The first, second and third place winners in the Pamela Anne Prevallet Memorial Fund Annual Hymn Competition were recognized in the daily chapel service at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, on Nov. 2. The competition was created in June 2000 by Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Prevallet in remembrance of their daughter. It also serves to foster the creation of new liturgical hymns of the highest caliber for the church.

Seminarian Lowell Nadler was the winner of the first competition. His hymn, “Be Still and Know That I Am God,” is a paraphrase of Psalm 46 and was written last year during his vicarage (a one-year internship) at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Richland, Washington. The tune was written by Daniel P. Niebuhr, a musician at Redeemer. The melody’s name, Richland, bears witness to its origin.

The annual hymn competition is open to students of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, who are serving their vicarage as a part of their preparation to serve in the pastoral ministry. In its inaugural year, entries were received from 21 vicars in the United States and overseas. The hymn, “A Blessing on Your Servant,” composed by seminarian Ted Groth, and the hymn, “God, Our Mighty Lord, Has Saved You,” composed by seminarian Karl Boehmer, received the second and third place awards respectively.

“Concordia Seminary is grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Prevallet for their generous gift to support this annual competition,” commented Dr. James Brauer, professor of practical theology and dean of the chapel at Concordia Seminary. “I am confident that this competition will encourage vicars to employ their talents in creating many new hymns for the church.”

The Pamela Anne Prevallet Memorial Fund at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, holds the copyright to the texts of the winning hymns in order to facilitate the usage of these hymns in congregations.

For more information, contact Dr. James Brauer, Concordia Seminary, 801 DeMun Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105; 314.505.7022; brauerj@csl.edu.