Songs, Hymns and Music for Passion Sunday (24 March 2024)

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Strength when people mock you

• TiS 636 / VU272 / WoV715 / LBW250 / ELW533 / GtG453 / PfAS078C / PfAS078D / URW076 / 82Hml-536 / Lau472 / MP182 God has spoken to his people Alleluia / God has spoken to the people Alleluia (Hasidic) In many versions this song is not inclusive for God, or uses specifically Christian lyrics (which is odd, since it's a Jewish hymn). VU, PfAS GtG and WoV have gender inclusive language for God: "God has spoken to the people (Alleluia), God has spoken words of wisdom, Alleluia". WoV and PfAS also have the traditional Hebrew chorus of "Torah ora torah ora hallelujah" which means "The Lord is light" which would be great to sing and are the original words!  PfAS078D simply uses the first two lines of the first verse as a psalm refrain. The chorus is good for kids. New words to old tunes One version of the lyrics.
• Iona (M&G, T1AU) / MV099 / GC(II)673 / G(3)763 / Lau996 Stand O Stand Firm (Cameroon) I love having an excuse to sing this simple and powerful song. Very easy for your congregation. You can make up cantor parts too “Oh my sisters…. Oh my brothers… Oh my children….” or you can name countries you are praying for in your intercessions. Good for kids. Scottish sound sample. Lead sheet.
• Iona (One is the Body) / ATAR601 / MV103 Ka mana'o 'i 'o (Joe Kanoelehua Camacho) Hawai'ian song. Fun to sing and good words. The chorus is not too hard to sing in Hawai'ian if you teach it. Nice with guitar and/or ukelele. Lyrics (slide show).

Psalm 31:9-16
God as refuge and redeemer

• PfAS031A Empty broken lifeless(Shannon Cerneka and Orin Johnson)  A sorrowful chant-like refrain, and verses that should be best sung by a cantor. A good version for Passion Sunday. Lyrics.
• MV083 / FFS41 Let my spirit always sing (Shirley Murray) Good words about getting old. May be sung to a number of different tunes. A song for those who are aged or infirm. A good song to play in nursing homes, or in congregations with a large proportion of elderly who are wrestling with what it means to live in a body that doesn't do what it used to manage! Lyrics & sheet music. 
• Worldmaking.net O Holy One (Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan) A very simple song for the start of worship. It could be sung altogether as a congregation or responsively. Sound sample and lyrics. Good for kids.
• PfAS031C / URW256 (Refrain 2) My times are in your hands (AnnaMae Meyer Bush) A simple two part. This would be worth teaching. (It's not the old chorus) It can be sung on its own, or as a Psalm refrain, or prayer response. Simply: “My times are in your hands. You strengthen me in strife. My hope is in your word. Your love preserves my life.” Sheet music sample. Good for kids.
• TiS 682 / ATW 490 / GA236 / A&M355 / AA151 / SP148 When human voices cannot sing (Shirley Murray) Lovely words of healing in the face of grief. I prefer this sung to ST COLUMBA, which is the tune in GA and TiS. Lyrics
• Iona / CH788 / MV104 / GtG659 Know that God is Good / Mungu ni mwema (Traditional Congo) This traditional African refrain is just lots of fun and very simple to sing. Good for kids and adults! Sheet music sample. Sound sample. Sound sample in Kenyan languages.
• GtG811 / PfAS031D / URW256 (Refrain 1) Make your face to shine upon your servant / Haz resplandecer tu rostro (Jay Weldon Wilkey) This is a lovely song. It can be sung on its own, or as a Psalm refrain, as in URW (use the section "Make your face to shine… loving kindness save me" as the refrain, and the section beginning "But as for me" at the conclusion of the Psalm). Clunky sound sample. 
• ATAR669 Be my strength (Robin Mann) Words about familiar comforting things, and about becoming older and more frail. Excellent. Lyrics. 
  
• TiS 19 / Iona (PPP&P) / ATOK 339 In you O Lord I have found refuge (John Bell) A simple cantor and response Psalm. Sound sample, and mp3 available to purchase and download.
• Ps Project Into Your Hands (Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan) A very very very very simple chant. Lyrics and sound sample.
• CP517 / W&R503 O God your constant care and love (Glen Lanier) Quite good words about God's presence with us through our lives. Sung to a standard hymn tune (WAREHAM or WINCHESTER NEW). Lyrics. New words to old tunes.
• TiS 240 / AHB182 / CH393 / StF640 We turn to God when we are sorely pressed (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) Excellent words of our need for God, God's suffering, and God's generosity. Sung to a standard hymn tune. Lyrics and a number of translations. I much prefer the Church Hymnary version to the translations in TiS and AHB.
• CH725 Today I live one day shall come my death (Fred Kaan) An unusual theme remarking on the inevitability of death and that we have no need to fear it. Lovely tune. Lyrics.
• StJ / G(II)346 / GC506 / GC(II)508 / G(3)586 You Are All We Have (Francis Patrick O'Brien) A nice refrain and good cantor parts. Somewhat formal. Sound sample, sheet music sample and a different sound sample.
• AoV2-070 / ATW 496 / MV090 / StJ / G(3)719 Don't be afraid (John Bell) Excellent. I love this song of reassurance. "Don't be afraid, my love is stronger. My love is stronger than your fear". This song can be used as a response to intercessions. Good for kids. Sheet music. This song could be used as a Psalm response I think.

Philippians 2:5-11

• TiS 650 / ATA 191 / CH694 / A&M604 / NCH539 / VU595 / ELW659 / AA08 / SFFS 2222 / HPP442 / GtG727 / G(II)476 / GC683 / GC(II)661 / G(3)751 / CP500 / CP(E) 393 / W&R391 / Cha490 / SP263 / URW117 / StF611 / Lau924 Brother, sister, let me serve you / Won't you let me be your servant? (Richard Gillard) I think you all know this one. Lyrics. NCH has a nice turn on the lyrics with "Won't you let me be your servant?" as the first line.  Oldy-but-a-goody.
• TiS 236 / AHB 178 / CH351 / UMH273 / VU570 / HPP157 / W&R634 Jesus' hands were kind hands (Margaret Cropper) Good old fashioned children's song. Lots of kids learn to play this on piano, so if you have some budding piano students in your congregation, it may be nice to invite one to play.  Sheet music & lyrics. Good for kids Oldy-but-a-goody.
• NCH590 / CH621 Spirit of Jesus, if I love my neighbour (Brian Wren) Challenging words of offering help from a position of privilege and seeking to be set free from the entrapment of possessions “If I am hugging safety or possessions, uncurl my spirit as your love prevails, to join my neighbours, work for liberation, and find my freedom at the mark of nails”. Could also be sung to the tune PERFECT LOVE if your congregation would have trouble with the newer tune. Sheet music & lyrics. New words to old tunes. 
• TiS 691 Faith will not grow from words alone (Elizabeth Smith) This is an excellent hymn about doubting and struggling in faith. The tune is familiar and I find the words very helpful for thinking and doubting Christians. Lyrics.
• TiS 640 / AHB 561 / ATE 310 / NCH498 / UMH432 / VU593 / WoV765 / ELW708 / HPP446 / GtG203 / PH367 / G(II)296 / GC409 / GC(II)429 / G(3)505 / CP504 / W&R273 / Cha600 / URW116 / 82Hml-602 / Lau241 / StF249 Jesu Jesu fill us with your love / Kneels at the feet of his friends (Tom Colvin & people of Ghana) Lyrics. Good for kidsOldy-but-a-goody.
• TiS 174 / UMH194 / A&M544 / CP(E)259 / 82Hml-585 / StF012 Morning glory starlit sky (William Hubert Vanstone) Quite formal words, but very very beautiful song of God's boundless love "Drained is love in making full, bound in setting others free, poor in making many rich, weak in giving power to be". Not all sources are inclusive. The tune is not difficult, but will need to be taught to a congregation if not familiar. The lyrics could also be read as a poem, and challenges the image of Christ as monarch, but also affirms God's reign. Lyrics.
• TiS 721 / Iona (LFB) / URW431 / StF344 / Lau124 He became poor that we may be rich (Iona) A simple chant. Timing is a little bit tricky, so you will need to take a little time to teach it initially. This has gorgeous parts if you have some singers. Sound sample (instrumental).
  
• MV155 Unbounded spirit breath of God (Brian Wren) Good solid words of commitment to faith and work; a communal song. Simple hymnlike tune. Lyrics & sheet music. 
• Online Resource / Walk as One Come come come come together (David MacGregor) A boppy song about working together - a good song for sending out the congregation. Lyric video. Sheet music for purchase.
• CH348 / StS001 / LBW196 / ELW843 / A&M762 / G(3)625 / CP397 / W&R93 / SP304 / URW090 Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness (Rusty Edwards) Good words of Christ's ministry to all. Can be sung to the familiar tune NETTLETON, or the less familiar and very lovely tune JOEL. Lyrics. New words to old tunes   .
• AHB 168 / NCH166 / A&M675 / CP(E) 475 / MP328 Immortal love for ever full (John Greenleaf Whittier) Not all versions are inclusive. This is an older style hymn. A beautiful choral version with video (tune is different to hymnals, but the lyrics are the same). Thist would be nice to listen to!
• Taizé / MV075 / StS079 / SFFS 2118 / GtG284 / GC(II)479 / G(3)547 / SP99 / URW395 Holy Spirit Come to Us / Veni sancte spiritus tui amoris (Jacques Berthier) Best if you have a cantor, but works well if you don't, too. Sheet music, translations, sound samples.
• TiS 341 / AHB 257 / NCH222 / CH399 / VU143 / A&M147 / WoV661 / LBW094 / ELW782 / SFFS 2083 / HPP329 / GtG209 / PH076 / CP184 / CP(E) 112 / Srce2-426 / 82Hml-458 / Lau752 / StF277 / MP478 My song is love unknown (Samuel Crossman) I really love this old and beautiful song. I prefer it sung to LOVE UNKNOWN. Lyrics. New words to old tunes  
• Online Resource / Worldmaking O Christ, Lamb of God (Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan) A more modern Agnus Dei, with Christ sharing our weakness. Lyrics and sound sample.
• TiS 242 / AHB 183 / AoV1-018 / ATN 27 / CH404 / UMH261 / VU352 / A&M667 / HPP163 / GtG157 / PH302 / G(II)481 / GC708 / GC(II)689 / G(3)796 / CP(E) 468 / W&R118 / Lau765 / StF247 I danced in the morning / Lord of the Dance (Sydney Carter). Lyrics and tidbits of info.You all know this one, right? For Passion Sunday, it may be best to stop this partway through, and sing the rest on Easter Sunday. Good for kids Oldy-but-a-goody.
• GtB God is love and love is giving (Ross Langmead) A simple kids' song about God's love. A round. Sound sample. Good for kids.
• Tune In / Online Resource O Spirit God to you we pray / In the shape of a cross (Dave Brown) A cry to God for help. Free downloadable songbook and sound samples.
• Online resource / MV047 Born in human likeness (Bruce Harding) A simple Christmas round. Sheet music. Good for kids. 

Mark 14:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39, (40-47) (2024)

or Luke 22:14-23:56 or Luke 23:1-49 (Year C) or Matthew 26:14-27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54 (Year A)
See also suggestions for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

• Online Resource Great Eastern star igniting skies (Hannah Brown) Poetic words starting with the star and the child, passing through crucifixion to resurrection. Sung to the shape note tune KEDRON, which I love, but will need to be taught to most congregations. Lyrics, sheet music sample and purchasing options. New words to old tunes.
• Online Resource / Resounding Voices Cloaked in the dark (Jacque Jones / Bernadette Hoke) Words that take us on the journey from Jesus' ride into Jerusalem, through Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial, to the crucifixion. Set to a mournful and beautiful tune. This could be used for a single service, or throughout Holy Week. Sheet music sample and purchasing options. Free book download here. New words to old tunes.
• Online Resource Not on a war horse but on a humble donkey (David Miller) Good words to the familiar tune FINLANDIA. This is one of those hymns for Passion Sunday that reminds us what will happen later in the week - especially appropriate for churches unable to host Holy Week services. Lyrics. New words to old tunes.
• SFFS 2111 We Sang Our Glad Hosannas (Mary Nelson Keithahn) Good words that follow Christ from Palm Sunday to the Crucifixion. Sung to a hymn tune. Lyrics.
• NCH589 / VU679 Let there be light O God of hosts! (Frances Wheeler Davis) Hopeful words seeking an end to war and unity and understanding between nations. Verse 3 "Perish the sword!". Lyrics. History. 
• ATOK 335 You rode into Jerus'lem (Leigh Newton) Excellent words - not so much a congregational song, but a story-telling song that could be used as a reflection on Good Friday or Passion Sunday. I love how it puts us in the crowd watching and participating emotionally in the events of Holy Week. Sound sample. 
• Tune In / Online Resource A grain of wheat (Sheree Anderson) Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it won't form roots and grow. A boppy song with deeply meaningful lyrics. Free downloadable songbook and sound samples.  
  
• Online Resource Pray with me the night has come (David Bjorlin) A beautiful song of waiting and watching; sufficiently repetitive for people to sing without lyrics if you would like. Sung to a beautiful old Welsh tune. Lyrics, sheet music sample, sound sample, and purchasing options. New words to old tunes.
• Online Resource Leaven us with holy yeast (Hannah Brown / Ben Brody) Great new words with plentiful bread images, and a beautiful tune. The chorus works well on its own, or you can use it with verses (the tune is the same for both). Sheet music sample and purchasing options. 
• Online Resource God is found in teeming jungles (David Bjorlin) A hymn about God being present in all things, including things that do not feel good at the time. Set to the familiar tune PLEADING SAVIOUR. Sheet music sample and options for purchase. New words to old tunes. 
• Online Resource / Recorded Music Every single stone's a broken stone (Leigh Newton) A very moving song about Peter's denial; written in 2021! Sheet music, lyrics & sound sample.
• TiS 617 / NCH413 / UMH517 / WoV736 / ELW626 / A&M605 / GtG818 / PH342 / W&R75 / 82Hml-695 / Lau428 By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered (Dietrich Bonhoeffer / Fred Pratt Green) Wonderful words by Bonhoeffer, but most tunes that this has been set to are a bit tricky (INTERCESSOR or HIGHWOOD). I quite like the tune in NCH (BONHOEFFER). The 5th verse is omitted in some hymnals. Lyrics. New words to old tunes There is also a very nice contemporary tune for the same words by Douglas Simper in his book Singing the Journey.  It makes the words feel much more relevant sung to this tune, but it will need to be taught, or sung by a soloist.
  
• Online Resource / URW093 Christ is the Truth the Way (Ruth Duck) Excellent words of the leadership of Christ, sung to the majestic tune DIADEMATA. Lyrics. Purchasing options. New words to old tunes  
  
• MV 145 / CP418 / SP&P123 Draw the circle wide (Gordon Light) A great song about welcoming all people. Chorus is “Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still. Let this be our song, no-one stands alone, standing side by side, draw the circle wide”. Video with sheet music.
• TiS 720 / AHB 295 / AoVK-85 / AoV2-046 / ATOK 319 / NCH236 / Iona (Many & Great, There is one among us) / CH345 / VU958 / StJ / A&M836 / SFFS 2026 / HPP571 / GtG591 / GC(II)261 / G(3)329 / W&R005 / Cha041 / ZSS76 / SP324 / PfAS150G / URW370 / Lau178 Halle halle hallelujah (Traditional Caribbean) A good Alleluia would work well for this passage, and I think this one is particularly excellent – simple, great for kids, good rhythm. PfAS uses it as a Psalm refrain which would work well for any translation of the Psalm. Good for kids. Sound sample.
• TiS 626 / AHB 557 / CH500 / GA423 / Lau869 Lord of creation to you be all praise! (Jack Winslow) A wonderful traditional, and quite inclusive, hymn to the familiar tune SLANE. Lyrics. Oldy-but-a-goody.
• TiS 185 Alleluia We praise you God Creator Lord (John Charles McIntyre) A chanted Alleluia based on Pachelbel's canon, coupled with some nice affirmations of faith from a 2nd part of the congregation, or cantor. This is quite lovely.
• NCH398 / MV044 / W&R599 / URW072 Shadow and Substance (Daniel Damon) Good clear words of being Christ's community in all our diversity. A simple tune. Sample sheet music.
• NCH302 / VU212 Eternal Christ you rule (Daniel Damon)  Challenging words about how the rule of Christ is so vastly different from the rulership of popular earthly leaders. Simple hymnlike tune. Lyrics and sheet music.
  
• Taizé  / TiS 730 / AoV1-152 / ATOK 387 / CH775 / UMH488 / WoV740 / ELW616 / GA308 / A&M838 / HPP214 / GtG227 / PH599 / G(II)293 / GC404 / GC(II)422 / G(3)510 / W&R285 / Cha569 / Srce387 / URW382 / Lau253 / StF777 Jesus remember me (Jacques Berthier) A beautiful chant, but we have not sung it often. Sheet music and sound samples.  
• TiS 357 / ATA 147 When his time was over the palms lay where they fell (Robin Mann) Beautiful and mournful. Lyrics.
• CH348 / StS001 / LBW196 / ELW843 / A&M762 / G(3)625 / CP397 / W&R93 / SP304 / URW090 Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness (Rusty Edwards) Good words of Christ's ministry to all. Can be sung to the familiar tune NETTLETON, or the less familiar and very lovely tune JOEL. Lyrics and sheet music. New words to old tunes
• TiS 356 / CH385 / Cha203 / StF273 Here hangs a man discarded (Brian Wren) Excellent words including “Can such a clown of sorrows still bring a useful word where faith and love seem phantoms and every hope absurd?”. Also works very well with TiS 339 (Passion Chorale) if your congregation is scared of new tunes. Lyrics and sheet music. New words to old tunes.
• Tune In / Online Resource In the shape of a cross (Dave Brown) A cry to God for help and a call for God to enter our world. Free downloadable songbook and sound samples.
• Tune In / Online Resource See our God with the tear-streaked face / Our God who weeps (Kate Scull) Very simple folk tune and challenging and hopeful lyrics. Free downloadable songbook and sound samples.
• Worldmaking.net O Christ, Lamb of God (Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan) A more modern Agnus Dei, with Christ sharing our weakness. Lyrics and sound sample.
• Protest and Praise / Online Resource Two trees rose from the garden ground (David Bjorlin / Benjamin Brody) A reflection on trees which starts with the choice of the tree of good and tree of evil, leads to the tree on which Jesus dies, and ends with the restoration of Eden. Lyrics, sheet music sample and purchasing options.
• Online Resource Nothing is wasted (David Bjorlin) A simple gospel-style chorus, which fits well with the idea that even difficult times, death, and suffering are not a waste. Sheet music sample and purchasing options. Sound sample. 
  

What will you be singing? Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments below.