Author Archives: maddg

Working through the prayer and praise songs in Spirit and Song Vol 1, I have arrived at Tom Booth‘s “My Heart Belongs to You.” It is a pretty prayer of a song that seems best for private devotional use. There … Continue reading →

This is a fine P&W song from Rick Founds. The text is at spiritandsong. You can purchase the sheet music for download at Musicnotes or get a choral arrangement at Hope Publishing. The snippet at spiritandsong is a fast latin … Continue reading →

Since it’s in Spirit and Song Vol 1, and for completeness, I made backing, but everyone knows this one anyway. It is by the wonderful Bill Withers and is a terrific song, but probably not a liturgical option. Text here.

This song by Suzanne Toolan RSM is in the Taizé style, which is hardly surprising as she has written for Taizé and the refrain was suggested to her by phone by Brother Roger from Taizé. The ostinato refrain is sung … Continue reading →

My progress through the Prayer and Praise section of Spirit and Song Vol 1 leads me to praise the editorial policies at As One Voice. AOV used all the songs here that could be used by an assembly, so all … Continue reading →

We are still using Paul Taylor’s Mass of St Francis with “Halle, Halle, Halle” as our Gospel Acclamation. Entrance: Table of Plenty (Schutte) AOV 2/20 Psalm 147 (O’Brien) Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Jerusalem. Gifts: Blessed Be Our God … Continue reading →

This is another pop song by Rich Mullins that doesn’t have much to offer a liturgy, but is fine for other circumstances. It really needs the answering voice in the refrain to be effective. The text is here. It can … Continue reading →

I’m still blogging the prayer and praise songs in Spirit and Song Vol 1, which mean songs for the assembly are less frequent. This song from Martin Smith is a good example.  You can sing along with the chorus but … Continue reading →

This is a song for solo devotional use by Tom Booth. The text is here (scroll down) and I don’t feel comfortable with it at all – do I really give permission? Is that the same as accepting unmerited grace … Continue reading →

I like this song by Bob Hudson, even though I reservations about the need to use the word “thyself.” It is based on James 4:10 but the author of James did not speak Elizabethan English. It really needs the two … Continue reading →