Since 1966 the Song & Hymn Writers Foundation and its forerunners Jubilate and Resound Worship have been promoting excellence in the writing of words and music for God’s worshipping church.
VISION AND AIMS
We are a non-denominational Christian organisation which believes that 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; that empower the Church to grow in their love for, and commitment to one other; that ring with biblical truth in content and expression while inspiring hearts and minds to respond in faith; that combine creativity and originality with the stability of familiar forms; that are relevant and compelling in the contemporary world. We seek to achieve these things through four main areas of work:
Write
Compose and publish new hymns and songs for congregational worship, published through Jubilate and Resound Worship. Continue the collective and mutual development of our writers in improving their craft. Write for the specific needs of the local church, informed through research and relationship, especially where there are gaps in the repertoire.
Discover
Unearth and nurture up-and-coming writers, giving them a profile and platform for their work. Develop those writers through courses, workshops and peer-critique groups, bringing them into the SHWF community and helping provide a pathway towards wider distribution.
Resource
Champion the unique role of grass-roots writers in local churches. Provide support and encouragement through events, activities, community groups and publications, with a focus on mutual sharing of talent to benefit local church ministry.
Influence
Model good practice in song and hymn writing as a benchmark for other publishers. Seek opportunities to work in partnership with other organisations.. Participate in the conversation on music and worship across the church and encourage theological and musical education for writers.
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Resound Worship
Established in 2006, contemporary songs for worship as well as a global community of local church songwriters through the 12 Song Challenge and monthly podcast.
Jubilate
Hymns and songs for worship from some of the most popular and prolific British authors and composers of the 20th century and early 21st.
How is SHWF funded?
- donations from churches and individual supporters
- grants from trusts and organisations
- sales and event fees
- profits from its subsidiary trading company Jubilate Hymns Ltd
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.
When SHWF was established by the directors of Jubilate Hymns Ltd, the shareholders gifted their shares to the charity, making Jubilate Hymns Ltd a wholly-owned 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.
How is SHWF governed?
The Song & Hymn Writers Foundation is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) registered with the charity commission. A Board of Trustees oversees the charity and is responsible of overall governance and policies which are then implemented operationally by the staff team under the direction of the Executive Director.
The trading subsidiary Jubilate Hymns Ltd , while wholly owned by the charity, is governed by an independent Board of Directors with day to day operations being led by the staff under the direction of the Agency Manager.
We’re currently looking for new Trustees to join our team. Could it be you?