Church of Scotland songwriter is a winner in worldwide competition

A young Scottish songwriter's work is to be given an international platform after she was named one of the winners of a competition from the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Lynsey Martin Kimmitt's song "Peace Be With You" will be featured at the 11th WCC Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, which begins on Wednesday, August 31. The song will be published in the main worship book for the assembly, which will bring together over 4000 participants from across the globe.

Although Lynsey will be unable to attend in person because of work commitments, she has also put together a video for assembly participants.

Lynsey lives with her husband Andrew in Speyside where she is a member of Aberlour Parish Church.

Originally from Dundee, Lynsey plays piano, organ and bassoon and at one point considered studying music, before opting to study law.

Now a local authority solicitor, in her spare time she is a member of Aberlour Church's music team and plays with other groups in the area.

A bigger challenge

She entered the WCC Worship Songwriting Competition for 18 to 35-year-old songwriters after a friend shared a social media post.

"I had been writing some of my own words for songs and hadn't pushed myself to write tunes as regularly," Lynsey revealed.

"Writing music to go with the words has always been a bigger challenge for me and this competition gave me a good nudge to do that. It turns out I really enjoyed it. I kept it simple and I am looking forward to writing more and developing those skills."

The WCC 11th Assembly's theme, "Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity", also resonated with Lynsey.

Encouragement for reflection

Thanks to funding from the Church of Scotland's Faithshare programme, Lynsey was able to represent the Kirk at an ecumenical conference in Taiwan which brought together Christians from around the world.

She said: "I witnessed a little of what it is like to live in the constant shadow of potential conflict, and how the knowledge that there are people who stand with you, praying for you can be so unifying, comforting, and powerful.

"I think the stories we hear of Jesus make it clear that true peace, true reconciliation, true unity are gifts from God through Christ. I think we're all called to bring and share this peace in some way or another and we'll all find our own ways of doing that and I hope the song offers space for people to reflect on the theme.

"I also wanted the song to reflect on what peace means and to make an active commitment to God's peace. I hope it might also encourage people to reflect on peace in their own lives and context."

Lynsey's video for "Peace Be With You" can be seen above.