Everything – Lifehouse
How Could You Say No? -Steve Angrisano
Sacred Silence – Jenny Pixler
Hold Me, Jesus – Kerry Patric Clark
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) – Chris Tomlin
Empty and Beautiful – Matt Maher
Our Father (Prayer Chant) – Who Do You Say I Am?
Veni, Creator Spiritus – John Angotti
Somebody’s Prayin’ – Kerry Patric Clark
When Love Takes You In – Steven Curtis Chapman
Daniel’s Heart – Steve Angrisano
He’s Not On His Knees Yet – Cece Wayans
Will I Lose My Dignity? – Rent
How Beautiful – Twila Paris
Don’t Give Up – Peter Gabriel
The Invitation – Steven Curtis Chapman
Broken Things / You Can Have My Heart
Empty Me – Chris Sligh
Here I Am to Worship – Phillips, Craig & Dean
Angels Are Watching Over Me – Kerry Patric Clark
Open My Eyes – Jesse Manibusan
How You Live – Point Of Grace
Who Am I – Casting Crowns
Have a Little Faith In Me – Unknown
King Of The Hill – eLi
Things I Prayed For – eLi
Unanswered Prayers – Garth Brooks
Love, Serve & Remember – John Astin
Enya
I Am – Nichole Nordeman
All In All – Unknown
You Raise Me Up – Josh Groban
Fix You – Coldplay

Don’t forget about hymns of praise and thanksgiving on the flip side of reconciliation!

I’ve been trying to develop a play list for reconciliation. Here’s what’s on it so far, with a few others, but It’s still not great. These songs are at the heart. There is still a fluctuation in some dynamics between songs.

Lord you have my heart – Delirious
Surely we can change – David Crowder Band
Only Alive – Jars of clay
What a friend I’ve found – Delirious
Fragrance Prayer – Tom Booth
Shelter your name – Danielle Rose
No Greater Love – Danielle Rose
Prayer of the Penitent – Rock S.A.L.T. (indie: current website not active, I’ll comment again when I get it)
Great Song!

I think that as youth ministers there is so much more we can do with reconciliation that we often don’t explore. Too often we subscribe to the mindset that we can do without it or to the mindset that it has to be ultra-traditional. Neither is correct. Modern methods of youth ministry offer us the chance to be orthodox, while still incarnational in how we minister – by making the concepts relevent to the lives of our Young People.

When I worked in a youth centre in the North (of England) we used to do quite powerful rec services. We had 50 Young People and one or two priests. We started the serice with a brief liturgy of the word and an examination of conscience, explaining the sacrament and the need for it as we did. We then played loud music and the priests sat on stools at the front and put on their stolls. The loud music had two purposes: firstly it ensured privacy to those confessing and secondly it set an atmosphere. It was very powerful. We tried to find music with no breaks or dips so that the odd (crucial) word wouldn’t drift from the penitent’s mouth around the Chapel during a quiet moment. Adiemus and the theme from The Mission were particularly good.

The rule was that everybody had to go up to a priest (these were school retreats) but they had the choice of either going for the Sacrament of for a blessing. The priests were asked to make their blessings extra long and their confessions short (Act of Contrition and penance were done together before and after the sacrament) so that those watching wouldn’t know which option each person had chosen.

It could take a while, but it was powerful. I remember the first time I saw it done. The loud music started and the two priests confessed to each other before the young people cameup. I was really moved by it.

I think the FREEDOM model is a brilliant one. I might talk to my diocesan youth officer about trying it here.