## Summary Brian Hehn is the director of the [[Center for Congregational Song]], the outreach arm of The Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada. He is the architect of the ecumenical CCLI vetting meta-project — compiling all denominational vetting teams' verdicts into a single cross-traditional approved list. He is the most important contact for the UCC regarding denominational participation in the ecumenical project. ## Key facts - **Role.** Director, Center for Congregational Song (congregationalsong.org). - **Other role.** Director of adult discipleship and liturgical worship at St. John's Lutheran Church of Sweet Air, metro Baltimore. - **Tradition.** Mainline; works across Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, and Anabaptist traditions in his coordinating capacity. - **Style.** Comfortable leading congregational singing in any style — hymns, global song, and contemporary worship. ## The ecumenical meta-project Hehn is coordinating denominational CCLI-vetting teams and compiling their verdicts into an ecumenically-approved list of CCLI Top 100 songs: - **UMC** (originating project; 2015/2017, 2021, 2024 rounds). - **CRCNA** (Christian Reformed, early 2024; team included Anglican and PCA voices). - **ALCM** (Lutheran, Fall/Winter 2023 in *CrossAccent*). - **Anabaptist/Mennonite** (led by Sarah Kathleen Johnson et al.; late 2024/early 2025 release). - **Roman Catholic** (Hehn compiling independently, given absent USCCB music approval structure). - **UCC** — not yet participating. See below. His stated goal: publish a list of CCLI Top 100 songs greenlit by all participating traditions. He anticipates the list may be short — possibly five to eight songs. ## The UCC gap The UCC has no denominational CCLI vetting project. Hehn is actively soliciting UCC participation. The UCC's congregationalist polity means there is no connectional structure to run such a project from the center — but a regional conference effort (Penn Central), a UCCMA initiative, or a single congregation's pilot rubric could all serve as entry points into the ecumenical conversation. > [!question] St. John's UCC as UCC pioneer > Hehn is the right contact person for any UCC individual or congregation wanting to engage the ecumenical meta-project. The [[Worship Song Vetting Rubric St Johns UCC]] positions St. John's to contribute data. No structural barrier exists to UCC participation. ## CCLI data limitations Hehn notes CCLI reporting skews toward larger, better-resourced congregations. Smaller and house churches are underrepresented. The Center advocates for CCLI to disaggregate data by congregation size. The "Top 100" is a proxy for the practice of a specific socioeconomic slice of American Christianity. ## Significance for St. John's UCC context Hehn sits at the intersection of the vetting work most directly usable by a UCC congregation. His project acknowledges the UCC absence as a gap. A direct email to Hehn at congregationalsong.org could open UCC participation in the ecumenical conversation at relatively low cost and high ecumenical value. (Source: [[2026-04-24 Worship Music Vetting Compendium]]) ## Related - [[Center for Congregational Song]] — the institution he directs - [[Worship Music Vetting Projects]] — full vetting context - [[Calvin Institute of Christian Worship]] — academic partner - [[United Methodist Church Discipleship Ministries]] — originating vetting project - [[Kathryn Ritsema Roelofs]] — CRC project lead; ecumenical collaborator - [[2026-04-24 Worship Music Vetting Compendium]] — primary source