Calling all Songwriters
Socially conscious songwriters in the Christian Reformed Church take heed. The Office of Social Justice, Reformed Worship, and the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship are holding a songwriting contest, inviting CRC members to compose lyrics and even a tune on the topic of justice.
Justice is a wide-ranging topic that encourages the flow of creativity and Scripture-inspired energy. Musical compositions should reflect the range of diversity of the denomination.
New texts should be accompanied by a tune suggestion or newly composed tune. Consider working with another person or a small group and together reflect on social justice issues and compose a text together.
Texts will be judged on their theological and biblical accuracy, the way in which the issues are handled, fittingness for congregational worship, and effective use of language, especially of poetry and imagery.
If a text comes with a tune, the tune will be judged on its sing-ability, musicality, and fittingness to the text. The selection committee may pair a winning text with an alternate tune.
Winning entries will be compiled by the Office of Social Justice, made available for download by churches and will be copyrighted by Faith Alive Christian Resources, the publishing agency of the CRC.
The committee offers a prize of $250 for up to four winners to be used to support one of the projects found in CRWRC's 2008-2009 Gift Catalog. Winning entries will also be posted online with links from all the sponsors' websites and appear in Reformed Worship, a journal published by Faith Alive Resources.
Please submit two hard copies of the text and accompanying tune or a suggested tune with your contact information (including an email address if available) on a separate sheet of paper. A recording of the song as used within a worship setting would be appropriate to include though not required.
All submissions must be postmarked by Oct. 1, 2009 with the final selection made by Nov. 1, 2009.
Send submissions to: Reformed Worship, 2850 Kalamazoo Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 29560. For more information, call 1- 616-224-0763 or email: [email protected].
