Category Archives: Church

Psalm 84: Blessed Beyond Measure

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Greg Scheer

I’m currently working on a big choral commission for the centennial celebration of Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna, MN. (“Big” as in, youth and adult choirs, handbells and handchimes, woodwinds, brass, strings, timpani, harp, and praise team.) While it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Congregational Songs, Demos, Psalms | 1 Comment

Speak Sabbath O’er My Soul (TL Moody)

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Greg Scheer

My second collaboration with TL Moody is a tune for her text “Speak Sabbath O’er My Soul.” What I love about this text is that positions Sabbath as something life-giving that God does for us rather than a teeth-gritting discipline … Continue reading →

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Is It I, Lord?

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Greg Scheer

My third collaboration with Christopher Webber is a new tune for his social justice hymn, “Is It I, Lord?” The meter of the text is 8.5.5.5 D, which is very unusual. (Unusual, as in “I don’t think it exists anywhere … Continue reading →

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Blessed Be!

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Greg Scheer

It’s hard to believe that this piece is 23 years old! This setting of the song of Zechariah (Luke 1:67-79) was written when I lived in Pittsburgh and is performed here by the Duquesne University Choir under the direction of … Continue reading →

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Prayer of Jonah

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Greg Scheer

It’s been a good season for commissions, with hymns, choral anthems, and orchestral compositions waiting to be written. But first, this setting of the biblical Song of Jonah. You’ll remember that Jonah was a runaway prophet who was swallowed by … Continue reading →

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Many Fields to Plow, piano/organ

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Greg Scheer

It seems that people are clamoring* for a keyboard arrangement of “Many Fields to Plow.” Who am I to say No? What I like most about the keyboard version is that it brings out the flowing nature of the melody in … Continue reading →

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Many Fields to Plow (with TL Moody)

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Greg Scheer

One of my great joys is when students become colleagues and collaborators. In this case, one of my songwriting students, Tammy Moody, has a growing collection of “Garden Girl Hymns”–texts that find inspiration in the beauty of both work and … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Congregational Songs, Demos | 1 Comment

Holy Spirit, Come, Confirm Us (Brian Foley)

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Greg Scheer

There are lots of songs about the Holy Spirit, but most focus on invocation or sanctification. What I really liked about Brian Foley’s text “Holy Spirit, Come, Confirm Us,” is that he talks about other roles of the Holy Spirit: … Continue reading →

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하나님께서 당신을 통해 May the Love of God Spring Up in Your Soul

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Greg Scheer

Calvin College regularly sings a Korean blessing song that is just beautiful. The only problem is that the English translation doesn’t sound much like English! I was talking to one of the Korean worship leaders at Calvin about this and … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Congregational Songs, Demos, Global | 2 Comments

A Christian’s Duty

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Greg Scheer

When one of the members of the St. Sinner Orchestra went to the hospital with a bowel obstruction, I knew just the song to cheer him up: Blest Is the Man Whose Bowels Move. I wrote a tune (“A CHRISTIAN’S DUTY) … Continue reading →

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