It's been a while since I posted here, but that doesn't mean I haven't written anything. This link will take you to Psalm 146, a paraphrase of that psalm written in collaboration with Greg Scheer. Folks who follow congregational song will likely recognize the name (his work does show up in Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal).
Somehow he got my name, apparently from someone involved with The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, and he invited me to try out a psalm for him to set. Psalm 146 has been my favorite psalm for a while, I think, and no one else had claimed it, so I gave it a shot.
If you actually look at the hymns I typically post here, you'll know that virtually all of them are written to existing hymn tunes (or the occasional folk tune or other), and Scheer's style is typically different. This was the occasion to stretch myself, which I should probably do if I intend to continue writing words for congregational song (which feels like a calling at this point, so...).
Permissions for use would need to come from Scheer at this point, if that is something anyone would intend to do. For me, it's been a new and enlightening experience and one I'd be happy to do again, if I'm not getting interrupted by travel and medical exams and other stuff.
That isn't the only thing I've been working on; I'm trying to do English versifications of Japanese hymns, if you can believe that. But I feel something of my own coming on, so perhaps it will show itself before the end of the month.
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