The hymns in this collection grew from an unexpected friendship. In the fall of 2001, Jim Clemens and David Wright met at Lombard Mennonite Church in Illinois, where Jim, for a number of years, had accompanied and written music for worship, and where his wife, Angie, served as choral conductor and song leader. They became part of the same fellowship group, and David became involved over time in the church choir. Jim and David began to meet regularly on Sunday mornings, skipping Sunday school to drink coffee and talk about music, Wendell Berry's poetry, and Monty Python films. To their delight, no one ever criticized this delinquent behavior, recognizing, perhaps, that these quirky and spirited conversations were necessary, at least for them. While they are quite different in some ways--Jim is fairly private and devoted to detail, David is avidly social and prone to grand ideas--they share in common a lifelong experience of language and song as primary means of God's presence in their lives. Initially, this connection resulted in collaboration on choral music for adults and children, and in a song cycle about being parents. Eventually, they turned their attention to hymns for worship. The musicians in The Circle of Friends currently live in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Most grew up in the Mennonite church, surrounded by a lot of a cappella singing. Many of the singers are current or former members of "Sons of the Day" or "Shekinah," two ensembles based in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Angie Clemens, director of the songs on this recording, is a grade school music teacher, and has directed church choirs and festival choirs. Angie frequently serves as music leader at her church. James E. Clemens composed and arranged the music for these hymns, and also wrote the text for several of them. He is an active composer, church musician, and accompanist, and is an adjunct faculty member at Eastern Mennonite University. Jim and Angie live in Dayton, Virginia, with their two children. David Wright wrote the text for most of these hymns, and composed the tunes for two of them. He lives in Central Illinois with his two children. David teaches writing and literature at Wheaton College, and has written several collections of poems, including "A Liturgy for Stones" (Cascadia, 2003).