RLC Network Common Hymnal

Common Hymnal

Common Hymnal has been working these past few years to create something special. As today’s generation engages less and less in the ‘overground’ church, we have been investing in the spiritual underground, building out a virtual library to facilitate a vibrant and ongoing exchange of songs, stories and ideas between the various communities in this space. We have treasure-hunted the uttermost extremities of the faith to stock this library with quality content, steering clear of cliches and spiritual fads in an effort to contribute meaningfully to a culture that values thoughtfulness and honesty. A growing realization: you get a much better view of the the future when you spend time at the margins. A growing hope: the transformation that happens when God’s people grab a hold of the future and drag it into the present. In the underground, praise and protest are inextricably intertwined. Spirituality is not escapist or dualist: it is real, integrated, and has a social conscience. Spiritual colonization is taboo. Likewise with this hymnal. We would like to see the seamless worship set replaced by a more democratized ritual that includes more art forms, a broader range of subject matter and a gutsy honesty. A kind way of saying: 'No more cliches! No more karaoke!' We are purposefully not pursuing a footprint in the current CCM/worship sub-culture, but are working, slowly and carefully, to coalesce a new demographic, serious Christ followers who find themselves on the outskirts as a result of not fully connecting with mainstream Christian culture. Therefore, we have been building out a Discord community (as part of our Patreon) to kill several birds with one stone: coalesce the uncoalesced into a new ecosystem; provide opportunity for underground creatives to meet, learn and collaborate; give underground activists backstage access to our content creation and internal communications; and realize some financial support.

The Kingdom Is Yours

August 31, 2023

Church Life, General, Interfaith, Peace & Nonviolence, Revival, Theology

Editor's Note: originally published on RLC blog on August 23, 2022. ”The Kingdom Is Yours is a song for everyone who thought God left them when he was needed the most. The opposite is the most true. God sh...

The Kingdom Is Yours

August 23, 2022

Peace & Nonviolence, Practical Justice, Theology

”The Kingdom Is Yours is a song for everyone who thought God left them when he was needed the most. The opposite is the most true. God shares his hope and kingdom not with the elite, but with the lowly.” (Dee W...

I Don’t Know Justice

August 15, 2022

Peace & Nonviolence, Practical Justice, Race

I don’t know Justice! And I have not met Peace. Well, I was told that I met her. I was told that Peace has been around here, but they must be confused. Confused with Silence, perhaps, In fact - I asked he...

H.R. 40 (REPARATIONS NOW)

August 9, 2022

Practical Justice, Race

"While it might be convenient to assume that we can address the current divisive racial and political climate in our nation through race neutral means, experience shows that we have not escaped our history. Tho...

Walk With Me

February 10, 2022

Art, Church Life, Politics, Race

Rev Otis Moss III, founder of Unashamed Media Group, asked Common Hymnal to contribute music for "Otis' Dream," the Get Out The Vote film he wrote and produced for the 2020 election. More specifically, he asked them to produce a new arrangement of the old spiritual 'I Want Jesus To Walk With Me' for the final credits.

Waking Up

July 8, 2020

Art, Practical Justice, Revival

I turn my face with hand upraised overwhelmed by the rays of truth That illuminate injustice

How Much Longer (by Common Hymnal)

June 8, 2020

Art, Church Life, Race

Oh brother, lay your weapons down, where the river of justice rolls and all oppression drowns.