Music/Song

Celtic Psalms: Finding Light in the Darkness

In this vesper service, the congregation worships God by singing and listening to psalm settings with soulful Irish and Scottish melodies, exploring how God’s light shines even in the midst of the darkest nights, guiding his people into places of joy, forgiveness, and peace.

February 20, 2017 | 52 min video
Music, Congregational Identity, and the Relationships that Spark Effective Ministry

How does music express and form a congregation’s identity? How can that identity be defined and shaped by the relationships it seeks to nurture and the mission it seeks to promote?

February 17, 2017

Music from African-American Traditions for Use in Any Congregation

One of the remarkable stories about music that has emerged out of African-American communities is its reception in communities of diverse cultural backgrounds all over the world.

February 15, 2017
Christiane Bräutigam on Why Bach Still Matters

Christiane Bräutigam leads music in a church founded in 1702 by refugees in a city famous for its Bach heritage. She explains why J.S. Bach’s music and example are relevant for churches today.

February 2, 2017
Learning New Worship Songs through YouTube

YouTube makes it easier to learn worship music, but it could also lead to cookie-cutter worship and unreasonable expectations for musicians.

January 10, 2017

Benjamín Alicea-Lugo on Praise y Adoración Bilingual Hymnal

Praise y Adoración is a new private-market bilingual hymnal and worship resource by Benjamín Alicea-Lugo and Irma Cuevas Alicea. It has 950 song texts in English and Spanish and comes in three editions.

December 14, 2016
Wendell Kimbrough on the Psalms

Wendell Kimbrough is a songwriter and worship leader in southern Alabama who believes church music should simply be good music that forms us as we sing it together. Drawing on the sounds of American folk and soul music, Wendell writes scripturally-rich songs with singable, memorable melodies. His music has been embraced by a growing number of churches, young and old, large groups and small, contemporary praise bands and traditional choirs.

December 8, 2016 | 3 min video
Angels, from the Realms of Glory

The service of Lessons and Carols from 2016 highlights the importance of angels in the drama of the Christmas gospel, startling us to focus our awareness on how the angels enlarge our perception of the beauty and glory of the triune God through their nearness and through their mysterious, wonder-filled transcendence.

December 2, 2016 | 12 min read

Kiran Young Wimberly on the Celtic Psalms Project

When she moved to Northern Ireland, Kiran Young Wimberly was surprised to discover how few Presbyterians there knew the Irish and Scottish melodies she’d grown to love in the U.S. Her Celtic Psalms project is helping Protestants and Catholics reconnect with their shared heritage.

December 1, 2016
Singing in Spanish and English: Reflections of Musicians and Educators

Carlos Colón and Maria Monteiro are Texas Baptists, educators and musicians. They serve on a team that is compiling a fully bilingual Spanish-English hymnal for Protestants.  

November 30, 2016
Irish Presbyterians on Singing Celtic Psalms

Kiran Young Wimberly and Karen Campbell are musically gifted Presbyterian pastors who have seen how singing Celtic psalms helps bridge communities in troubled places.

November 29, 2016