The organizing committee of Anabaptist Songwriting Challenge (ASC) is extending the deadline for song submissions to January 1, 2015.

Recognizing that promotional material for the challenge has not reached the expected number of congregations and communities, organizers are extending promotion as well as the deadline.

They are including Brethren in Christ, Mennonite Brethren and Church of the Brethren as well as Mennonite Church USA audiences.

“We want to ask you to help spread the word about this great opportunity for composers to send in their songs,” committee member Jaime Lazaro says.

To this date, ASC has received songs from composers in Vermont, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Indiana and Oregon. “We would love to have every state and ethnic group represented in this competition”, adds Lazaro.

The ASC team notes that this challenge is for songwriters and that their compositions do not need to be professionally recorded or performed, because the jury will primarily analyze the melody and lyrics of the submitted song rather than the performance of the song.

“Even a cell phone can be used to record a composer’s song”, points out Tory Doerksen, jury coordinator.

Ten songs will be posted online for congregational use. Three of those songs will be sung at Kansas City 2015, with prizes of $1,000 dollars each awarded to composers of the three songs.

For more information visit: http://www.anabaptistsongwritingchallenge.org/