Check out the new Facebook video!
Featuring the title track from Tom Booth's newest collection, You Welcomed Me, this powerful video calls us to look outside ourselves to welcome and serve the marginalized, the poor, the needy, the addicted and the lost at our table.#YouWelcomedMe #TomBooth #CorporalWorksOfMercy #WorksOfMercy
Posted by OCP on Thursday, February 8, 2018
I am excited to share the news of my new recording project. I wrote several of the songs and co-wrote a few of the songs with my friends Carl Herrgesell and Sarah Hart. Also included is a song entitled Ready and Willing, a co-write with friends of mine who live and minister in Hawaii. Soane and Margaret Uiagalelei minister full-time with the SSCC Congregation (The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary). The SSCC community gave us St. Damien de Veuster, who lived, ministered and died on the island of Molokai; giving his life to those afflicted with Leprosy, and banished from the other islands because of the disease. The title song, You Welcomed Me, has an interesting story. I was asked to compose it for a gathering that I could not attend. My friends Pipo and Joyce Coronel insisted I was the right person to compose and sing the song at the beautiful event they had planned, to support the plight of the Iraq Catholics who were fleeing persecution. I “sang” the song by way of a recording and video, and the song grew in my heart and in my ministry. It encapsulates all that I have tried to “say” on this recording project: welcome the stranger, no matter who they are and no matter where they come from. This is the call to us all from the heart of Jesus: “For whatever you did, to the least of these, you did to me”.
You Welcomed Me is available at OCP.org (click here). It is also available on iTunes.
“Tom Booth has given us all another great collection of sacred song in his new recording, You Welcomed Me. With strikingly beautiful arrangements, each selection will carry you into a deep encounter with Christ. Our parish community picked up the melodies with ease and I found them to be liturgically engaging. Tom masterfully captures the beauty of Sacred Scripture and in one song, allows us a glimpse into the heart of St. Teresa of Calcutta. This will be your new favorite – It certainly has become mine!”
Msgr. Steve Avila.
Pastor, St. Anthony’s Parish. East Falmouth, MA
“Renowned Catholic songwriter/teacher Tom Booth has done it again! If you are director of music in your parish, or if you lead a music worship group at a church, or if you are just a casual listener of Christian or Catholic music, the new collection by Tom Booth, You Welcomed Me, is like musical manna. Tom has created a new and beautiful set of songs that have a common thread: that we are all part of the mission of the Church; serving and loving others, just as Jesus Christ asked his followers to do. From songs about being called by God, to songs about trusting in the mercy of God, and songs about going into the world to love those we meet, this is a wonderful collection that the whole church can sing and, more importantly, embrace in their collective heart. Get this recording! Listen to it, learn it and share it with your church! I love it and plan to sing it with my congregation. I know our faith will deepen and our hearts will rejoice at the good news in these songs.]”
Jaime Cortez
Renowned Liturgical Composer
Workshop Presenter /Parish Music Director
“Tom Booth has always given such beautiful songs to the Church to pray and sing. With this new recording, he has given us his best songs so far! I am in love with the gorgeous sounds, the truth in the lyrics and the deep honesty that is a hallmark of Tom’s music. With You Welcomed Me, Tom has truly done something beautiful for God!”
Sarah Hart
Composer/Performer/Mission Presenter
Spirit and Song/OCP.org
“From the first notes and chords of the opening song – You Called Me, Tom Booth has put together something that is musically vintage, and yet fresh and new. One of my favorites, Pilgrim Walk On, accomplishes much the same. You Welcomed Me is a musical breath of fresh air!”
John Michael Talbot
Acclaimed Catholic Musician
Grammy/Dove Award Winner
Author/Founder/General Minister of Little Portion Hermitage
Hi Everyone!
Forgive my neglect of the website and travel schedule. Some of you have asked (though many follow me on my facebook page: Tom Booth Music I hope you are well and taking good care of yourself. In the Spring of 2017 I will be…
January – composing and recording
February – Going to be certified in Spiritual Direction! 2 weeks of prayer and study. I will be at the LA Religious Education Congress from Feb 23 to 26 – and composing with Val Jansen.
March – Mission Month! March 11-15 in Antioch, CA presenting a Lenten Mission at Holy Rosary Church. Google it! And at St Mary’s in Chandler, AZ for a mission March 18-22. I go back to school for Spiritual Direction training the final week of March.
April – Another (final) week of Spiritual Direction training and formation, and a possible pilgrimage to Hawaii for the Sacred Heart (SSCC) community.
May – OCP Commons Video shoot in Dallas and recording a new CD for OCP!
June – My daughter Haley get’s married! And… I will be leading a retreat on Desert Spirituality at the CASA in Scottsdale (Franciscan Renewal Center) from June 16-18. Google it! J
Pray for me, as I pray for you. God alone is enough +
Tom
Here is an interview to listen to (PAUSE the jukebox on the left side and hit play!!
I am very excited to announce the release of my new recording this fall! “TIME STANDS STILL” is an 8 song CD and Digital Release (Spirit and Song/OCP) that has a variety of styles. Many of these songs are designed for corporate worship and all of them come from an imperfectly lived life of contemplation. More information and samples of the recording are forth-coming. This past spring and summer was spent serving in many different faith communities doing missions of prayer, teaching and song. I continue to work on a book about the many ways God has “ruined” my plans (in a good way!) through decimating divine love! This fall, along with the new album release, there will be more preaching missions, concerts and producing new music for OCP. I am also working on constructing a new overdub studio. Most importantly, my wife Tammy and my three “kids” are doing great. God is faithful + Like you, we hope for the beatific vision, where “Time stands still and only love remains”. Peace to you and yours!
Tom
August 2014
When I was a kid, summer meant I had “time”. Time to go to the movies (rarely), time to play more sports, time to watch the Andy Griffith Show (and The Dick Van Dyke Show – my favorite show of all time), and especially time to play/write music. Now summer means catch up on the work I didn’t get to during the Spring (because I was working) and time to do the work I planned on doing this summer. Work, work, work… that’s fine. It comes with being an adult. I have children that my wife Tammy and I want to provide for. And we have a dance studio – and these students become “our kids” in a way. We care for them and want to see them grow, mature and succeed. My ministry commitments used to be many and varied in the summer, thankfully THAT has slowed down. Now I spend a lot of time in the recording studio – as I did all of April and May. I look forward to some quiet time as well. Time to compose music, but more importantly – pray, be still, listen… stop do-ing.
I pray your summer is safe and holy. Pray for me too.
June 3, 2010
I am a blessed man. I am so glad that in some small way I have been
able to hear the voice of Christ and respond. To try and participate
and cooperate with the grace of my baptism. Not perfectly for sure,
but the truth is, God has been real in my life and I too want to
respond in a real and authentic way. It is, of course, all grace.
Secondly, the Lord has most fully revealed himself to me through
Tammy. She is a beautiful and graceful woman for whom i am so
grateful. I learn much from here humility and patience. She is a true
sign of God’s presence in my life. Our three children amaze me and
cause me to pray! They are wondrous and I embrace the role of father.
But I do not do so perfectly! They have heard, “I love you” a lot –
and “I am sorry” just as much! Family is amazing, frustrating,
wonderful, a discovery of our giftedness and selfishness. Again, God
is so present and merciful. I know that prayer is the key for a
peaceful home. We do our best. Holy Mass, the Divine Mercy Chaplet,
the Rosary and “help me, Lord” are some of our favorite prayers. I
have tried to be a leader in faith in the home, without being a pushy,
bossy sort of guy. My own silent prayers in the night hopefully fill
in the missing gaps of my familial leadership. God’s grace, again, has
held us together through beautiful and very difficult times. So I blog
not about music, concerts, travels, CDs and public ministry. But about
the life that God has called me to first and foremost. The music of
the heart and the home. “Pray, pray, pray” – that’s probably the key.
So that we can love one another.
I am “stuck” in Denver, Colorado after my flight was diverted here because of inclement weather in Arizona. My nephew, Martin Graham, who plays college basketball in Colorado, has a nearby game this evening. Funnily enough, my mother traveled here yesterday from Arizona to surprise him by attending the game. Since I can’t get home to Arizona until tomorrow, I get to cheer him on as well and support him in a unique way. I had a great trip to Portland this week, working side by side with Robert Feduccia at OCP/SpiritandSong.com. Next week I will be spending time with fellow composers in St. Louis and at the NFCYM gathering in Los Angeles. Though ministry is great and a blessing to be a part of, it all pales compared to my primary vocation: marriage and family life. This is a busy season of travel, but quality time before and after the trips keep our family focused on what is most important: our faith, family and friendships.
I am glad you have visited the website. I am busily preparing for NCYC (National Catholic Youth Conference) which will be in Kansas City in November. My role as music director in the arena keeps me “in the pit” which is a great thing! From my vantage point, I get a front row seat for all of the action, watching various young people and others serving God in speech and song. Please pray for our efforts. Kate Cuddy will be leading the choir of teens and many, many people will be serving to make NCYC a place of hope and faith for 20,000 plus young people! Please visit SpiritandSong.com as well when you get a chance. Ike Ndolo, Steve Angrisano and Matt Maher all have new recordings out. They are wonderful, artistic and faith-filled people who are serving the Lord in their own unique way. Also, Choose Christ 2010 (available from SpiritandSong.com) is now available. It is a great option for parishes looking for a wonderful contemporary addition to their hymnal already in the pew. So much “new” is happening. Isn’t that the way of God? – who say’s to us: “See, I make all things new!” Yes, friends even you and I! Amen + Peace and Good – Tom