Scripture is the common thread between songwriters in our diocese. “When I steep myself in scripture,” says Abigail at Immanuel Anglican, “it saturates my mind and imagination, and it feeds the part of me that’s wired to create.”  

Similarly, for Father Steve, the process of songwriting begins by contemplating scripture. He often senses the Lord calling him to a theme or specific passage, and then he translates those ideas into music. Working scripture into music has a way of “setting it so deeply in your heart, it shapes you,” he says. 

Claire Slader

Claire Slader at Cornerstone Anglican in Chicago, IL, listens attentively to how God is speaking to her through the creative process. She loves getting to “mimic my heavenly creator Father… like when a child puts on their dad’s shoes and stumbles around the house.” 

The Balance of Art and Accessibility

Creating original worship music presents a unique artistic challenge: crafting something beautiful while ensuring it remains singable for an entire congregation.

“I want to put something of myself, something fresh and beautiful into making it, but also something that is unifying across lots of different people,” says Abigail at Immanuel Anglican. She describes this tension as a “dance between being specific and creative but also having a wide enough shared message that the church can sing it together.”

The surprising difficulty of this balance resonates with Bonnie at City of Light: “Writing congregational worship is so much harder than people assume. There’s such a craft to writing something theologically rich and lyrically creative yet simple and easy for the congregation to sing.“

Maddy Hunt

At Christ Church Madison in WI, Maddy Hunt describes their Sanctus arrangement as drawing inspiration from both classical music and even Beatles melodies and Radiohead chord progressions. “Different genres, colors, and flavors can produce really cool results” while remaining accessible, she says.

Meanwhile, Wilder at Bread of Life (center) attempts to guide the congregation toward a modernized stream of timeless hymns, saying “The music of Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts aren’t museum pieces; they’re living remnants of a bygone people who were worshipping the same timeless God.” He sometimes pushes the congregation to the edge of what they can absorb in the music, but they give it their best effort, helping him learn what works and what doesn’t. 

The Collaborative Nature of Songwriting

The solitary songwriter hunched over a piano in isolation is rarely the reality in creating worship music. Instead, collaboration is essential. 

Above right: Fr. Steve, Bonnie McMaken, Dre T. Turner. Photo by Michael Johnson.

“Co-writing with other songwriters has been the way that I’ve grown most as a songwriter,” says Father Trevor McMaken at City of Light. His experience echoes Bonnie’s, who explains, “When you’re writing music for the church, letting other people into the process makes the song stronger; it will only bear fruit, even if it ends up going in a different direction.”

Abigail at Immanuel Anglican agrees and loves sharing seeds of ideas with other songwriters to create together. Collaborating with other worship leaders also helps her better understand what songs will work to sing together as a congregation.

Father Steve at Resurrection (above left) recognizes that collaboration opens the door to constructive critique. He values “trusted brothers and sisters who can give you loving critique and feedback on what’s strong and maybe what could be improved.”

Of course, that requires a lot of vulnerability, admits Maddy at Church Church Madison. “You have to know who you can work well with and share a common vision.”

The result can be powerful. The album project at Church of the Cross exemplifies large-scale collaboration, with album director Tyler Stitt noting that it resulted from “the orchestration of the Holy Spirit and the generous outpouring of many people’s gifts.”