Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas. Some of this information is original; most of it is copied from other websites such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org. It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.
About the Vocal Solo Music:
Plowshare Prayer - Spencer LaJoye
(c.2022, Jennifer LaJoye)
"Plowshare Prayer" is a song written by Spencer LaJoye in 2021. The song is a folk-pop piece that focuses on themes of prayer, healing, and empathy, particularly for those who have felt marginalized or hurt by religious institutions. LaJoye wrote the song after experiencing a crisis of faith and feeling disconnected from traditional prayer practices, which they perceived as sometimes being used as weapons.
The song's title, "Plowshare Prayer," is a metaphor inspired by the biblical passage about swords being beaten into plowshares. LaJoye uses this imagery to express the idea of transforming prayer from something potentially harmful or judgmental into a tool for growth, healing, and connection. The lyrics address various groups facing hardship, such as the lonely, sick, addicted, poor, and victims of violence, offering prayers for their healing, peace, and support.
Since its release, "Plowshare Prayer" has resonated with many listeners, sparking conversations about faith, doubt, and the power of music to connect people and foster empathy. LaJoye has described the song as a declaration of both faith and doubt, and a way to ensure that no one feels unseen or unheard. The song's popularity has led to it being shared widely online and among various communities, with listeners sharing their personal stories and experiences with LaJoye.
Spencer LaJoye is a coast-to-coast singer/songwriter and vocal loop artist with Midwest roots, a classically-trained violinist with an inner theater kid’s love of group choreography, and a student of Americana music with a theology degree hanging in their studio. They’ve been writing and touring their own autobiographical folk/pop music for over a decade, but their viral 2021 anthem “Plowshare Prayer” secured them a permanent place in hearts and households across the world, as well as a peculiar career as a veracious songsmith with an unshakeable pastoral presence.
LaJoye said this about this song: “In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, I found myself working for 3 churches at once. And as much as I loved these communities, this work is draining, both physically and mentally. Soon, health challenges and moral struggles made me unable to serve those faith communities with the grace and integrity I always had. So I listened to my body, and I left. This song was one of the last things I wrote during this time period. It’s honest about my moral struggles and my pain, but it’s also a love letter, and probably the most faithful thing I’ve ever written. It asks the question: what would a prayer sound like it it was used as a plowshare rather than a sword? A toll for growing new things in the most disregarded and traumatized places, rather than a weapon wielded by the institutionally powerful?”
Dear blessed creator, dear mother, dear savior,
Dear father, dear brother, dear holy other,
Dear sibling, dear baby, dear patiently waiting,
Dear sad and confused, dear stuck and abused,
Dear end of your rope, dear worn out and broke,
Dear go it alone, dear running from home,
Dear righteously angry, forsaken by family,
Dear jaded and quiet, dear tough and defiant,
I pray that I'm heard, And I pray that this works.
I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword
Against you and your heart, Against you and your word,
I pray that this prayer is a plowshare of sorts,
That it might break you open, It might help you grow.
I pray that your body gets all that it needs,
And if you don't want healing, I just pray for peace.
I pray that your burden gets lighter each day,
I pray the mean voice in your head goes away,
I pray that you honor the grief as it comes,
I pray you can feel all the life in your lungs,
I pray that if you go all day being brave
That you can go home, go to bed Feeling safe,
I pray you're forgiven, I pray you forgive,
I pray you set boundaries and openly live,
I pray that you feel you are worth never leaving,
I pray that you know I will always believe you,
I pray that you're heard, And I pray that this works.
Amen on behalf of the last & the least,
On behalf of the anxious, depressed and unseen,
Amen for the workers, the hungry, the houseless,
Amen for the lonely and recently spouseless,
Amen for the queers and their closeted peers,
Amen for the bullied who hold in their tears,
Amen for the mothers of little Black sons,
Amen for the kids who grow up scared of guns,
Amen for the addicts, the ashamed and hung over,
Amen for the calloused, the wisened, the sober,
Amen for ones who want life to be over,
Amen for the leaders who lose their composure,
And amen for the parents who just lost their baby,
Amen for chronically ill and disabled,
Amen for the children down at the border,
Amen for the victims of our law and order.
I pray that you're heard, And I pray that this works.
I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword
Against you and your heart, Against you and your word,
I pray that this prayer is a plowshare of sorts, Amen.
About the Hymns:
Many Gifts, One Spirit
(c.1974, Al Carmines)
Reverend Alvin Allison "Al" Carmines, Jr. (1936-2005) was a key figure in the expansion of Off-Off-Broadway theatre in the 1960s. Carmines attended Swarthmore College, majoring in English and philosophy, and then Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, earning a Bachelor of Divinity in 1961 and a Master of Sacred Theology in 1963. Carmines was hired by Howard Moody as an assistant minister at Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square Park, New York, to found a theater in the sanctuary of the Greenwich Village church in conjunction with playwright Robert Nichols. He began composing in 1962 and acted as well. His Bible study group grew into the Rauschenbusch Memorial United Church of Christ, with Carmines as pastor.
Carmines is perhaps best remembered in the church for the hymn "Many Gifts, One Spirit" #114 in the United Methodist Hymnal. He was commissioned by the United Methodist Women to write this hymn for their General Assembly in 1974.
God of change and glory, God of time and space,
When we fear the future, Give to us your grace.
In the midst of changing ways Give us still the grace to praise.
God of many colors, God of many signs,
You have made us different, Blessing many kinds.
As the old ways disappear, Let your love cast out our fear
Freshness of the morning, Newness of each night,
You are still creating Endless love and light.
This we see, as shadows part, Many gifts from one great heart.
Refrain
Many gifts, one Spirit, One love known in many ways.
In our difference is blessing, From diversity we praise
One Giver, one Lord, One Spirit, one Word
Known in many ways, Hallowing our days.
For the Giver, for the gifts, Praise, praise, praise!
About the Modern Band Music:
Graves into Gardens - Brandon Lake
(c.2019, Brandon Lake Music)
"Graves into Gardens" by Elevation Worship (feat. Brandon Lake) is a testimony song about God’s power to bring life from death and hope from despair. Co-written with Pastor Steven Furtick, Chris Brown, and Tiffany Hudson, it originated from a message by Pastor Steven Furtick titled "The Mystery of Potential," on 2 Kings 13:20–21, which focused on the story of Elisha's bones and the idea that God can turn dead, hopeless situations (graves) into blooming, productive ones (gardens).
Brandon Lake met with Chris Brown (Elevation Worship) at a conference to write, which led to a session with Furtick and Tiffany Hudson. Lake described being nervous but honored to write with them as he had long been influenced by their ministry. The song was recorded live at Elevation Church's Ballantyne campus in January 2020. It became Elevation Worship’s first #1 single on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart and won the GMA Dove Award for Worship Recorded Song of the Year.
I searched the world but it couldn't fill me
A man's empty praise and treasures that fade are never enough
Then You came along and me back together
And every desire is now satisfied here in Your love
Oh there's nothing better than You
There's nothing better than You
Lord there's nothing nothing is better than you
I’m not afraid to show You my weakness
My failures and flaws Lord You've seen them all and You still call me friend
'Cause the God of the mountain is the God of the valley
And there's not a place Your mercy and grace won't find me again
You turn mourning to dancing
You give beauty for ashes
You turn shame into glory
You're the only one who can
You turn graves into gardens
You turn bones into armies
You turn seas into highways
You're the only one who can
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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