A casual, easygoing setting of the Lord’s Prayer. Set to the tune of A Beautiful Life.
More Light and More Truth Left
The Congregationalist minister John Robinson told his fellow Pilgrims before their journey to the New World, “I am very confident the Lord hath more truth and light yet to break forth out of His holy Word.” That spirit of openness continues in my denomination, the United Church of Christ. We believe that God is still speaking, bringing new truth to light as we are ready to hear and live into it.
More Light and More Truth Left was inspired by the hymn We Limit Not the Truth of God, and this tradition of seeking God’s word to us in each new circumstance. It is set to the tune of Gold Watch and Chain, made popular by the Carter Family.
O God Our Help in Ages Past
A new tune, Wenck, inspired by a fellow minister in the Chesapeake Association of the United Church of Christ, Ed Wenck, and one of the songs sung at his funeral. This tune gives the Isaac Watts hymn O God Our Help in Ages Past a sweeping feel and an Irish lilt, and is simpler to play on guitar than the usual tune.
Sabbath Day
A hymn written for Sabbath practice – remembering and appreciating the day of rest God commands for each of us. Set to the tune of Angel Band
This Bread, My Body
A communion hymn for the Easter Season, telling the story of the disciples slowly learning about the resurrection. Set to the same tune as Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.
Through Waters Deep
Telling the story of the baptism of Jesus, these new words connect to all of our baptisms and the journey of faith. This is one of the first hymns I ever wrote, for a contest in 2009. I took a look at it and did a significant rewrite in 2018 to sharpen up the language. Set to a traditional tune – Consolation, the same as My Shepherd You Supply My Need.
When Heaven Comes to Earth
New words and a new tune that I wrote in 2015 for the Awake Arise conference sponsored by the Central Maryland Ecumenical Council. The song imagines what the world will be like when it is fully renewed and redeemed by God’s love and our loving response.
When Jesus Walked the Wilderness
This is a new hymn that tells the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, a story usually told at the beginning of Lent. It connects Jesus’ time apart and in doubt with our own struggles and wilderness times. Uses the tune PROSPECT from Walker’s Southern Harmony. Recording to follow.
Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life
A new tune, BALTIMORE, for the Frank Mason North hymn, 1903. BALTIMORE is in The New Bluegrass Hymnal as a setting for When Face to Face with that Dear Cross. The words of Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life convey prayers for both the bustle and the despair of life in the city. The tune was written in the wake of the Baltimore Uprising of 2015. Recording to follow.
Will the Circle be Unbroken?
This is a classic that a lot of people are going to know. It tells the story of a person grieving with their family over the death of their mother, and shares the hope of reconnecting with loved ones after death.