Delirious? frontman Martin Smith starts Compassionart charity

A RETREAT organised by new charity Compassionart will pull together an unprecedented gathering of international songwriters in Scotland in January with the aim of raising money for the relief of suffering around the world. Michael W Smith, Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Darlene Zschech, Matt and Beth Redman, Tim Hughes, Paul Baloche, Israel Houghton, Graham Kendrick, Andy Park, Martin Smith and Stu Garrard will gather in Perthshire from 7th-11th January. The songwriters aim to collectively write 10-12 songs with 100 per cent of the proceeds derived from the songs to go directly to charity. One half of the monies will go to the songwriters' charity of choice, and the other 50 per cent will go to a charitable project agreed upon by all the songwriters involved.

Said Delirious? frontman and Compassionart founder Martin Smith, who is organising the retreat along with his wife, Anna, "Over the last few years I have had the privilege of travelling to some of the poorest parts of the world and seeing first hand the plight of humanity. As a songwriter and a person with a microphone I made a promise to try and do something about it. What better than to call on my friends and do something together. To be people that can make a change rather than just singing about it."

The songwriters, publishers, managers, copyright institutes and agents involved have all waived their rights and are donating their efforts to the Compassionart charity. Said Smith, "They have all waived their rights to see something historic happen - the music business coming together for something great, greater than any individual could achieve."

Michael W Smith commented, "I am so grateful to be a part of Compassionart and extremely optimistic of what will come of it. The motivation of this week and all involved so resonates with my heart in regards to the poor. Isaiah 58 is the passage that I go to now more than any other, knowing that if we feed the poor, satisfy the needs of the oppressed and reach out to the downtrodden, the Lord will indeed make His face shine upon us."