O God, overflowing fountain of goodness, clothe us with our Lord Jesus Christ. Clothe us with compassion, kindness, and humility. Clothe us with gentleness, patience, and forbearance. Clothe us with a forgiving heart. Clothe us with a loving spirit. Clothe us with our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray in his name. Amen.

Emily Ruth Brink (b. 1940, Grand Rapids, MI) graduated from Calvin College (BA in Music), the University of Michigan (MM in Church Music) and Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (PhD in Music Theory). She taught at Manhattan (Montana) Christian School (1964-1966), the State University of New York (New Paltz; 1966-1967), Trinity Christian College (Palos Heights, IL; 1967-1972), and the University of Illinois (Campaign/Urbana; 1974-1983), also serving as organist and choir director in both Episcopal and Christian Reformed churches in those areas.

In 1977 she was appointed to the Psalter Hymnal Revision Committee, and in 1983 moved to Grand Rapids in a change of careers to become the first music and worship editor of the Christian Reformed Church. She was the founding editor of Reformed Worship; editor of the Psalter Hymnal (1987), Songs for LiFE (1994), Sing! A New Creation (2001, 2002); co-editor with Bert Polman of The Psalter Hymnal Handbook (1998), and editor of many other worship-related publications. Since 1984 she has been an adjunct professor at Calvin Theological Seminary, directing the seminary choir in the first years, and introducing courses on church music and worship before being granted emeritus status in 2009. 

Her ecumenical work began with the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, becoming the first woman president (1990-1992); in 2006 she was named a Fellow of the society in recognition of distinguished services to hymnody and hymnology. She served in both local and national offices of the American Guild of Organists, and has been a member for more than twenty years of the Consultation on Common Texts, serving as chair from 2008 to 2014.

In 2002, she became a Senior Research Fellow at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, contributing to The Worship Sourcebook and other publications; serving as program chair of the annual Symposium on Worship; and helping to plan and participate in worship conferences in more than fifteen countries. 

Judy Hylton taught Music Theory for 37 years at the Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, Oregon, and has also been a long time church musician.  She developed and published two theory texts and accompanying workbooks, and though retiring in 2006, continues to offer private theory lessons from her Portland, Oregon home. Oregon Catholic Press (based in Portland) contacted her to provide accompaniments for several of their hymns; she wrote (7/22/2014):   “In 1990, OCP began publishing liturgical music in Spanish.  I think their main focus was the creation of a Spanish-Catholic hymnal (Flor y Canto).  They asked me to write some keyboard arrangements to accompany various hymns.  In all, I did forty-nine.”