Songs are often sung during times of celebration.

When it comes to celebrating God, or a higher entity, song has the power to unite people.

“It physically changes us,” said Brian Hehn of Dallas, an employee of the Hymns Society and director of the Center For Congregational Song. “When we sing, it unifies our voices, unifies our bodies, unifies our spirits. So when we approach God and worship, we’re doing it as unified people.”

Most people grow up attending churches where a litany of traditional hymns are sung, which begs the question: When are new hymns introduced into services?

Mr. Hehn said churches have always created new music whether it was in the year 200 or 2017.

“There are tons of new songs and new hymns being written in a variety of genres,” he said.

Each day, people are composing hymn tunes in a style dating from the 18th and 19th century, as well as others in styles such as folk, jazz, and rock. “You name it and people are writing songs for that style,” he said.

“Over time the church only keeps the ones that are truly timeless and speak to a timeless faith,” he added. “The same thing will happen to our songs today. There are thousands of songs being written, but 200 years from now only few of those will remain.”

Denise Mathias, music director of Monroe Street United Methodist Church, said the church incorporates a pipe organ and contemporary ensemble during congregational singing at its services.

Ms. Mathias said that while the songs are meant to connect Christians from different cultures as well as enrich belief in eternal rest with saints, introducing new music depends on the time of year, themes and what might be planned for a particular service.

“We don’t want to overwhelm [church-goers] with all new things they don’t know,” she said, adding a new song is introduced once every six weeks.

Hymns date back to seventh century B.C., well before the birth of Christ.

While hymns such as “Amazing Grace,” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” are still sung today, a sense of Christian identity is one reason older songs remain relevant.

Mr. Hehn said it’s through older hymns that worshipers achieve a sense of continuity.

“When we sing old hymns we’re connecting ourselves with the Christians of the past,” he said. “It’s something [we do] as humans, but also as Christians; we always have this longing to understand where we come from.”

For other churches, new hymns include keeping a familiar melody and adding lyrics.

Paul Monachino, director of liturgical music and organist at Rosary Cathedral, said he always looks for a hymn people are familiar with that has important meaning in the text.

“It’s a constant effort to look through things and sift through it to say, ‘This is something that would work in this congregation and this is something that is far afield and maybe we shouldn’t do it,’” Mr. Monachino said, adding other hymns are considered specifically for a choir to sing. “Hymns are really a wonderful treasure and can be used in so many different ways.”

Even as old and new hymns share space during church services today, the meaning and importance have remained the same after thousands of years.

Mr. Hehn said the use of hymns during times of worship contribute to the praise of God, no matter how ancient or new.

“At the core of worship we’re presenting ourselves to God and saying, ‘We’re praising you,’ ” Mr. Hehn said. “Part of worship is we’re giving ourselves as a corporate body and we need an identity to do that. Our hymns are a part of that identity making.”

Contact Geoff Burns at: gburns@theblade.com or 419-724-6110.

First Published March 25, 2017, 4:00 a.m.