Recognizing a person as a Fellow of the Hymn Society is the highest honor The Hymn Society can confer. Honorees may include authors of hymns, composers of hymn tunes, editors of hymn books, and recognized scholars in the field of hymnology. Honorees are selected by the Executive Committee and are announced at the Annual Meeting.
We are excited to announce our five newest Fellows:
- Beverly Howard, 2026 View Fellow Announcement
- Mary Nelson Keithahn, 2026 View Fellow Announcement
- J. Michael McMahon, 2026 Fellow Announcement coming soon
- Martin Tel, 2026 View Fellow Announcement
- Karen Westerfield Tucker, 2026 View Fellow Announcement
Full List of Fellows
- *William Walker Rockwell, 1942
- *Harry Thacker Burleigh, 1944
- *Clarence Dickinson, 1946
- *Helen Adell Dickinson, 1946
- *Henry Wilder Foote, 1952
- *Harry Emerson Fosdick, 1952
- *J. Vincent Higginson, 1952
- *John Haynes Holmes, 1952
- *William Pierson Merrill, 1952
- *Luther D. Reed, 1956
- *Ruth Ellis Messenger, 1957
- *Walter Edwin Buszin, 1962
- *Leonard Ellinwood, 1962
- *Armin Haeussler, 1962
- *Earl E. Harper, 1962
- *Thomas Tiplady, 1962
- *Deane Edwards, 1966
- *William Watkins Reid, 1967
- *Phillip Sidney Watters, 1968
- *David Hugh Jones, 1970
- *Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., 1972
- *Shirley Lewis Brown, 1972
- *George Litch Knight, 1972
- *Jean Woodward Steele, 1972
- *Jan O. Bender, 1975
- *Ralph Mortensen, 1975
- *Francis Bland Tucker, 1980
- *Fred Pratt Green, 1982
- *Frank Von Christierson, 1982
- *James Rawlings Sydnor, 1983
- *Anatasia Van Burkalow, 1983
- *Erik Routley, 1985 (posthumously)
- *John Whitridge Wilson, 1985
- *Austin Cole Lovelace, 1986
- *Stanley Llewellen Osborne, 1986
- *Jaroslav Jan Vajda, 1988
- *Donald Paul Hustad, 1989
- *Mary K. Oyer, 1989
- *George Herbert Shorney, 1990
- *Hugh Thomas McElrath, 1991
- *William Jensen Reynolds, 1992
- *Carl F. Schalk, 1992
- *Margaret Clarkson, 1993
- *Carlton R. Young, 1993
- *Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter, 1995
- I-to Loh, 1995
- *Mary Louise VanDyke, 1996
- *W. Thomas Smith, 1996
- *Sylvia G. Dunstan, 1996 (posthumously)
- *L. David Miller, 1997
- *Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1997
- *Alice Parker, 2000
- *Frederik Herman Kaan, 2001
- Brian A. Wren, 2001
- *Harry L. Eskew, 2002
- Emily R. Brink, 2004
- *Herman Gustav Steumpfle, Jr., 2004
- Paul H. Westermeyer, 2004
- Robert J. Batastini, 2006
- Carl P. Daw, Jr., 2007
- John L. Bell, 2007
- C. Michael Hawn, 2008
- *Shirley Erena Murray, 2009
- David W. Music, 2010
- Paul A. Richardson, 2010
- *Paul R. Powell, 2010
- *Ruth C. Duck, 2013
- Delores Dufner, 2013
- Fred Kimball Graham, 2014
- *Nicholas Temperley, 2014
- *W. James Abbington, Jr., 2015
- Daniel Charles Damon, 2016
- Deborah Carlton Loftis, 2016
- John Thornburg, 2016
- John Ambrose, 2017
- *Melva W. Costen, 2017
- *João Faustini, 2017
- John Richard “Dick” Watson, 2017
- S T Kimbrough, Jr., 2018
- *Patrick Matsikenyiri, 2018
- *Pablo Sosa, 2018
- Ken Nafziger, 2019
- *Thomas H. Troeger, 2019
- Mary Louise Bringle, 2020
- Nancy Rosenberger Faus-Mullen, 2020
- Gracia Marie Grindal, 2020
- Andrew Donaldson, 2021
- Robin Knowles Wallace, 2021
- Sally Ann Morris, 2021
- Ysaye Maria Barnwell, 2022
- Jacque Browning Jones, 2022
- Per Harling, 2022
- Lim Swee Hong, 2022
- Randall Sensmeier, 2022
- Cynthia A. Wilson, 2022
- David E. Eicher, 2023
- Simei Monteiro, 2023
- Marty Haugen, 2024
- Jan Kraybill, 2024
- Mark Miller, 2024
- Adam M. L. Tice, 2024
- Jan Michael Joncas, 2025
- *Raquel Mora Martínez, 2025
- Mary Frances Reza, 2025
- Tina Schneider, 2025
- Beverly Howard, 2026
- Mary Nelson Keithahn, 2026
- J. Michael McMahon, 2026
- Martin Tel, 2026
- Karen Westerfield Tucker, 2026
* denotes the individual is deceased
Click the names of Fellows named from 2017 onwards to read their press releases/Fellow announcements
Fellows of The Hymn Society in attendance
at the 2024 Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA
(back row, left to right) Daniel Charles Damon, C. Michael Hawn, Mary Louise Bringle, Adam M. L. Tice
(center row, left to right) Jacque Browning Jones, Carl P. Daw, Jr, David E. Eicher, Emily R. Brink, Jan Kraybill
(front row, left to right) Deborah Carlton Loftis, Cynthia A. Wilson, Sally Ann Morris, Mark Miller