“O sing unto the Lord a new song!” Psalm 96:1
The Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists has been given a new song of our own.
During AWAB’s 2026 Annual Lecture, the Rev. Nathan A. Russell introduced “All Praise Be Sung to the Maker,” a hymn written especially for AWAB and dedicated to Executive Director Rev. Dr. Brian Henderson.
Those gathered at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities then joined together to sing the hymn for the very first time.
A Familiar Tune With New Words
“All Praise Be Sung to the Maker” is set to LOBE DEN HERREN, a tune first published in a German hymnal in 1665 and familiar to many Christians through the hymn “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”
In introducing his new text, Rev. Russell reflected on the way familiar music can carry generations of memory while making space for new words and new meaning.
The idea for the hymn began after Rev. Russell asked Brian about his favorite hymn tune. When Brian named LOBE DEN HERREN, the creative process began.
Rev. Russell ultimately wrote four verses whose opening letters form the acrostic AWAB.
A Hymn That Reflects AWAB’s Witness
Across its four verses, “All Praise Be Sung to the Maker” moves through the Christian story from creation and incarnation to resurrection, Pentecost, and the promise of God’s future.
The hymn also gives particular attention to the table.
In the second verse, Christ welcomes all to shared bread and wine while affirming the worth of every human life. Later verses imagine resurrection as something the Church rehearses together and proclaim that no one is barred from God’s call.
The text gives musical expression to a conviction that has shaped AWAB’s ministry for decades: LGBTQ+ people belong fully in the life and ministry of the Church.
Singing Our Way Into Something New
Before leading the hymn for the first time, Rev. Russell reflected on why congregational singing matters.
As a pastor, he shared his belief that congregations can sometimes “sing their way into new being” before they have fully understood the transformation taking place.
A hymn gives a congregation words to share together. Those words can travel beyond the worship service, becoming part of what people remember and carry with them.
Rev. Russell described this kind of singing as an opportunity to imagine another way of experiencing the world and another way of living within it.
That evening, AWAB joined in that courageous singing together.
A Gift to AWAB
Rev. Russell wrote “All Praise Be Sung to the Maker” as a gift to AWAB and to Brian, whose leadership inspired the hymn.
Following its first singing, AWAB presented Rev. Russell with a 2026 Passion for Equality Award in recognition of his witness and the vision expressed through the hymn.
While the first notes were sung during our Annual Lecture, we hope they will travel far beyond that chapel.
We look forward to hearing “All Praise Be Sung to the Maker” sung in AWAB member churches and other communities committed to a Church where LGBTQ+ people are known fully and affirmed as the people God has created them to be.
Watch the First Singing of AWAB’s New Hymn
Hear Rev. Nathan A. Russell share the story behind “All Praise Be Sung to the Maker” and watch its first congregational singing during AWAB’s 2026 Annual Lecture below.