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Presbyterian News Service

Beer + hymns = fun for all

A cherished tradition of the Worship & Music Conference gathers a crowd of about 200 conferees

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June 18, 2025

Mike Ferguson

Presbyterian News Service

MONTREAT, North Carolina — You could almost see conferees’ hair being let down this week during the Worship & Music Conference’s Beer and Hymns sing-along held at the White Horse Black Mountain music venue in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Beers & Hymns PAM 2025

For the fifth time in the long history of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Worship & Music Conference, participants celebrated the popular event, which is pretty much like it sounds: the crowd of about 200 people purchased a beverage or two, found a seat, and then sang, with gusto and great affection, some of their favorite hymns, both old and new. Lyrics and music were displayed on a large screen, and talented musicians accompanied the crowd. Two sets of hymns left the singers — most of them pastors or church musicians — with large grins on their faces.

“It’s the joy of singing,” said Kelly Abraham, PAM’s executive director. “It’s relaxing, and for this community, it’s so happy and so joyful. Amidst everything going on in the world, people can just come and sing.”

Abraham praised the talented organizers and musicians, pointing out that many are decidedly younger than most Presbyterians are.

“This organization will thrive. We’ve really tried to engage younger people,” she said. “The future of our denomination will depend bringing younger people into the fold.”

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Beer & Hymns musicians
Dozens of musicians answered the call to sing and provide accompaniment during Beer & Hymns night (photo by Alex Simon).

Dillon Swanson, Director of Music Ministries at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, Virginia, organized this year’s event, which is always a conference highlight. When he put out an all-call for instrumentalists and singers to help lead the event, dozens of people responded. In the end, the first 30 or so musicians who responded participated on Tuesday night, rotating on and off the stage during a brief intermission. In addition to singers, the event featured piano, guitars, violin, trumpet, ukulele, percussion, and more.

“This brings us back to the roots of Protestant worship,” Swanson said, noting that ties to Reformers including Martin Luther. Some of our best-loved hymns were once songs to drink beer to, he said.

Beers & Hymns PAM '25 sign

“What we do in church is so counter-cultural,” Swanson said. “Where else do we sing together like this?”

Just minutes before taking the stage, Swanson was illuminating the virtues of spending a week or two with musical colleagues from around the country.

“I always leave this conference refreshed and reassured of my call,” Swanson said. “Our support system really works.” When a church musician is seeking ideas or needs a colleague to lean on, help is readily available, he said. “We’re all rooting for each other.”

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Lovers of great hymns and good beer turned out for Beer & Hymns night at the White Horse Black Mountain music venue (photo by Alex Simon).

As the event began, Swanson invited the large crowd to “sit back, have a beer and sing some hymns.”

Musicians expertly alternated between traditional hymns and more modern works. During the first set, “Ten Thousand Reasons” was followed by “How Great Thou Art,” which included a beautiful a cappella verse.

The pattern of old and new continued throughout the first set, with “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” following “Draw the Circle Wider” and “Down the River to Pray” being sung after “Canticle of the Turning.”

Singing “For Everyone Born” led many conferees to turn on their cellphone flashlights and sway the light back and forth. Other hymns included “How Firm a Foundation” and “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.”

Abraham summed up Beer and Hymns this way: “This event de-formalizes the conference.”

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