Martha Roy Center for Worship (MRCW)

The past few years have witnessed a remarkable change in the worship style in both Presbyterian and non-Presbyterian Evangelical churches in Egypt in particular, and in the Arab World in general. Therefore, the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC) has adopted a process of reviving and renewing the liturgy of worship and preaching in the church by reviving songs with sound theological meaning, rich language, and good melodies. To achieve this, ETSC established the Martha Roy Center for Worship (MRCW). The center is named after Dr. Martha Roy, late professor of Church History; and Worship, hymnology, and music at ETSC in the late 20^th century. Dr. Roy was an American missionary who lived all her life in Egypt, which she considered her homeland. She made extraordinary contributions to the areas of church singing and music, Coptic music, and liturgy, for which she earned several awards.

MRCW is a great help for pastors, preachers, researchers, singers, musicians, and worship leaders in the areas of preaching, and leading corporate worship, so that the pulpit might be spiritually healthy and uplifting for the worshippers through both preaching and worship.

MRCW currently provides the following services, some of which are available on the ETSC website, and the MRCW Facebook page:

1. A hymn library: This is one of the biggest archival libraries of both old hymns and contemporary songs. The library is classified using a highly technical system that helps researchers accomplish their research quickly and accurately.
2. An Arabic and English book library specializing in worship, preaching, and singing.
3. An electronic library that features
4. books on Worship History which Dr. Roy taught at ETSC.
5. books on Dr. Roy’s life, ministry, and activities in Egypt, especially at ETSC.
6. textbooks with lessons on leading the different parts of the worship service.
7. educational leaflets on pulpit ministry titled Manbarji (Pulpit Man).
8. Ibarat Min Edhat (Quotes from Sermons) on a Facebook page, which is a collection of important excerpts from sermons by pastors who are now with the Lord.
9. Abedeen Arrab (Worshipping the Lord) on a Facebook page which sheds light on the concept of worship and its relation to the various parts of a worship service.

MRCW also has other ebooks produced by some pastors on worship, which are all also available in print form.

4. Reviving old hymns through creating PowerPoints for the lyrics and music of each hymn indicating other hymns with the same notes: which are available for personal or church use.
5. Producing solo and choir songs for special seasons and recommending other seasonal songs after reviewing them for theological, linguistic, and musical accuracy.
6. Organizing forums, lectures, workshops, and conferences inside and outside ETSC for both lay and ordained church workers to train them in the fundamentals of worship leading and preaching, and presenting the Presbyterian doctrine of worship.