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Frequently Asked Questions
About the new and future Supplements

May we make copies of the hymns in the Supplement?

We have received numerous inquiries about making copies of individual pages of the Supplement. In most cases making copies of any pages of the Supplement is copyright infringement. The hymns in the Supplement are printed by permission of the individuals or entities that own those hymns, be they other publishers, individuals, the Christian Science Board of Directors, or The Christian Science Publishing Society. Even making a copy that includes the copyright language is illegal unless you have obtained permission of the copyright owner for your specific purpose.

The Christian Science Publishing Society has invested more than a year in the development of this initial Supplement. The owners of the music, arrangements, lyrics, lyric translations, etc. licensed very specific, limited rights to us. The Christian Science Publishing Society generally does not have the legal right to convey (sublicense) to individuals, committees, or branches the right to reproduce individual hymns. We have the right simply to publish and sell the entire compilation of the hymns in the Supplement. (Limited, one-time rights were purchased from the publishers/owners for the "Song Book" which was used as a Supplement introduction at Annual Meeting of June, 2008. Similar restrictions applied.)

As its name indicates, the Supplement augments the Hymnal and naturally would be placed with the Hymnal where it is being used. When considering how many to order, it would be logical to eventually own one Supplement for each copy of the Hymnal in regular use. Those who wish to use the hymns in the Supplement should do so directly from the Supplement, just as one uses the regular Christian Science Hymnal.

While making individual copies may seem a short-term cost savings, it is not lawful to do so for the purpose of sharing copies with congregations and members. It may be helpful to know that the production cost of the Supplement was largely underwritten by the Briggs Fund, making the price of each book substantially less than its actual cost.

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Will the Supplement hymns be translated?

Due to most publishers' copyright restrictions, there are no plans at this time to offer the new hymns in languages other than English. (A small abridged collection offers 12 Supplement hymns in German as a downloadable PDF. (Go to the Shop and find the Download Store. The Music tab includes this PDF along with music CDs.)

We are striving to include more global music in the next Supplement and are looking at hymns in languages other than English.

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Can we translate the Supplement hymns for our own use?

We are so grateful you’re interested in having the Hymnal Supplement in your own language, and we will do all we can to support you in this effort. However, there are some important legal considerations we must share with you in order to protect both your interests and those of our Church. The statements below represent the best and most up-to-date information we have; as we learn about additional translation options, we will update this page.

First, there are several new Supplement hymns that incorporate new musical settings with texts found in our Hymnal. As a result, the words to the following Supplement hymns already appear in translated editions of Hymnals that the Christian Science Publishing Society currently offers.

First line Hymnal Supplement
Blest Christmas Morn 23-28
432, 433
Brood o'er us 30-32
434, 435
Come, gracious Spirit 39
436
Father, we Thy loving children 58
438
Glorious things of thee are spoken 71
440
Here, O God, thy healing presence 109, 110
442
It matters not what be thy lot 160-162
447
O, sometimes gleams upon our sight 238, 239
451
Saw ye my Saviour? 298-302
454
Shepherd, show me how to go 304-309
456
Take my life, and let it be 324
457

U.S. congregations (and those in other countries where it is permissible) may sing the above hymn texts from the Hymnals—in languages other than English as published by the Christian Science Publishing Society—with the specified hymn tunes in the Supplement.

United States copyright law allows congregations—during a church service or in Sunday School—to sing the words from an authorized Hymnal distributed by CSPS with music played from an authorized Supplement distributed by CSPS. Unfortunately, U.S. copyright law prohibits individuals from transcribing these combinations of music and words and reproducing them, so please do not make copies or transcriptions. [We are sorry that we cannot list information for the many countries where branch churches now exist; so, branches outside the United States will need to inform themselves if this is permissible within the copyright laws of their own country.]

For your protection and that of the Publishing Society, please do not create printed sheet music or electronic files of informal hymn pages which “marry” English or translated words with the music from the Supplement. This applies to all countries and formats—print, recording, electronic documents or files, or any other tangible format. Though we cannot grant permission for the words to be produced in any print or electronic format together with the Supplement music, again, it may be fine to just sing the words during a service to the new music.

Copyright on musical pieces, especially hymns, is a complex issue. A few facts may be helpful in understanding the legal restrictions that govern the position we are required to take.

  • The Christian Science Publishing Society holds the rights or has contracted the right to create translations for some but not all of the Supplement hymns. We are exploring the cost and scope of producing complete translated editions of the Supplement. We will update this information here as more news is available.
  • We appreciate the eagerness and willingness of individuals to assist with this work, but out of respect for the rights of the many authors, composers, and publishers whose works appear in the new Supplement, we ask that you please refrain from writing, printing, or distributing any translations of the new Supplement hymns. Not only do authors have a right to control translations of their works, but composers also have the right to control derivative works that include their compositions. Therefore, such activity is considered an infringement of copyrights held by other parties.

In addition to the legal aspect of hymn translations, there is the desire for a unified, consistent presentation and use of the hymns throughout the world.

  • The English texts of the Supplement hymns received multiple and careful review before they were published. All English services around the world now sing the same words and music, thus providing a uniformity of congregational singing in the Movement.
  • Future hymn translations by the Publishing Society will receive the same careful review and editing process. This will ensure one, approved translation of the Supplement hymns for all, just as there is this uniformity for each translation of the Hymnal.

Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and cooperation in this matter.

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May we still submit hymns?

March 1, 2011 was the deadline for all hymn submissions to reach the Christian Science Publishing Society to be considered for the next Supplement. We ask that no further hymn submissions be sent at this time.

We are delighted to be working with the many hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of suggestions and original compositions we received from around the globe over the past two years. These are being reviewed and considered for possible inclusion in the next Hymnal Supplement.

Please check back for further updates as this project moves along! Thank you for your continuing interest and prayerful support.

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Can I submit a suggestion for solo music?

Exploring new solos for church services is another project we are planning. Please feel free to submit your solo suggestions and music, following the guidelines for submitting a hymn. We will be in touch about those selections and launch that project in the near future. (We can accept no more than 20 solo submissions from one individual.)

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We need help learning the new hymns as a congregation. Can someone lead a hymn sing for our branch?

The Christian Science Publishing Society is happy to send a representative to your branch to do a 90-minute Sing focused on the 2008 Supplement. This is offered at no charge to branches but we request a minimum audience of about 50 people. Read more about this opportunity and contact Hymn-Submissions@csps.com with your questions or to request a Sing.

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Our church is still considering our purchase of the Supplement. Can you please provide more information about this product?

As branches and societies consider this purchase, we are happy to answer questions. This informational flyer may be downloaded, copied, and distributed to your members or anyone else wishing to know more about the Supplement. Listening to some of the hymns as they were sung in The Mother Church during the Hymn Sing at Annual Meeting 2009 may also be helpful as well as watching a short video of highlights from that Hymn Sing. If you have further questions, please email Hymn-Submissions@csps.com.

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How were the Christian Science Hymnal Accompaniment 18-CD set (G425A50771EN) and the Christian Science Hymnal Supplement Accompaniment 2-CD set (G425A50799EN2) created?

The Publishing Society hired Peter Allen, a Christian Scientist who is a composer and pianist, to play through all of the hymns so they could be recorded in order to be used as accompaniment during church and Sunday School services. Then, each hymn was evaluated by a team of musically-savvy reviewers for tempo, cues, etc. Some hymns were re-recorded based on reviewer comments.

Simultaneously, we pursued and received copyright permissions so that we could include all of the hymns. The project took almost nine months to complete. The goal was to present the hymns so that the import of the healing words could come through clearly even while being sung.

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Will the next Supplement include the current Supplement as well as more new hymns?

We continue to work on preparing the next Supplement for publication. We are considering ways to offer this next collection so it is convenient and user friendly, together with the 2008 Supplement you have already purchased. We will post more information here when the final product design is determined.

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Will all the hymns be combined into one Hymnal?

There are no plans at this time to combine or change the Hymnal, but only expand the hymn repertoire with additional Supplements.

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Does the new version of Concord include the Supplement hymns?

The Supplement hymns are included in the new edition of Concord, both in the hymn text and hymn player feature. Find out more about the new Concord.

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Will there be a patch for the old version of Concord that includes the Supplement hymns?

We are not able to support or upgrade the older Concord software for current operating systems. Therefore, we are unable to offer a patch that will include new hymns. Please refer to the free downloadable Supplement Concordance for text searches. To hear the music one can listen to a CD shown on the right side of this page. (Let’s Sing! includes the words; “Christian Science Hymnal Supplement Accompaniment Hymns 430-462” provides just music.)

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