Church of the Servant began holding its annual Psalm Contest in 2010 with a donation in memory of Ben Fackler, a musician from the church. Over the 15 years of the contest, we have had hundreds of entries, from a wide variety of composers, in a wide variety of styles, from a wide variety of denominations and countries. Several of the winning entries have gone on to be published, and many are sung regularly in worship at Church of the Servant and elsewhere. This contest has generated excitement for singing the Psalms in a new way. It has also given young composers an opportunity to write for congregational singing.
However, after 15 years, we have decided to change direction. Instead of encouraging new songs for the church through a contest form, we will be using the funds in memory of Ben Fackler for commissioned projects. We hope to continue encouraging and building up young composers by pairing up a young composer with a veteran composer to write for a particular project. One year it might be to write service music for a liturgical season (a gathering song, confession, Gloria, Sanctus, etc.) Another year it might be to write something for a special Pentecost service, or for our annual O Antiphon Advent service. While we are reluctant to see the contest come to an end, we are excited to explore this new direction and to continue encouraging young composers writing music for worship.
We plan to celebrate the 15 years of the Psalm Contest with a Hymn Sing on Sunday, February 8 2026 at 3:00pm. Join us for the celebration!
Thank you to all who have taken part in this contest for the past 15 years – the song-writers, the judges, the donors, and to all who have sung the Psalms in their own churches. We are grateful for your participation; our Psalm-singing diet is richer because of this contest.