Over the past few months, myself and a small team have been working on writing, rehearsing, recording, and shooting five music videos which will all be available to view on the 20schemes YouTube channel soon. The five songs consist of three brand new songs written by believers from our local scheme churches, as well as two older hymns ‘Near the Cross’ published in 1869 and written by Francis J. Crosby and ‘He Will Hold Me Fast’ written by Ada Ruth Habershon in 1906.

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We have arranged and recorded these great old songs not only because they are good hymns, but also because we want to establish clearly from the outset of this 20schemes song-writing venture that we very much intend on continuing our reliance on solid, doctrinally rich, gospel-oozing hymns written past and present by gifted and established song/hymn writers. Our plan to nurture a hymn-writing culture within our own scheme churches is a plan to broaden, not replace, our repertoire equipping us as a body of local believers to more thoroughly apply Psalm 144:9.

Every church should exist with its core message—the gospel. As believers, we need to be reminded of the gospel every day, and we must proclaim it to the lost in our communities. Every testimony is all about God and what he has done. The Bible is full of human testimonies, right from Adam and Eve in Genesis through to Revelation with the apostle John on the island of Patmos. Each testimony displays God’s glory by his intervention in our sinful lives. The glory of God being ultimately displayed in the finished work of Jesus nailed to that cross and rising again in victory over sin and death.

Any testimony worth listening to is an account whereby whatever the person’s life story might be, you come away with a clear picture of God’s holiness, grace, and mercy displayed unmistakably in the life change of that person. A decent testimony worth getting excited about is when the person points continually to God and his mercy on them.

Every scheme is different, with different characters and different characteristics. The purpose of this song-writing project is to develop an additional means of pointing more people to Jesus through providing an opportunity for our own believers, from our own local churches, to share their testimonies and expressions of praise to God. We are known and trusted by our local community because we live, eat, and breathe alongside each other every day which means our friends and neighbours are likely to listen to our own stories of God’s work in and through us. If that happens to be a song, then we want to have a go at writing songs.

‘Resting Place’

‘Resting Place’ was written by Fontaine ‘Fonz’ Selway as a response to one of the first sermons preached at Gracemout Community Church, which launched in April this year. Fonz is the women’s worker at GCC, she lives on the scheme with her husband Mark Selway, who is the Pastoral Assistant at GCC. Fonz has no musical background (other than a brief stint in a steel band years ago—not sure she wanted me to mention this) and despite recently taking up guitar lessons with Mark has never written a song before. Fonz was saved about six years ago from a chaotic lifestyle of alcoholism and abuse. Her now husband Mark was also saved a few months after Fonz and they are both now an integral part of the community in Gracemount, having recently completed their 2-year internships with 20schemes. Fonz has now written a number of poems, including her own testimony as an expression of praise and thankfulness to her Saviour.

The tune for ‘Resting Place’ was written and arranged by my wife, Carlie Fenne, who had never done any songwriting before until I handed her Fonz’s poem and asked her to come up with some music for it. Carlie was brought up in Northern Ireland and moved to Scotland in 2003 for university, where she studied interior architecture. Carlie was a key part of the music team at Niddrie Community Church from 2008–2016. We then left Niddrie and moved into Gracemount, where we both now serve by organising and running the music. Carlie also runs the toddler group in Gracemount and helps lead the women’s discipleship work on the scheme.

The band for this video features: Vocals – Cara Mairi Bell, Piano – Carlie Fenne, Guitar – Pete Bell, Bass – David Biddulph, Drums – Sol Fenne.

VERSE 1

I think of God as far away,
I think of life as just today,
I’d rather love stuff than love you,
I’d rather look good, gloat and boast.

VERSE 2

But you are the potter, I’m the clay,
You are the author of my eternal way.
You’ve put eternity into my heart,
You knew I was lost right from the start.

CHORUS

Sing songs of my God, He is full of grace.
My rock, my refuge, He is my resting place.

VERSE 3

I wasn’t looking, not even trying.
But while far off you heard me crying.
By your dying now I live.
Nothing in my hands I give.

CHORUS

Sing songs of my God, He is full of grace.
My rock, my refuge, He is my resting place

BRIDGE

I fall, I sin, I still look down
You lift my head to see your crown.
The crown of thorns that prove you’re King,
A new song now I’ll always sing.

CHORUS
Sing songs of my God, He is full of grace.
My rock, my refuge, He is my resting place