The PsalmSongs Project is a unique new approach to engaging with God’s Word through live events, a small group study course, an album of contemporary PsalmSongs, videos, blogs … and with an opportunity to make your own contribution to the Project.
The PsalmSongs journey
It all started on the A24. On the daily commute from suburban Sutton up to central London.
The extraordinary sight and sound of a lycra-clad cyclist waiting at the Balham traffic lights not just speaking, but singing out loud the words of ancient biblical Psalms. Could you imagine a more incongruous scene?! Yet that is exactly where the inspiration for these PsalmSongs first dared show its face.
To be fair, the initial idea came from reading a book purchased from the local post office at the end of a day spent on Holy Island at Easter 2012, telling the story of the 4th Century saints, Aidan, Bede and Cuthbert. They founded the monastic community on Holy Island and, to encourage each other on their journeying around the north east of England, all those centuries ago, they recited the Psalms to each other … from memory – all 150 of them. The Psalms clearly gave them inspiration and empowerment for their daily work.
Hoping I could experience something of that encouragement, I decided to follow in their steps, albeit learning just 15 of them. The obvious place to carry out this learning was on my 50 minute daily cycle ride to London and back each day. I set myself a three month time period and, astonishingly, achieved it. Even more astonishingly, the notes I jotted down about how these Psalms were relevant to everyday 21st Century life – a cool three thousand years after they were written – ended up being published in 2013 as my first book: ‘Riding the Tide’. Most astonishing of all, I found myself working out how to set these Psalms to contemporary music.
[Read the full story in this blog post: https://www.simonwardlondon.com/the-psalmsongs-journey/]
The PsalmSongs Course
The course is designed to equip Christians in small groups to be confident in their faith through a new approach to engaging with the timeless Word of God. Over nine weeks, it provides a deeper understanding of the Psalms, opens up discussion and debate, and identifies how the message of the Psalms can support, influence and help individuals to develop their Christian lives.
It features:
- New settings of 10 Psalms to contemporary songs in the album Declare His Glory
- Video interviews exploring key themes including: Motivation and choices; Compassion; and Anxiety
- A detailed Study Guide based around the 2013 book Riding the Tide
- The Course Guide ‘PsalmSongs’ provides the resources to run an enjoyable small group course, which is easily accessible to different “learning styles” via the variety of media used. Course Guide, CDs, and books can be purchased from the shop.
The Course was trialled in Autumn 2017. One Small Group leader shares their experience: “The PsalmSongs Course was immensely successful and everyone really enjoyed it and learned from it. The songs were excellent and the video introductions most helpful. The questions were challenging and gave us plenty to discuss. A very good new study course and highly recommended”.
PsalmSongs introductory videos
Each of the studies in the PsalmSongs Course Guide has a short introductory video. See below to capture a flavour of the course.