Greg Scheer

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you will have already heard that Kate Bluett and I won the 2022 Church of the Servant New Psalm Contest with “Psalm 20: Blessing.” In celebration of the song’s premiere, I’ve written a string quartet/orchestra arrangement of the song. You can download the arrangement here on my website. You can listen to the premiere in person at Church of the Servant or tune in via Zoom on February 12, 2023 @ 10am EST: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82066362992?pwd=cmkzRzYxakViTnBrOXkxZmkxbytiQT09 [Meeting ID: 820 6636 2992, Passcode: worship].

Let’s begin our 2022 year in review with a hymn text from 1758:

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;

This lyric from Robert Robinson’s “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” refers to 1 Samuel 7:12 where Samuel set up a stone to mark how far the Lord had led Israel on their journey. I believe it’s important for all of us to periodically look back, reflect on our journey, and thank God for leading us. 

If you’ve been following Greg Scheer Music for a while, you know that I create an annual “musical year in review” podcast which assembles the highlights of the previous year’s compositions. Why don’t you go ahead and fire up your favorite podcast app and start listening right now?

One of the things you’ll notice right away is that fewer of 2022’s highlights are church music. That is, in part, because I’m no longer leading worship at a local congregation. I have always felt my primary calling is to write music. So, while I loved (mostly…) my time in ministry, I am now able to devote my full energy to composing music. That has allowed me to focus on some long-neglected areas of my musical output. 

But enough Ebenezering. I know most of you are here for resources you can quickly plug into your worship ministries. Here are a few culled from 2022:

Psalm 20: Blessing
Written with Kate Bluett, this benediction song won first prize in this year’s Church of the Servant New Psalm Contest.

Tuhan Adalah Gembalaku/You, Lord, Are My Shepherd of Love
A recently translated and arranged setting of Psalm 23 from Indonesia.

Psalm 23: God Is Our Shepherd 
A new tune for a hymn written by Michael Morgan, who died in 2022.

You’ll notice that all these songs are blessings. Why not teach one of them to your congregation and sing it a few weeks in a row as the final song in your worship service? There is nothing like a good benediction. Indeed, that’s what I pray for all of you as you begin a new year of planning and leading worship; that you would experience God’s benediction—God’s good word—spoken powerfully in your life and ministry.

 

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A lifetime in global music has led me to my latest venture: The Holland Symphony Orchestra has commissioned me to arrange and orchestrate four songs for their Music Unites Us initiative. I’ll be working with a Vietnamese Idol winner, a Ugandan multi-instrumentalist, a Ukrainian bayan (accordion) virtuoso, and a band of Mexican brothers who write songs in the Cumbia style. I’m excited, to say the least.

While you can find many of these songs in hymnals such as Lift Up Your Hearts, Glory to God, Voices Together, and Santo, Santo, Santo, others appear only at www.gregscheer.com. Here is a short list of favorites:

• Adoração/All of My Heart (Brazil) – A heartfelt song of dedication.
• 우리 보좌앞에 모였네/At the Throne of Our God (Korea) – A beloved Korean praise song based on the vision found in Revelation 7:9-10.
• Somos Uno/We’re One People (Latin America) – A brand new arrangement and translation of an oft-used song of unity.
• Wen Ti (聞笛)/Lift Your Eyes unto the Hills (China) – A call to worship, assurance of pardon, doxology, and benediction for choir, congregation, C Instrument, and piano.
• Oče naš/God, Our Father in Heaven (Croatia) – A haunting and lovely setting of the Lord’s Prayer.
• أبانا الذي في السماء ليتقدس اسمك/Abana in Heaven – A moving choral arrangement of the Lord’s Prayer in Arabic. 
• 하나님께서 당신을 통해/May the Love of God Spring Up in Your Soul (Korea) – A short, exquisite song of blessing.

All of these are great songs that are easy to learn in western congregations. I hope they lead you deeper into singing more broadly in your worship services.

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Stephen wrote me to say he liked my new arrangement of “Once in Royal David’s City,” but needed it for cello rather than violin. Boom! You now have the option of violin or cello.

Carlos included “Once in Royal David’s City” in Baylor University’s Advent Service. You can hear the recording here: https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/2022/12/06/once-in-royal-davids-city-live-at-baylor-university/ I especially like that they doubled the lower voices of the piano accompaniment with cello. It sounds beautiful! 

Linda Bonney Olin, a frequent collaborator, found her way to my Orphan Tunes page and paired my tune BLEST BE THOU with her hymn text “A Guardian’s Prayer/Joseph’s Song.” I don’t know of any other hymn that so fully explores Joseph’s role as a human father to a heaven-born Savior. Linda notes that this song would fit beautifully with the Matthew 1:18-25 reading in the lectionary on December 18. (And of course, any service exploring Joseph’s part in the Christmas story.)

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