Hello, Merry Mystics!
Here’s a hymn I wrote to go with my sermon, “Kairos Bathing”. I got the idea for this hymn on a Thursday, to go with the sermon I was writing for that Sunday. Thanks for the inspiration, God … but would it be too much to ask for a little more lead time?! The sheet music is here:
There’s also a video of it here, with Ron McCutchan singing and Charlie Gebeck accompanying.
Bright blessings,
Adam
Hello Merry Mystics!
Here’s a recording of a song I wrote back in 2022: “Service with a Smile”. To me, this is what the Way of Jesus is all about.
Hello, my merry and mystical friends!
How do you respond to an egregious liar? I don’t mean someone who says something wrong, but then will blush when confronted with the truth; I mean someone who is completely unmoored from the truth. I mean a piffle-pusher—like so many people in Washington right now.
In the series of videos I’ve just done on TikTok, I’ve suggested a perfect tool for responding to piffle-pushers.
Whoopee cushion, anyone?
Here’s my Strong Man song, with a new bridge and new video.
Here’s a little political parody aimed at the current batch of fat cats. Remember when the original song (by Willis Alan Ramsey) was a hit for Captain & Tennille? How time flies! Toni Tennille was my dream girl when I was 14 …
Hello, Merry Mystics!
For the past few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with TikTok. I’ve made some micro-sermons, like this one on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I’ve posted some concert footage, like this recording of my Real Men song. I’ve posted some silly songs, like the Prophet’s Lament. And I’ve posted some serious stuff, like this Easter message.
It’s an interesting medium. The vertical video format is straightforward enough; what’s trickier is the brevity. (Or, to put it less generously: the short attention span.) I haven’t found many viewers there yet, but I’m still working on it. I’ve got a couple more political songs in the works; we’ll see how they do.
If you’re on TikTok, I’m there as merrymystic.preacherman.
Bright Easter blessings!
I wrote and arranged this song about the real Gulf of America. Maybe someday I’ll do a music video for it. For now, I just want to get the song out there.
If it speaks to you, please share.
Bright blessings, Merry Mystics!
Hello, Merry Mystics!
This coming Sunday, in many churches, we’ll celebrate the baptism of Jesus. I wrote this song about that story—from the perspective of the dove. I borrowed most of the melody from Sir Arthur Sullivan (H. M. S. Pinafore). When I started the lyric, I thought it was going to be something for congregational singing, but on the whole I think it works better as a solo:
If you’d like to try it, there’s sheet music here.
Bright blessings,
Adam
P.S. Here’s that lyric:
I Am but a Little Dove To the man of God I came, where the Jordan’s waters flow. When the Spirit called his name, what it meant I did not know. I am but a little dove; all I know of God is love. Sore afraid, I shut my beak, but in me, the greater Dove flew that day. I heard Her speak words of sure, parental love. Though I’m just a gentle bird, let me tell you what I heard: Wings aflame and feathers flared, Her unending love She sang. Love for him, Her coo declared, till the earth and heavens rang. Neither far nor fast I fly, yet Her flight made light the sky. When you baptize, do you know that Her sky remains alight? Do you feel Her love still flow down to earth from heaven’s height? Do you see, inside your church, what I see from where I perch? Turn your face up to Her sky; let Her wingtip brush your brow. On Her love you can rely— just don't ask me why or how. I am but a little dove; all I know of God is love.
Hello, Merry Mystics! Here’s my new hymn for Gaudete Sunday: “Rejoice! Rejoice!” (Unlike “Joy to the World!” which was intended to be about the Second Coming, this one is actually about Christmas.) I hope it will give you a smile. Sheet music is here:
Rejoice! Rejoice! (letter size, with piano accompaniment)
Rejoice! Rejoice! (legal size, for folding, voice only)
There’s also a video of it here.
Hello, friends!
Here’s the fifth and final in my series of new songs/carols/hymns for Advent and Christmas. This one draws on a phrase from the writings of Julian of Norwich, an English woman who lived from 1342 to 1416. Julian was an anchoress—that is to say, she was a sort of hermit who lived in a cell built into the wall of a church. She had many visions, and she wrote them in her book Showings, which might be the first book written by a woman in the English language. In chapter 27 of the long text of Showings, she wrote:
But Jesus, who in this vision informed me about everything needful to me, answered with these words and said: Sin is necessary, but all will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well. … These words were revealed most tenderly, showing no kind of blame to me or to anyone who will be saved.
Julian accepted that “all will be well,” and trusted in God to know better than she how this is to be accomplished. I think there’s something very beautiful, and rather Christmas-like, in that moment of enlightenment and acceptance.
I wrote a slightly more flowery harmony and accompaniment for this one, because I planned for it to be sung by a quartet on Christmas Eve.
All Shall Be Well, Noël (full score) (letter size)
All Shall Be Well, Noël (voice) (legal size, for folding)