Subject Area
Education, Music, Religion, Theology/Religious Education
Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to interpret the pastoral meaning and function of Calvin’s Genevan Psalter and to illustrate how it can be applied to Hong Kong church music ministry today. Through the Genevan Psalter, Calvin advocates congregational and vernacular psalm‑singing in Reformed worship. He emphasizes piety, Scripture, congregational participation, and the shaping of daily spirituality beyond Sunday worship. The pastoral insights drawn from the use of the Genevan Psalter in Reformed worship offer five valuable implications for music ministry in Hong Kong today: Spirituality, Unity of the Church in Faith, Theological Education, Liturgical‑Musical Interrelationship, and Inclusiveness.
In addition to Calvin’s pastoral insights, this thesis applies Walter Brueggemann’s model of Orientation, Disorientation, and New Orientation to elaborate the use and function of the Psalms, providing a framework for bridging differences in time, social, and cultural contexts between the Reformation era and today’s Hong Kong. This thesis reviews the social and ecclesial context of Hong Kong churches amid ongoing emigration and an influx of immigrants from mainland China, creating both new opportunities and challenges. Eschatological hope and faith call for discerning pastoral responses in worship, especially in song selection. Psalm‑singing is explored as a lived expression of individual and communal faith, resonating with Calvin’s and Brueggemann’s pastoral perspectives. Inspired by the Genevan Psalter, my psalm‑based compositions are examined within Brueggemann’s tripartite spiritual framework and their Sitz im Leben revealed through performance, emphasizing the Genevan Psalter as a concrete framework for shaping a more deeply theological practice of congregational song.
Degree Date
Spring 5-16-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
D.P.M.
Department
Pastoral Music
Advisor
Dr. C. Michael Hawn
Second Advisor
Dr. James Hart Brumm
Number of Pages
203
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Leung, Sze Man Symantha, "The Pastoral Implications of John Calvin's Genevan Psalter for Church Music Ministry in Hong Kong" (2026). Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses. 21.
https://scholar.smu.edu/theology_music_etds/21
