Songs Recently

"How Rich a Treasure We Possess"
This one sounds so similar to "Lift High the Name of Jesus".  The melody of the verses and the way that both of them play it on an "Open E" (i.e., no 3rd/G#).  Yet I really like this song.

Fernando Ortega.
Keith and Kristen Getty feature Fernando Ortega on their most recent album.  This guy's hymns are among the best.  Fernando and Audry Assad are sort of the pop-level entry to some of the hymns world.  Much more than a band like Page CXVI.  Some how their reach has really extended far.  Ortega songs get covered by IHOP; Audry Assad literally sang at one of their yearly events (Onething).

Your church's greatest instrument
Your church's greatest instrument is the voice of the congregation.
https://twitter.com/MatthewTyler674/status/1036363346860232704
This is amazing! I really miss this group of people.  They just love to sing this way at the end of a song.  The trick here is to leave the acapella til the last verse. (Or second to last verse.)  This way, the congregation already has the tune down, they are used (and more confident in) singing it.  You also don't have to be worried about them slowing the tune down (since that almost always happens when instruments aren't in the mix.)

"His Mercy is More"
Is it worth the weird syncopation issues?

"O God Beyond All Praising"
This is generally thought of as a Catholic Hymn, but it's totally in their Trinity Hymnal (#660).
Here is a version released by Oregon Catholic Press:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnnQpC9oLxU
This was sung by the church in Shanghai.
Seems similar to "Lo He Comes" in its high church yet beautiful feel.  It's tune (Jupiter) was written for Planets in 1914, yet it is a fairly recent hymn text (1982).  Now the tune is also patriotic for England.

"All Praise to Him"
This is a new one by SG and Matt Merker (Prayers of the Saints) and actually seems to be a good congregational one.  It's a Trinity song.  I really like its progression from the Father's transcendence (vs 1) to the Son & His work, to the H.S. & Immanence (vs 3), with the last part of verse 3 tying them together in a Triune prayer.  Beautiful.  The syncopation issues variants seem manageable and at least consistent from verse to verse.  Matt Merker & Bob Kauflin revised a Horatius Bonar hymn.

"Where Shall I Be"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuD-nK03Z0g
Very interesting old AA spiritual about the judgment at the second coming.

Christ Be Our Light
Another Catholic song.  Here is University of Notre Dame folk choir singing it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g0c4YeABTs
The University of Notre Dame Folk choir is doing some pretty awesome stuff.  This song is a little more Christ-centered than the other (good, but maybe not important enough for Sunday congregational singing?) popular song of theirs, "We Are Called":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgomtIc1_yc
It's so encouraging to see their joy and enthusiasm in singing though.  This OCP hymnal has a section on "Social Care & Justice"

 (link)

Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
Oregon Catholic Press release:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ytf_TIujPw
Samples are available for HoG 327 here:
https://hymnsofgrace.com/products/holy-god-we-praise-thy-name-keyboard-rhythm-in-e-and-f-maj

New Getty stuff
I am more and more thinking that I should pitch the "new Getty album releases; all other modern hymn writers quit" bb article.
Their latest channel is so good.