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?
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.
What J.S. Bach's Music Means for Worship Today
What is it like to be a church musician today in the same place that J.S. Bach once worked? In what ways can Bach's music be a model for us?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lily Constantine Kakish on the Arabic Lord’s Prayer Song
Lily Constantine Kakish created the Arabic Lord’s Prayer song that nearly every Arab Christian knows. Now an English language version is helping more people pray with, and on behalf of, suffering Christians.