Category: Church Music
-
12 Song Challenge
I’m signing up for the 12 Song Challenge again. Last year, it ran January-December 2024 and it was a wonderful opportunity to explore my musical writing as each month the podcast drops with a fresh prompt to create congregational sung worship. This year it’s running from April 2025 to March 2026. I’ll freely admit not…
-
Song for Lent and Eastertide
Here’s a new song I wrote for today’s Lichfield Diocese Green Team study day: Lead us, O Lord, from death to life,Teach us to steward the world you have made.Give us the will to speak and actonly and always in Jesus’ name. In the valley of bones,Father almighty, hear our prayer.Give us the words to…
-
New music for Easter
I’m finishing up a presentation piece for Holy Saturday (April 19th, 2025) in conjunction with my employers at St Matthew’s Church, Walsall and St Gabriel’s Church, Fulbrook just down the road. Fr. Mark has been wonderful in supporting the project, and development has been partly funded by a generous grant from St Peter’s Saltley Trust.…
-
Mortal, can these bones live?
Imagine my delight recently to be invited by Lichfield Diocese Green Team to join them on a study day in Walsall. I’ll be helping out with sung worship, playing with Rev Rich Clarkson who I know through the 12 Song Challenge, and then working during the day to pen a new hymn for our act…
-
New Year Resolutions?
I’m 10% into the “new” year, and not yet set on anything I want to change so badly I’ll make it a special focus. I guess I need to make more good music, lead more sung worship in the churches that ask me to, work harder with some of my friends on our collaborative efforts,…
-
Civic Carolling
Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed the Civic Carols last Sunday at St Matthew’s Church. The Christmas Choir were stunning, and it was a privilege to lead them from the organ, wearing what can only be described as my new favourite jacket. Thanks to everybody in the choir. You are all…
-
Inheritance
Whose shoulders do you stand on? When I was five, my Grandad’s piano was a thing of continuing fascination. I’d been smacking the keys randomly since I could reach it, and they lived only a three minute walk from my own home. But I was beginning to experiment with pressing notes in sequence and trying…
-
DO NOT BE AFRAID
Much of the work we undertook in lockdown seems to have passed into history so quickly. Communal art, recordings, projects and initiatives to keep communities together even when we couldn’t meet in person. One such idea was DO NOT BE AFRAID, the installation of six angels in the ceiling space of St James’ Church, Hill…
-
Glory and Grace
It’s coming up to that time of year again when we can dust off the old classics and rehearse our Advent and Christmas repertoire. It’s also time to scrabble around for new material to keep our minds busy and our voices fresh… but where to begin? I’m certainly not qualified to tell you where to…
-
Director of Music
I’m delighted to announce my appointment and commissioning as Director of Music at St Matthew’s Church, Walsall. I’m looking forward to picking up the reins and working with the music ministry team at church. If you need to get in touch with me there, all the contact details are on the church website: https://www.stmatthewswalsall.co.uk