After around 40 hours of meeting, playing, listening, reading and discussing, we've managed to bring the song list down to around 160 pieces but that could also change. We're now going over the list again, looking at themes and styles to see how we can best have an interesting representation of our community's music using a wide range of composers and lyricists. We've begun to divide up the tasks, working out how many pieces need transcribing, how many need editing, assigning names to each task, and also reviewing stats for the project. Next week's aim is to begin notating and transcribing amongst all the holiday excitement.

While I write this, I'm listening to the playlist I've created from all the submitted songs (whether accepted or not) and am loving the incredible range of music playing in the background. It makes me think that we need a Worship book radio station, something like iTunes radio or similar! My Worship 2 submissions playlist is over 8 hours long (bigger than any CD project). Any volunteers? Email me: [email protected]

Today was our first meeting since the submissions closed. After a 6 hour meeting going through the song titles alphabetically, we only got up to 'C'. There's lots of work ahead, but it's such an enjoyable process listening to audio files and singing around the piano. People have written music from their heart and we are blessed to have such people in our community.  We feel lucky that we're able to listen to such a wide range of music in so many different styles, from so many age groups, backgrounds, and countries. Our next meeting is on Monday and we hope to finish all approvals by next week as our schedule is very very tight! For those waiting on an answer, please wait a couple of weeks. (PS Excuse the mess in the picture - busy people...)

At closing, our final submissions count is 366 songs. Wow. The great thing about have a strict deadline is that we've limited our workload by having a cut-off point, but 366 songs is a large workload! Here we go, time to work out what to include. Thanks to all involved so far and to all those helpful, proactive, engaged composers. This is not possible without you.

Finally, the closing date for song submissions has come and tonight we will close the submissions page down. It's the end of step one for us and follows on from the many emails, Facebook posts, and some tweets, that we've used to promote the project. It's been great to see how pro-active many composers have been about their own music, about organising it, cataloguing it, and sending through only those pieces they were happy to share. This is such a different process to when we started the original Worship book. At that time, we were the ones trawling through all the songs we had collected over the years, which meant some composers were left out and others needed to be chased for publication details. 

For Worship 2, we created an online database where composers were able to upload their own songs along with all the details including each song's history. This gives us some idea of how well our community knows each song so that our choices are as relevant as possible. The online database also allowed composers to choose their own theme and offer suitable biblical quotes for their songs. In Worship 2, we are hoping to section the book into themes to increase the discovery of, and engagement with, each song. 

At this very point in time, we've received 264 song entries. It's an amazing response that has come from composers worldwide. We will close the submissions page at 12am Pacific Standard Time and then begin the planning for step two.... sifting through and analysing the songs. We won't know what type of book we will have until we see all the songs, so we have an exciting adventure ahead of us. Please pray for this project, for its success as a blessing to our community, for all of those composers who have shared something personal about their relationship with their Father, and that it will be accepted by our Father as an offering of praise.

Calling all composers, lyricists, musicians, creative people....
Worship 2 is due to be published in 2015 DV and we are looking for contributions
If you are a composer or lyricist and have one or more great song/s that you know would benefit others, please submit your song/s for consideration for publication. 

Submissions can be in the form of notated music (e.g. via Sibelius) or lyric sheet/audio (e.g. mp3s, word docs) and these can be uploaded through our website.

This is the only way to submit a song, otherwise we will not be able to consider your song for publication.

Submissions are due November 30, 2014, but it would be really really helpful if you can submit your song earlier!
Please refer online to our FAQs for more information about Worship 2 including song themes and submission requirements.

We are really excited about this project and we know many others are too!
We've seen a lot of great music written since the original Worship publication and we hope that these pieces will be included in Worship 2. Please make sure that your piece doesn't miss out!

Keep in touch through our website, these messages, and our Facebook page. Please pray for the success of this project. 
God bless
Rachel, Nita, Jacqui
www.theworshipbook.com

Take Refuge is the new music book from the UK-based 'Handsworth Christadelphians'. It contains a selection of songs from the Voice of His Word, Recounting His Praise and Refuge CDs, transcribed for piano, vocals and guitar. All proceeds go to funding youth weekends and conferences in the UK and overseas.

Now available to purchase by contacting us at [email protected] 
Price: $22.50 plus $3 postage in Australia.

We’re really excited to present to you our very first newly-published sheet music How Amazing, written by Stephanie Jamieson and notated by Nita Lawrie. Steph has written a number of pieces that have really resonated with believers across our community, including Sun and Shield, Christ is Returning, and Choose your Eternity.

Steph has this to say about How Amazing.
“I can specifically remember the moment which this song formed. It was a few years ago on my drive to work and there was a particular bend in the road which, after navigating the busy highways, refreshingly opened up to reveal the beautiful coastline of Newcastle. I would say a daily ‘wow!’ at the beauty of the water glistening in the morning sun and couldn't help my thoughts being lifted to God and His creation. 
It got me to thinking about how many times I'd looked at an ocean, or a mountain, or the moon and stars, or anything in nature and just marveled at Gods handiwork.
This especially hit home when reading Job 38. It starts out ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world? Who marked off its dimensions, surely you know?’ The chapter goes on to talk about all the incredible aspects of nature that God has set in motion, and it's truly inspiring to read about the scientific, intelligent, practical, decorative masterpiece that God has intricately formed out of the void. 
What blew my mind even more though, was that even though God is so mighty and powerful in creating everything around us, He cares intimately about us. 
He knows our names.
He's moving in our hearts and minds.
And He's longing for us to willingly align with His purpose so that the earth can be filled with His glory.
The song for me serves as a reminder to look around in awe and appreciation  - we are so blessed to live in such beauty, and in appreciating the incredible power of God and His handiwork, we can also appreciate the intimate care and purpose He has for all of us.
How amazing.’

The recording of How Amazing is on the album In Your Light We See Light. The track was recorded in Adelaide and Sydney with Stephanie Jamieson, Timon Burney and Keturah Thurlow.

Click here to download the sheet music.
Click here to get the audio.