Music in the UU Tradition

Sunday services at UUCB often use Singing the Living Tradition, the hymnal of the Unitarian Universalist Church, which contains a wide variety of music. Originally, Unitarians and Universalists were separate denominations that drew heavily from Christian and Jewish traditions. However, after joining in 1961, they expanded their outlook and have become a more open faith tradition that embraces cross-cultural perspectives.

Our hymnal contains music and readings from humanism, feminism, mysticism, natural theism, paganism, in addition to Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Music includes works from not only the U.S. and Great Britain, but also Nigeria, the Philippines, India, Transylvania, the Czech Republic, and other countries.

We also use the new hymnal supplement, Singing the Journey, which provides a wealth of new musical resources that "reflect our theological diversity and our respect for the variety of cultural expression."

The following hymns represent the diversity of music that can be found in our hymnal:

• "Alhamdulillah," words and music by William Allaudin Mathieu, #180
• "Bring Out The Festal Bread," words by Mark L. Belletini, music: Hebrew Folk Song, #220
• "Earth is Our Homeland," words by Mark L. Belletini, music by Johannes Brahms, #309
• "Mother Spirit, Father Spirit," words and music by Norbert Capek, #8
• "Over My Head," words and music: African American Spiritual, #30
• "Silent Night, Holy Night," words by Joseph Mohr, music by Franz Xaver Gruber, #251
• "Spirit of Life," words and music by Carolyn McDade, #123
• "We Are a Gentle, Angry People," words and music by Holly Near, #170

The UU Musicians Network (UUMN) is another resource our choir and choir director can use.