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Melva Wilson Costen, Ph.D., died on September 8, 2023. She was a renowned musician and scholar in the areas of Reformed Christian worship and African-American Presbyterianism. She was much beloved and her influence spans the globe.
A native of Due West, South Carolina, Dr. Costen obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Johnson C. Smith University in 1953, a Master of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, in 1964, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, with music as a cognate area, from Georgia State University in 1978.
"Mama Melva," as she was affectionately known by students, was the First African American woman elected to the position of Chair of the Advisory Council of Discipleship and Worship of the United Presbyterian Church in June 1981. She subsequently chaired the committee that produced the 1990 Presbyterian Hymnal--a production that grew out of the historic reunion of the "Northern" and "Southern" churches in 1983 that formed today's Presbyterian Church (USA).
She served for many years as the distinguished Helmar Emil Nielsen Professor of Worship and Music, choral director, and Chair of the Master of Arts in Sacred Music degree at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA; and subsequently became the Visiting Professor of Liturgical Studies at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, CT.
Her books African-American Christian Worship (Abingdon, 1993), and In Spirit and in Truth (WJK, 2004) are considered essential reading for those desiring to understand the evolution and influence of African and African-American centered worship practices.
Dr. Costen was predeceased by her husband James Costen, Sr. and her son James Jr. She is survived by her son Craig, daughter Cheryl Hibbler (Melvin), a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren, extended family and friends.
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