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Introducing the worship song “Come, Holy Ghost / Be Not Afraid” by Bruce Benedict and Ray Mills.
In this episode of Renewed, Greg Scheer introduces a worship song that is truly “Ancient-Future” as it is rooted in the past, but looks forward to the future. The original text of “Come, Holy Ghost” was written in 8th century Germany and given a new tune and refrain in 21st century Indianapolis.
Renewed: Worship songs to refresh your church’s voice
Hosted by Greg Scheer
With Larry Figueroa, piano
"Come, Holy Ghost/Be Not Afraid"
Words: from Veni Creator Spiritus, attr. Rhabanus Maurus (776-856), Bruce Benedict, Ray Mills, 2005, © 2006 Cardiphonia Music/Raymond G. Mills
Music: Bruce Benedict, Ray Mills, 2005, © 2006 Cardiphonia Music/Raymond G. Mills; arr. Diane Dykgraaf © 2012 Cardiphonia Music/Raymond G. Mills.
Used by permission.
Listen to the original recording of “Come, Holy Ghost” with Bruce Benedict singing.
Explore different versions of the music, including piano, choir, and string arrangements.
See the song’s entry at Hymnary.org.
Why and how did psalm singing become such a hallmark of Reformed worship? Join Dr. Karin Maag for a fascinating journey through time, from Reformation Geneva to Scotland and from the Netherlands to New England, exploring the roots and impact of metrical psalm singing. Along the way, we will hear the voices of early modern Christians as they learned how to sing the psalms, both in unison and in harmony.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
John Goldingay, an Anglican priest and the senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, posits the psalms are the densest material in the entire Old Testament. They expound the nature of God as the compassionate, faithful, and committed one, but also as the one who makes demands upon us. The psalms help us talk to God, even about difficult things—and when we do, we are talking to someone who is in a position to do something about it.
Why and how did psalm singing become such a hallmark of Reformed worship? Join Dr. Karin Maag for a fascinating journey through time, from Reformation Geneva to Scotland and from the Netherlands to New England, exploring the roots and impact of metrical psalm singing. Along the way, we will hear the voices of early modern Christians as they learned how to sing the psalms, both in unison and in harmony.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
John Goldingay, an Anglican priest and the senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, posits the psalms are the densest material in the entire Old Testament. They expound the nature of God as the compassionate, faithful, and committed one, but also as the one who makes demands upon us. The psalms help us talk to God, even about difficult things—and when we do, we are talking to someone who is in a position to do something about it.
Sister Kathleen Harmon of the community of the Ohio province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Dayton, invites us to be transformed by the psalms and experience them as the whole story God is revealing to us. As we keep praying and singing them, the psalms interpret us, and that’s when the transformation comes.
