Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is pleased to announce the 2004 winners in the Pamela Anne Prevallet Memorial Fund Annual Hymn Competition. The competition was created in June 2000 by Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Prevallet in remembrance of their daughter. It serves to foster the creation of new liturgical hymns of the highest caliber for the church.

Seminarian David W. Seabaugh was the first-place winner of the competition. He wrote the hymn “When You Look Up from Tearful Prayer.” The hymn “Out of the Depths, O Lord, I Cry,” composed by seminarian Jonathan Gruen, received the second-place award. Third place was awarded to seminarian Jeff Alexander for his hymn, “We Praise You, Lord Jesus, the Word.”

The annual hymn competition is open to students of Concordia Seminary who are serving their vicarage as part of their preparation to serve in the pastoral ministry. “It is good to foster hymn writing as a pastoral activity already when pastors are being formed,” commented Dr. James Brauer, professor of practical theology and dean of the chapel at Concordia Seminary. “It could yield some good, new resources for ministry over the years.”

The Pamela Anne Prevallet Memorial Fund at Concordia Seminary holds the copyright to the texts of the winning hymns and a new page on the Seminary’s Web site (www.csl.edu/HymnCompetition.htm) is being constructed to display the winning hymns from the competition. The use of these hymns in congregations is encouraged.