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It's ok with me!

Song & Hymn Writers Foundation

The Song & Hymn Writers Foundation is a new charitable organisation, established in 2016 by Jubilate and Resound Worship to promote excellence in the writing of words and music for the worshipping church. We believe the church can and should resound with songs and hymns that:

  • enable the people of God to worship the Father through the Son in the Spirit, and thus be formed and built up as the Body of Christ
  • empower the Church to grow in their love for, and commitment to one other
  • ring with biblical truth in content and expression while inspiring hearts and minds to respond in faith
  • combine creativity and originality with the stability of familiar forms
  • are relevant and compelling in the contemporary world.

Vision & Aims

We aim to pursue this in four key areas of activity:

WRITE

  • Work with the Jubilate & Resound Worship writers to publish hymns and songs of quality
  • Continue the collective and mutual development of our writers in improving their craft
  • Write new songs and hymns to meet the specific needs of the local church, informed through research and relationship
  • Increase the profile, presence and reputation of Jubilate & Resound Worship as publishers of songs and hymns

DISCOVER

  • Seek out the best of the up-and-coming or unpublished song and hymn writers
  • Nurture and develop these writers through courses, workshops and peer-critique groups
  • Connect the new writers into our existing writer networks and agency
  • Publish the best of the new writers’ output through our Jubilate & Resound Worship labels

RESOURCE

  • Champion the role of the local church songwriter
  • Offer accessible and relevant events, courses and resources
  • Provide forums, groups and gatherings for interaction between songwriters
  • Encourage and educate churches in the choosing and introducing of new hymns and songs

 

INFLUENCE

  • Participate in the debate on music and worship across the Church
  • Partner with institutions to encourage theological and musical education for writers
  • Aim to become a model quality in song and hymn that sets a benchmark for other writers and publishers
  • Operate in partnership with other writing groups, labels and publishers for the benefit of the wider worship community

Who's who?

Patrons
Rev Prof Jeremy Begbie
Dr Noël Tredinnick

Trustees
Rev Simon Bray
Mr Alex Guest
Mrs Anne Harrison
Rev Mark Thomas
Mr Simon Upcott
Dr Helen Warry

Staff
Joel Payne (Executive Director / Resound Worship Coordinator)
Roger Peach (Jubilate Editorial Coordinator)
Lindsay Harper (Administrator)


How is SHWF funded?

SHWF is funded through:

- profits from its subsidiary trading company
- sales and event fees
- grants
- donations from supporters

When SHWF was established by the directors of Jubilate Hymns Ltd, the shareholders gifted their shares to the charity, making Jubilate Hymns Ltd a subsidiary company. The company administers copyrights for over 80 writers and donates its profits to SHWF. This is in keeping with the tradition of Jubilate, which has always donated any profits to charitable causes.
While we make a considerable number of resources available without cost, we also charge for some items, and we charge fees for attendance at workshops and events. This is crucial in covering the costs of production, administration and delivery. At the same time we offer bursaries from general funds to enable those for whom there would be a financial barrier to attendance.

Just as fruit and vegetable growers face a challenge in promoting their products alongside familiar branded products and more immediately gratifying foodstuffs, we recognise that promoting a healthy diet in song and hymn writing is unlikely to be entirely funded by market forces and good business practice. We need the support of others, so we invite those who share our values and vision to offer that support financially as they are able. As with many other charitable organisations, we benefit most from smaller regular donations that allow us to plan carefully and budget for the future with confidence. So we invite you to share in our vision by giving towards our work. You can find out more on our donate page.

 

 

The Song & Hymn Writers Foundation CIO is a registered charity in England & Wales, no. 1170493. Jubilate and Resound Worship are working names of the charity.