On any random day, Amanda Udis-Kessler’s worship music might reverberate off the walls of some unknown church across the world.

The Colorado Springs queer composer writes hymns and hymn texts, which are new lyrics set to traditional tunes. Many of the pieces are commissioned by churches looking for a song to mark a special occasion, holiday or other celebration, including one church that wanted to fete getting its first building after three decades.

“If someone is encountering a new hymn and it has both new music and new lyrics they have to learn both,” she said. “Sometimes it’s kind of hard. If people already know the music they don’t have to worry about the music, they can just focus on the lyrics.”

Her songwriting, which comes in all flavors, including pop, gospel, jazz, folk and traditional hymns, grew during the pandemic, when churches were forced to shut their doors and tighten finances. Udis-Kessler, who’s also the musician at her progressive Christian church, Vista Grande Community Church United Church of Christ, realized congregations might appreciate free scores or videos.

Although she writes pieces for specific reasons, she makes sure the text of the songs is broad enough to be used in a multitude of ways — one church’s building celebration song is another church leader’s retirement song. She hires people to perform and record the songs, then puts the free video performances on YouTube and at her website queersacredmusic.com.

When someone does offer to pay she has them donate the money to a racial justice organization.

“This is a gift I give the world and sometimes it helps other people as well,” she said. “My intent is to inspire people, strengthen people and help people find a little more joy and sometimes, depending on what the piece is, find way to mourn.”

Udis-Kessler, a sociologist by training, also is an administrator at Colorado College and the author of “Abundant Lives: A Progressive Christian Ethic of Flourishing,” released in May, and “Cultural Processes of Inequality: A Sociological Perspective,” a nonreligious book that looks at how systemic inequality works. It will be released this summer for use in college sociology classrooms.

“Abundant Lives,” based on her religious and spiritual journeys and studying religion academically from religious and sociology perspectives, developed out of her yearslong connection to Unitarian Universalism, a liberal offshoot of Christianity.

“I spent years guest preaching in UU churches and developed the ethical ideas in the first half of that book,” Udis-Kessler said, “and when I made the jump into progressive Christianity I realized those ideas were a good fit.”

Udis-Kessler grew up in New York City with a father who was a professional songwriter and gave her songwriting lessons when she was 12.

“He taught me to see it as a craft and engagement with problem solving,” she said. “Songwriting and hymn writing is about making decision after decision in the service of whatever the ultimate vision or goal is.”

A secular Jew by heritage, she grew up in a nonobservant Jewish family and never felt connected to the faith. So as a teen she went on a quest to find a religion that would work for her. She also came out as bisexual.

“I came out pretty young and would go try out religious services,” Udis-Kessler said. “Afterward, I would ask what their tradition said about homosexuality and overwhelmingly the answers were negative. I tried lots of things that were really interesting but weren’t for me because they weren’t going to be an affirming place.”

She landed on Unitarian Universalism that is home to a wide range of followers, including those who are loosely Christian, those who are secular but like church, Buddhists, pagans and those of Jewish heritage.

“There could be a whole range of belief systems in a UU church because it isn’t centered on a doctrine. It’s not centered on one religious tradition,” Udis-Kessler said. “It’s the idea we are all seeking to grow and learn better together even though we are different.”

After three decades, though, she decided to shift into progressive Christianity after realizing she could enter the Jesus story without believing doctrines.

“I want to live the way this guy told people to live,” she said. “I don’t do it very well. I do it very badly and I want to do it better. For me the right way to do that was to connect with a progressive Christian church. Progressive Christianity is not that different from UU in some ways. You are welcome to believe whatever you want and still be in the room. The real difference is the worship is more traditionally Christian so there is a Bible reading every week and the sermon tends to be about the reading.”

Contact the writer: 636-0270