Songs, Hymns & Music for Proper 15A / Pentecost 20A / Pentecost +12 (August 20, 2023)

Genesis 45:1-15
Joseph and his brothers are reconciled.

• NCH429 God bless our homes (Frank von Christierson) A song to the easy tune CHARTERHOUSE seeking harmoniuos relationships and forgiveness within our households. 3rd verse "Forgive the hurts our selfishness inflicted on those we love and those who love us best. Christ, heal the scars, and draw us all together in God whose will is peace and joy and rest." Lyrics (older non-inclusive version).
• SFFS 2169 / GtG445 / StF613 God How Can We Forgive (Ruth Duck) Good words of healing in the midst of broken relationships to the familiar tune LEONI. Lyrics (scroll down). New words to old tunes.   
• TiS 653 / NCH417 / CH526 / UMH383 / GC(II)453 / G(3)522 / W&R355 / Cha518 This is a day of new beginnings (Brian Wren) "This is a day of new beginnings, time to remember and move on, time to believe what love is bringing, laying to rest the pain that's gone." Excellent words of reconciliation. A good New Year's Day hymn. There are two possible tunes. I prefer the more simple hymn-like tune by Carlton Young which is in most resources (including TiS). There is an optional final verse that can be used for Communion. Lyrics.
• MV074 When painful mem'ries haunt each day / When painful memories haunt each day (Ruth Duck) I suggest singing it to the more familiar Celtic tune KINGSFOLD (TiS 262). "When painful mem'ries haunt each day and dreams disturb the night, when life is washed with shades of grey and phantoms fill our sight, Christ stay beside us and embrace the child who dwells within; come, Healer, touch or lives with grace; restore our lives again."New words to old tunes. Lyrics.
• TiS 683 / WoV735 / ELW603 / W&R416 / StF649 God when human bonds are broken (Fred Kaan) These words pick up an unusual theme, and fit really well with this reading. There are a couple of possible tunes, none of which are immediately familiar, but they are not difficult either. Lyrics.
• AA035 Even if you’re small / You can walk tall (Cecily Sheehy) A kid's song about getting things wrong, saying sorry, being forgiven and starting again. Good for kids.
• VU619 / WoV738 / ELW612 / SFFS 2213 / GtG795 / G(II)642 / GC882 / GC(II)854 / G(3)960 / RS 958 / CP612 / W&R630 / Cha506 / URW161 / Lau427 Healer of Our Every Ill (Marty Haugen) Good straightforward words of healing and simple tune. "Give us strength to love each other, every sister, every brother". Can get overly mushy. Lyrics and sheet music sample. Sound sample.
• SFFS 2169 / GtG445 / StF613 God How Can We Forgive (Ruth Duck) Good words of healing in the midst of broken relationships to the familiar tune LEONI. Lyrics (scroll down). New words to old tunes.
• CH198 / MV001 / HPP550 / A&M365 / GtG301 / GC753 / GC(II)741 / G(3)850 / SP176 / URW058/ Lau458 / StF409 Let Us Build a House / All are welcome (Marty Haugen) This song has wonderful lyrics of hope for what a Christian community can be like, and a chorus that joyfully says “All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place”. Sheet music sample. Sound sample.

Psalm 133
How good it is when kindred live in unity. Oil running down the beard and dew on mountains.

• GWA018 How very good how wonderful / Mily gyönyörüség íme lásd (Zóltan Sumonyi / Dániel Gryllus) A fun setting of this Psalm, set to an Hungarian folk-music style tune, and a chorus that is just la la la la la. I would use a soloist for the verses. I really like this. Sound sample.
• Singing from the Lectionary Exclusive! Behold how good and Oh how pleasant (Noelle Damico) A beautiful chant that I remember every time I read this Psalm; I have an old photocopy of it and Noelle has given me permission to post it here, complete with my husband's guitarist scribbles. It can be sung as a simple chant, or sung with a responsive bilingual reading of the Psalm (Spanish/English) or really any way you like. You can access the file here (through a Google Drive document). Please let Noelle know if you use this (revdamico_at_gmail.com). Good for kids.
• Emergent Psalter How good it is (Isaac Everett) A good 3/4 swung Psalm refrain to a read Psalm. Sheet music (response) here.
• NCH Psalter How pleasant to live in unity (Hyeon Jeong) A simple Psalm refrain for a chanted or read Psalm.
• Online Resource Sharing the Road (Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan) A joyful song, with a simple refrain. I think this would work well either by using the chorus as a Psalm refrain, or by using both the chorus and verses intersected with a reading of the Psalm. The verses would be better sung by a soloist initially. I think the refrain would also be great sung more uptempo with some solid gospel harmonies... at least, that's what's happening in my head. Lyrics, sound sample and sheet music for purchase.
• GtG398 / PfAS133C How very good and pleasant (Barbara Boertje) This is sweet; perhaps a little mushy. I think older congregations would quite like this chorus. Sound sample.  
• VU856 / CH90 / StJ / R212 / ELW649 / SFFS 2231 / GtG397 / Cha292 / Cha764b / PfAS133D O Look and Wonder / Miren que bueno (Pablo Sosa). An energetic refrain, and verses are a paraphrase of the psalm. Lots of fun. Chalice also has it arranged as a Psalm response with reading if you prefer. Sample sheet music and sound sample here (bilingual)
• PfAS133B Behold how good and delightful (Traditional Puerto Rican) A simple short song in English and Spanish sung to a traditional Puerto Rican tune. Sound sample.
  
• Cha764a Unite us God unite us in your everlasting love (Unknown) Simple sung response, and responsive reading.
• G(II)525 / GC727 / SP244 / URW335 How Good It Is, what pleasure comes (Ruth Duck) Good words celebrating the joy of a faithful community. Sung to a familiar shape note tune. Lyrics and sample sheet music. Midi file of tune.
• CH198 / MV001 / HPP550 / A&M365 / GtG301 / GC753 / GC(II)741 / G(3)850 / SP176 / URW058/ Lau458 / StF409 Let Us Build a House / All are welcome (Marty Haugen) This song has wonderful lyrics of hope for what a Christian community can be like, and a chorus that joyfully says “All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place”. Sheet music sample. Sound sample.
• AoVK-113 Thank you O Lord for this world of ours (Barr) A good kids song in two parts.  Good for kids.

Alternative Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

Maintain justice, and do what is right; Welcome the foreigner and the outcast.

• AoV1-050 Act Justly (Monica O'Brien / Trisha Watts) Simple chant-like chorus, and strong verses. I love this one. It's based on Micah 6:8, but works very well for this reading too.  Lyrics & sound sample.
• TiS 629 / AHB 558 / AoV2-136 / ATA 197 / CH544 / VU600 / Lau888 / StF256 When I needed a neighbor were you there (Sydney Carter) A classic folk church song. Well known and fits well with this theme. "And the creed and the colour and the name won't matter"... Lyrics. Good for kids. Oldy-but-a-goody.
• TiS 657 / CH263 / VU700 / A&M559 / AA50 / CP(E) 447 / Cha656 / SP242 God of freedom God of justice (Shirley Murray) Powerful lyrics. Can be sung to either TREDEGAR (new, but not too hard) or PICARDY (very familiar) or RHUDDLAN. Lyrics and sheet music sample. New words to old tunes. There is also a nice tune from Douglas Simper in his book if you'd like something quite new, but still hymn-like.
• Online Resource Hear the message we now are proclaiming / El mensaje que hoy proclamamos (Eleazar Torregoza) This jubilant Colombian song of liberty and new life for the poor would fit well with this reading. Good for kids. Free sheet music!
• FFS60 Stranger standing at my door (Shirley Murray) Amazing words, but a tricky tune. Would be good if you have a good soloist in your congregation who would sing this and the congregation listen to the very meaningful words. Last verse is "I am fearful of your claim, yet I cannot turn away. Stranger with a foreign name, are you angel here to stay? You are messenger and guest, you the Christ I can't ignore, you my own compassion's test, stranger standing at my door; you the Christ I can't ignore.". Lyrics.
• FFS78 Who are these strangers? (Colin Gibson) Good words of questioning faith; quite sad and challenging. The tune is new, but it quite intuitive. "Who are these strangers? Why do they throng, crowding the place where we belong? Why do they haunt us with their pain, eyes that have seen so many slain? We do not know them, yet we kneel and bring them to this holy place, where bread is broken, wine is shared, suffering met by love and grace".
• FFS34 I am standing waiting (Shirley Murray) Good words of justice for children of poor nations to the well known French melody AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE. "I am standing waiting, waiting at your door, one of hunger's children from a billion poor" Lyrics and sheet music PDF. New words to old tunes. 
• TiS 690 / CH259 / A&M557 / StS115 / SP237 / Srce54 / StF693 / MP806 Beauty for brokenness hope for despair (Graham Kendrick) Themes of healing from personal and universal suffering and an emotive chorus. “Refuge from cruel wars, havens from fear, cities for sanctuary, freedoms to share, peace to the killing-fields, scorched earth to green; Christ for the bitterness, his cross for the pain”. It's a bit schmaltzy. Video.
• Online Resource The Children come (Carolyn Winfrey-Gillette) For those in the USA, this song focused on care for unaccompanied children entering the USA is particularly appropriate this week. Sheet music. 
• Online Resource / AoV2-102 / GA509 Who will speak if we don't (Marty Haugen) Excellent challenging words. Sound sample and sheet music sample. Good for teenagers.

Alternative Psalm: Psalm 67
It could be good to use an Aaronic blessing in your service. I'm not sure why we always save it for baptisms. Here's my list of Aaronic blessings (scroll down, when you get to the page).

• Online Resource / GWA010 Favour and bless us Lord (Grayson Warren Brown) A beautiful reworking of this Psalm, set to a tune that is very close to "Deep River" so will be readily sung by most congregations. Sound sample, sheet music sample, and purchasing options (choral setting).
• Taize / TiS 731 /  SFFS 2017 / GtG155 / G(II)377 / GC557 / GC(II)535 / G(3)618 / W&R212 / PfAS100G / URW383 / Lau691 Raise a song of gladness / Jubilate Servite (Taize) Glorious, fun round. If your congregation balks at singing in Latin, it can be sung in English as "Raise a song of gladness, all the earth, Christ has come, bringing peace, joy to every heart, Alleluia Alleluia, Joy to every heart (x2)". This is not a Gloria, but it has the feel of one! Lyrics and sound sample.  Good for kids (and kids like Latin sometimes!).
• STB285 When time began God fashioned all of this world (Unknown - Burma) The chorus to this is pretty fun, and is just happy "non-lexical syllables" (i.e. "hey la la la" type things). It is set to a traditional Kachin melody (Aw le le) and it would be good to sing this to honour the Kachin people of Burma. Sound sample
• VU786 / PfAS067C Let the peoples praise you (Henry Smart) Quite nice bouncy Psalm refrain with a read, cantored, or chanted Psalm.  Good for kids.
• Linnea Good May every person, every creature, be an instrument of praise (Linnea Good) A very simple and quite lovely Psalm refrain.
• Cha744 O God be gracious come and bless us (Carl P Daw) Very simple refrain and responsively read setting of this Psalm.
  
• TiS 37 / AHB 117 Our God be gracious unto us (Phillip Charles Blake) A simple hymn setting of this Psalm. I would prefer to sing it to RICHMOND (TiS 425). Lyrics (PPT).  New words to old tunes. 
• NCH421 / UMH131 / HPP552 / GtG336 / PH559 / GC571 / GC(II)549 / G(3)638 / W&R81 / Cha276 We gather together to ask for God's blessing (Traditional Dutch) A good song about living together as a community of faith, sung to a very familiar tune (KREMSER). Sources vary, and some are very masculine and old fashioned. Seek out the lyrics in the NCH, or you may be left with these lyrics (the tune is the same though). 
• TiS 106 / AHB 14 / AoV1-189 / NCH419 / CH182 / UMH102 / VU236 / LBW534 / ELW840 / GA425 / A&M739 / HPP283 / GtG643 / PH555 / GC565 / GC(II)545 / G(3)636 /  CP399 / CP(E) 530 / W&R14 / Cha715 / 82Hml-396 / Lau945 Now thank we all our God / Nun Danket Alle Gott (Martin Rinkart) A classic song of thanks. The language is not entirely inclusive in all versions. Chalice has great inclusive words. It's in the public domain, so changing the older English translation is quite acceptable. Older style lyrics and sound sample.Oldy-but-a-goody.
• NCH Psalter Let the peoples praise you O God (Peter Niedmann) A simple Psalm refrain.
• Emergent Psalter May God be gracious and bless us (Isaac Everett) A good refrain that can also be used as a round.  Good for kids. Sheet music.
• Online Resource Food is blessing (Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan) Great words focussed on food security and being faithful in the way we consume it. Sung to the familiar tune NETTLETON. New words for old tunes. Lyrics.  
• Online Resource The earth has yielded its harvest (Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan) Lovely words for a modern approach to harvest thanksgiving. Lyrics, sound sample, and purchasing options. 
  

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

God is merciful to all. Some of the suggestions for the Matthew reading also fit with this reading. 
You might like to sing a Kyrie during the prayer of confession.

• NCYC'03 God of grace God of mercy (Delia Crabbe) A gentle simple song seeking comfort and healing. 
• Online Resource / Tune In Like the sun upon my skin / God’s Mercy (Sheree Anderson) A beautiful ballad about identifying God's mercy in the beauty of creation. Lyrics, sound sample and free downloadable songbook.
• TiS 693 / AoV1-031 / GA212 Come as you are that's how I want you (Deidre Browne) This song is beautiful, gentle, simple, and very well known. Lyrics. Slow and mushy Youtube. A good song to start the service.

Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28
Jesus heals the Caananite woman's daughter. 
Again, you might like to sing a Kyrie during the prayer of confession.

• Online resource She came to Jesus from outside the fold (Carolyn Winfrey Gillette) Excellent words based on this reading to the well known Irish tune SLANE (Be thou my vision). Lyrics.> New words to old tunes.
• Online Resource / Tune In Like the sun upon my skin / God’s Mercy (Sheree Anderson) A beautiful ballad about identifying God's mercy in the beauty of creation. Lyrics, sound sample and songbook.
• TiS 638 / NCH175 / CH717 / A&M518 / GtG793 / PH380 / UMH265 / LBW380 / ELW610 / PH380 / CP291 / CP(E) 346 / W&R638 / Cha503 / Lau430 / StF653 O Christ the healer we have come (Fred Pratt Green) Beautiful words and simple to sing. Good for intercessions. I like the tune INVERCARRY best, but it can also be sung to TALLIS' CANON if your congregation needs a more familiar tune. Lyrics and sheet music. New words to old tunes.
• AoVK-28 / ATOK 376 Faith hope and love, this is what we long for (Trisha Watts) A groovy, easy, fun song. Good for kids.
• Iona (SBL) / MV068 / G(II)405 / GC581 / GtG578 / PfAS009A Kyrie Guarany / On the poor, on the poor (Pablo Sosa) A simple Kyrie from Paraguay; This is our current favourite at Brunswick. The English translation varies depending on the source (we don't sing On the Poor). Sound sample in Guarani. Sound sample in English. Good for kids.
• TiS 736 / AoV2-095 /ATOK 392 / CH776 / Iona (M&G) / UMH483 / VU946 / WoV602 / GA133 A&M372 / GtG579 / G(II)272 / GC272 / GC(II)249 / PfAS051J / SP184 / Cha298 / URW412 / Lau519 / LUYH635 Kyrie Eleison (Ukrainian) Very simple and beautiful Kyrie. Given current world events, it might be a good time to sing this. Often used. It is very easy to teach the bass part to the men in your congregation (even those who think they can't sing!). Youtube. Sheet music. Good for kids. 
• SoG 790 / ATW 463 / Iona (T1AU) / ELW721 / SFFS 2219 / A&M835 / GtG750 / GC(II)451 / G(3)528 / W&R296 / URW436 Goodness is stronger than evil (Desmond Tutu / John Bell) Words from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. "Victory is ours, victory is ours, through him who loves us". Some congregations change the last line to "Compassion is ours, compassion is ours...". It depends on the context in which you sing it, I suppose. Lyrics and sound samples.  Good for kids. There is also a very moving choral version of these words and more from Desmond Tutu, arranged by Tom Keesecker. Available here (sound sample there too).
  
• MV169 When hands reach out beyond divides (Keri K. Wehlander) Can be sung to a range of tunes. "When fear no longer guides our steps and days of war are done, God's dream for all shall live anew; our hearts will heal as one".
• VU619 / WoV738 / ELW612 / SFFS 2213 / GtG795 / G(II)642 / GC882 / GC(II)854 / G(3)960 / RS 958 / CP612 / W&R630 / Cha506 / URW161 / Lau427 Healer of Our Every Ill (Marty Haugen) Good straightforward words of healing and simple tune. "Give us strength to love each other, every sister, every brother". Can get overly mushy.Lyrics and sheet music sample. Sound sample.
• AoVNG1 / CH685 / FFS17 / GtG769 / G(3)812 / W&R617 For everyone born / A place at the table (Shirley Murray) Words of welcome and change to everyone regardless of sex, age, sexuality. There are three possible tunes. The Lori True tune is the most common. I like the Colin Gibson tune in FFS. This song is good for a service when communion is celebrated, but it makes sense without communion, too. DO NOT SING ALL THE VERSES if you're looking at the Hope Publishing version. Choose the ones that work for your community. I recommend not using verse 4, which talks about both the abuser and the abused being welcome at the table, and places the onus on the abused for forgiveness; it is a verse that Shirley Murray decided later she would have liked to remove. There is also an optional verse: "For gay and for straight...." Lyrics & sheet music. There is also a rewrite which has even more inclusion, which you may like to explore here.
• TiS 728 Jesuchristo Reina reina ya! (Unknown) A fun Latin American song. It's particularly fun if someone is brave enough to yell out a "call" at the start of each verse.
• CH198 / MV001 / HPP550 / A&M365 / GtG301 / GC753 / GC(II)741 / G(3)850 / SP176 / URW058/ Lau458 / StF409 Let Us Build a House / All are welcome (Marty Haugen) This song has wonderful lyrics of hope for what a Christian community can be like, and a chorus that joyfully says “All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place”. Sheet music sample. Sound sample. 
• TiS 90 / AHB 44 / UMH60 / VU867 / GtG806 / PH253 / A&M673 / CP346 / CP(E) 473 / W&R79 / Cha20 / PfAS146A / 82Hml-429 / StF079 / MP320 I'll praise my Maker while I've breath (Isaac Watts) A great classic hymn. Most sources are not inclusive; Voices United and Chalice hymnal are! Lyrics and sheet music samples. Oldy-but-a-goody.

Do you have some ideas you would like to share? Please join in the conversation below by adding a comment.