In a first for the Uniting Church, a new online Christian community has been launched, with a focus on music and worship.

The site, http://www.ncycmusic.com.au/ allows composers to upload songs, lyrics and chord charts and allows attendees of NCYC and people in congregations to browse, listen to and download the music for use in worship.

The site aims to take a step further in music creation from the National Assembly’s Songs that Unite competition, by building an online composer community which includes forums where people can share music writing ideas and challenges, as well as discussing issues relating to music and worship.

Created for ncyc11, the designers behind the site hope it will transcend more than just the National Christian Youth Convention being held at the end of this year.

“Our early ideas were that the site would help to give exposure to all the songs that get submitted for use at NCYC, not just the 12 or so that are selected for use in worship at the event,” said Rob Adamson, co-creator of the site and member of the NCYC music team.

“Our idea is that the site will be passed onto the next NCYC or grow into something else, that it’s a resource that gets built on,” Mr Adamson said.

In the past, NCYC attendees could purchase a CD and music books to share the music with their congregation; this site allows people to access all the submitted music for free and play in worship with their CCLI or other license.

The NCYC music team will be responsible for selecting the songs from this collection to be used in worship at the week long convention.

“One of the big things that we will look for is that the music will be transferrable, not just on a big scale with a full rock band, but music that you can take back to your congregation as a piano player, guitarist or vocalist and play,” Mr Adamson said.

“People come from different churches­—NCYC is great because it brings people from all over the country together.

“Some people may be from a church where they only have 10 young adults, so to be in a massive group of young adults worshipping is pretty big.

“Music inside of worship plays a big role—some people don’t have the style and variety of music that you will find at NCYC—and music will be used to help set the mood or theme for the day.”

Coordinator of worship at ncyc11, Megan Thompson agrees.

“Music is a universal language that can transcend language and cultural boundaries,” said Ms Thompson.

“Favourite music takes us back to precious times and places. But God doesn’t ask us to live in the past—our living God calls us to be members of a heavenly ensemble here and now, leading people in hope and love to meet the greatest conductor we will ever know.

“And so it is good to learn new songs. The website with up and downloadable material will be an excellent forum for attendees and their congregations to prepare for and follow up from the convention. 

“I encourage music leaders within congregations to visit the site to learn new songs and let us know which ones work well in their settings.”

Composers have until 20 September 2010 to submit their MP3 files, chord and lyric charts to the site, to be considered for use in worship at ncyc11. Full details, including copyright and licensing information can be found at http://www.ncycmusic.com.au/.

The National Christian Youth Convention is a biennial event of the Uniting Church for young people aged 16-25. This year the event is being held on the Gold Coast, from 29 December 2010 to 4 January 2011.