been a contributing editor to the society’s journal, The Hymn, since 1979 and is currently the group’s president-elect.
Loftis said the new job is a full-time position, and when she takes over the society’s office will move from Boston, where the current executive director resides, to Richmond, Va., in space offered by the seminary where she currently teaches.
She said BTSR President Ron Crawford is enthusiastic about welcoming the society to campus. Loftis said she will continue to serve as a visiting professor at BTSR. She was a professor of church music at BTSR before a downsizing that eliminated four of the seminary’s 13 full-time faculty positions in April 2008.
Loftis previously taught at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., and Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta and was music librarian for the Birmingham Public Library. She has worked as a minister of music in churches in Kentucky and Alabama, and has been moderator for both the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Virginia Baptist Women in Ministry.
She is also a member of the board of directors of Associated Baptist Press.
As executive director of the hymn society, Loftis will be responsible for day-to-day operation, act as the organization’s official representative and promote its aims and objectives.
“I’m very excited about the new position and the opportunity to work with society members to promote and encourage all the facets of congregational singing,” Loftis said.
The society’s main event is an annual five-day conference held in a different city each year. This year’s gathering is scheduled July 12-16 at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. The society also publishes a scholarly journal and a newsletter.
Loftis takes her new position at a time when many churches — particularly among evangelicals — are trading in their hymnals for praise-and-worship choruses projected on screens. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., recently announced it is closing its stand-alone music school, after 65 years of existence, due to declining enrollment.
Loftis said she hopes to lead the hymn society to increase membership, encourage giving and “remind people of the importance of congregational singing.”
“I want to help congregations understand how singing and music help form faith and strengthen their community,” she said.
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.