Grassroots songwriting initiative culminates in November concert

For the past year, Samford University’s Center for Worship and the Arts has been working to build the worship/church songwriting community, bringing together worship leaders, songwriters, and congregations from across the Birmingham area. This effort consisted of four specialized workshops and culminated in the Grassroots songwriting concert on Nov. 3 in the Wright Center.

“In the beginning of this year, we received a grant from Belmont University to foster local church songwriting,” Senior Program Manager Daniel Lee said. “We had four workshops led by various songwriters throughout the year.”

The first workshop was led by Rachel Wilhelm in March, followed by Dwan Hill in April and Matt Boswell in September. The session held in June was led by Anchor Hymns, a group that also helped lead a youth summer camp the week following.

“One of the songs that happened at the concert actually grew out of that camp because we focused on songwriting with the kids,” Lee said. “We sat them down and forty-five minutes later had the rough edges of a song.”

Following the workshops, participating groups submitted their songs along with scratch tracks and chord charts. A member of Anchor Hymns then consulted with each group to help refine its compositions and submit for a final time. These submissions were celebrated in November at Grassroots, an event where various groups could showcase their finished songs.

“A lot of the groups did not have a full band to perform with,” Lee said. “So we had Samford Worship Collective help fill in the gaps, with the help of Dr. Jonathan Rodgers.”

Three of the songs performed at Grassroots have been selected for professional recording and video: “Thank You” by Amy and Justin Cross from the Church at Shelby Crossing; “May We Be Found Faithful” by Katherine Williams, Caroline Cameron, Shannon Keith, and Reyna Sorto Craft from Dawson Memorial Baptist; and “Christ on the Hill at Calvary” by Wilder Adkins from Trinity UMC West Homewood, Lowana Wallace from Cathedral Church of the Advent, Alison Ritch and Natalee Moore from Christ the king.

These songs will be released on all main streaming platforms and YouTube in the coming months.

Anchor Hymns’s first album, “Bring on the Dawn,” was also recently released with the Center for Worship and the Arts here at Samford. It is available to listen on all main streaming platforms.