Planning Worship

Are you involved in planning music for worship?

The RSCM’s Sunday by Sunday magazine is a comprehensive resource with all that you need to choose the right music for your church, week by week.

Liturgy resources

Advent Wreath
Ascension (0212)
Baptism and confirmation services (0312)
Bible Sunday (0611)
Celebrating the Saints (0711)
Christingle (0613)
Christmas carol service (0609)
Compline services (0915)
Coronation (0123)
Creationtide Liturgy (0320)
Dedication Festival (0310)
Easter Vigil (1113)
Funerals, Memorial Services, All Souls (0613)
A Harvest Carol Service
Harvest thanksgiving including ‘A Time for God’s Creation’ (0113)
Justice, freedom and liberty marking Magna Carta 800 (0215)
Lament of a Sudanese Christian (0723)
Michael and All Angels (0613)
Mothering Sunday (0212)
Music for World War I commemoration and Remembrance Sunday (0714)
Music in honour of the Virgin Mary (0410)
Music on Eucharistic themes (1113)
Music Sunday (0210)
Praying for Peace – Dona Nobis Pacem (0611)
Order of service for Remembrance Sunday from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (0105)
Racial Justice Sunday (0123)
Sea Sunday
Thy Kingdom Come Service (11/18)
Weddings (0910)
Week of prayer for Christian Unity (1116)

Articles

Celebrating Holy Week (Ian Forrester – revised by Peter Moger, March 2017)
Harvest Festivals (Peter Moger – revised September 2012)
Organ music for manuals only (John Henderson – revised June 2011)
Services through Advent and Christmas (Gill Ambrose)
Worship during Lent (David Kennedy – February 2009)

Miscellaneous

List of abbreviations as used in Sunday by Sunday (updated November 2016)
Finding your way around Sunday by Sunday (added March 2014)

Back issues

Linking songs – why and how

Sam and Sara Hargreaves wrote for us in Issue 75 about why and how to link songs together in a flow of worship. They have provided this helpful accompanying video which demonstrates the principles explained in their article.

Tenebrae services

In Issue 71 James Steven contributed an article on Tenebrae services. The following service outline may be downloaded and adapted for local use:
Download order of service
Download table of readings (synoptic Gospels)
Plainsong settings of the psalms in the service above are provided in the following booklet: Download psalm settings

Making the most of your choir

In Issue 56 we included an article by Jon Payne on ‘Making the most of your choir’, illustrated by some examples from the hymn ‘When Miriam’s daughters rise and sing’ by John Barnard and Janet Wootton. The extended examples may be downloaded below.
Download the treble/bass structure 
Download the full harmonization

‘Purify my heart’ by Brian Doerksen

In Issue 54 Richard Hubbard discussed the well-known worship song ‘Purify my heart’. The full arrangement for choir, organ and instruments, supplementing the article, is no longer available for download from this website for copyright reasons, as the permitted time period has expired. However, please contact us at marketing@rscm.com if you would like information about how to obtain the arrangement. ‘Purify my heart’ has words and music by Brian Doerksen © 1990 Vineyard Songs & ION Publishing (admin. by Song Solutions CopyCare) and may not be photocopied.

Psalm 150 – A Psalm for Music Sunday

Issue 52 featured a new setting of Psalm 150 by David Ogden, suitable for use on Music Sunday. Instrumental parts and a full score are available to download below. Visit our Music Sunday page to find further resources for planning a Music Sunday service or event.

Alto saxophone
Choir
Clarinet in B flat
Congregation
Descant recorder
Easy clarinet / trumpet in B flat
Easy flute
Easy violin
Flute

Full score 
Keyboard
Percussion
Trumpet in B flat
Viola
Violin
Violoncello
Voice parts

Musical example

As featured in Sunday by Sunday Issue 50, you can view sample pages of ‘God of hope and Lord of healing’ below. The full music, including instrumental parts, is available for purchase from RSCM Music Direct.
Download sample pages of God of hope and Lord of healing by Margaret Rizza with words by Christopher Idle 
Purchase God of hope and Lord of healing