Plowshare Prayer

This heartfelt piece written by Spencer LaJoye shines a new light on what sacred music can look like in the 21st century. With lyrics that can be called a modern Psalm, this piece of music truly has something for every listener to latch on to. May it provide comfort to the struggling, oppressed, and unseen. This lead sheet matches the SATB and SSAA scorings of this piece as well. A note from composer, Spencer LaJoye - “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 if it was used as a plowshare rather than a sword? A tool for growing new things in the most disregarded and traumatized places, rather than a weapon wielded by the institutionally powerful?”