Ash Wednesday & Lent as a Time for Reflection

March 6, 2019

Ash Wednesday is one of the most important days on the Christian calendar because it signals the beginning of the season of Lent, a six-week period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline leading up to Easter. During this time Christians focus on simple living and prayer in order to grow closer to God. One way church leaders can make good use of this time is to reflect and review church practices, including copyright compliance.

Many Christian leaders have a vague sense of guilt when they’re burning CD copies, emailing MP3 files, or making photocopies of an octavo or songbook, but often think, “We’re a non-profit organization and doing God’s work.” So, what is the big deal? Why is it important to understand copyright issues, and how can it affect your church’s life of worship and ministry? To the point…why is it important for the Church to honor copyrights?

Here are some of the most common reasons we hear from church leaders:

  1. To avoid the risk and liability of lawsuits and fines;
  2. To obey the laws of the land (the US Constitution {Section 110[3]} protects copyrighted works as intellectual property);
  3. To be a good witness to our communities;
  4. To abide by scripture guidelines (Rom. 13:1-2);
  5. To honor and support authors and artists;
  6. To help GIVE MUSIC LIFE…be a part of supporting songwriters and creatives;
  7. God blesses us with a fresh outpouring of new songs and creative works.

When church leaders establish the commitment to becoming copyright compliant, it’s essential that they communicate the why, or the reason, behind copyright policies and procedures. It can really help in involving your teams and ministries in a unified approach to honoring copyrights. One of the keys is understanding that becoming copyright compliant is a process and it takes time and a unified effort.

“I believe with all my heart that God has such a greater and more magnificent purpose for the Church to ‘honor copyrights’ than we can possibly imagine. Because He is the Creator and we are created in His image and therefore designed to be creative, He wants to pour out a rich blessing of new and anointed songs and creative expressions.I believe that when we honor what God honors, He delights in blessing us.”

CCS Founder & President Susan Godwin

If you have any questions regarding copyright coverage or the path to get there, we recommend starting the Copyright Quiz as a great place to start. In less than 5-minutes you can determine where your ministry stands. Following that you can download the Church Copyright Toolkit or call/chat live with one of our team members.  

About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and Christian ministries “do music right.”  CCS is an expert on church music copyrights and our primary focus is providing licensing and clear educational resources to churches, as well as representation, administration and advocacy for copyright owners. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

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