Course Description
Church and Christian faith practices are in the midst of critical sea-change made all the more intense and unsettling by the Covid 19 pandemic. Navigating this contemporary cultural change presents opportunities and challenges for effective Christian discipleship, to re-imagine and experiment in both ancient and new vessels. This course will use biblical and theological perspectives combined with insights from history and the social sciences to provide portals through which to understand and engage with an increasingly disruptive environment. It will include exploring a range of creative expressions of Christian life for both individuals and communities this Advent, and equip people for spiritual renewal in diverse local contexts.
This is an open access course available as a 10-credit course (accredited by the University of Glasgow) or audit-only for those who just wish to engage with the learning programme for their own personal benefit.
Church and Christian faith practices are in the midst of critical sea-change made all the more intense and unsettling by the Covid 19 pandemic. Navigating this contemporary cultural change presents opportunities and challenges for effective Christian discipleship, to re-imagine and experiment in both ancient and new vessels. This course will use biblical and theological perspectives combined with insights from history and the social sciences to provide portals through which to understand and engage with an increasingly disruptive environment. It will include exploring a range of creative expressions of Christian life for both individuals and communities this Advent, and equip people for spiritual renewal in diverse local contexts.
This is an open access course available as a 10-credit course (accredited by the University of Glasgow) or audit-only for those who just wish to engage with the learning programme for their own personal benefit.
Songs for Sunday
About
This collaborative project between Trinity College Glasgow and professional musician Iain McLarty offers ideas for songs for every Sunday in the Church year, inspired by the main readings from the Revised Common Lectionary and seasonal themes and structured around the shape of worship.
It is written from a Scottish perspective but includes songs from around the world and in many different styles. There are a broad range of contemporary songs suggested to encourage worship planners to build new songs into their congregation’s repertoire.
You can find the post for a particular week by clicking on the appropriate year below or you can use the Scripture index if you are looking for songs relating to a particular passage. An index of sources is at the bottom of this page.
Year A (Advent 2025 - Reign of Christ 2026)
Year B (Advent 2026 - Reign of Christ 2027)
Year C (Advent 2024 - Reign of Christ 2025)
About the writer
Iain McLarty is a professional musician and worship development worker based in Glasgow, Scotland. He has worked in different denominations and ecumenical settings around the world, leading worship in congregations and at conferences and delivering training. He is passionate about about helping people plan worship that is collaborative, participative and contextual, bringing their communities into encounter with God.
Sources
The following books are the core sources that I draw from most weeks, covering a wide range of different genres. If you don’t have any of these resources then I would highly recommend investing in them.
CCLI SongSelect by CCLI
GWA God Welcomes All
I also have a wide range of books and online sources which I regularly use and will reference less regularly. If you find that you like songs suggested from these resources then they are worth investigating further.
Cantate Cantate (Decani Music)
Carolyn Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
Common Common Hymnal
CG Common Ground
CP Carol Praise
Fischy Fischy Music
Getty Getty Music
GIA GIA Publications
Gordon Malcolm Gordon
GP Global Praise Books 1, 2 and 3 (United Methodist Church)
Grace Grace Music New Psalter
GSW Global Songs for Worship
Hosanna Hosanna! (World Council of Churches)
Hymnary Hymnary.org
Kimbrough Wendell Kimbrough
Lee David Lee
LTACR Let the Asian Church Rejoice (Methodist School of Music / Trinity Theological College, Singapore)
MV More Voices (United Church of Canada)
NEH New English Hymnal
New Scottish New Scottish Hymns
PFAS Psalms for All Seasons
Resound Resound Worship
Satellite Satellite Worship
Scheer Greg Scheer
SGP Songs of God's People
STF Singing the Faith (The Methodist Church)
Taizé Taizé Community
TM Thuma Mina
WGRG Wild Goose Resource Group