For Winnipeg worship leader Katherine Skibitzky, songwriting is a way to keep God\u2019s Word in her heart and help others do the same.<\/p>\n
Skibitzky has been involved in music for most of her life and began serving on worship teams in high school. Today, she leads worship at her church about once a month with a small team that includes her 12-year-old son on drums.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible privilege and also a very weighty responsibility,\u201d Skibitzky said.<\/p>\n
RELATED STORIES:<\/p>\n
For her, that responsibility means approaching worship authentically and grounding the songs, prayers, and words shared during a service in Scripture.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the songs that we sing really matter, and that we base them on God\u2019s Word,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
That desire to centre worship on Scripture eventually led to an eight-song album, with each track based on a passage from the Bible.<\/p>\n
Writing songs from Scripture<\/p>\n
The project began several years ago when Skibitzky\u2019s church took part in Sing Global, an initiative that encourages churches to sing Scripture.<\/p>\n
At the time, the congregation had begun working through the book of Deuteronomy. Skibitzky sat down at the piano and began writing a song inspired by Deuteronomy 6, which calls God\u2019s people to love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just sent it to the pastors to see that it was okay,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they said that they loved it and we should sing it at church.\u201d<\/p>\n
More songs followed as Skibitzky continued studying Scripture on her own and alongside her church community.<\/p>\n
Eventually, people began asking for recordings so they could listen to the songs and use them beyond Sunday services. Her husband helped make that possible by setting up recording equipment in their basement and working with talented friends to produce the project.<\/p>\n
For Skibitzky, the process has been about more than creating music. She said putting Scripture to music can help people remember it long after they have heard it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been really meaningful to me to work through Scripture in that way,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then now it\u2019s just stuck forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Songs for her family and church<\/p>\n
The impact has extended to Skibitzky\u2019s own family. Her three sons have heard the songs repeatedly at home, and two of them appear on the project.<\/p>\n
Her children join her on \u201cDeuteronomy Song,\u201d singing the final bridge and chorus. The song focuses on the hope that children will sing God\u2019s praises and that each generation will declare His greatness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s like my favourite \u2014 to hear them on there,\u201d Skibitzky said.<\/p>\n
The songs have also become part of congregational worship. One of the tracks, \u201cLord of the Harvest,\u201d was released separately as a single and features members of her church joining her in the chorus.<\/p>\n
Hearing a congregation sing words drawn from Scripture has been one of the most meaningful parts of the experience, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so amazing,\u201d Skibitzky said. \u201cAnd to also just have my kids learn Scripture this way \u2026 those words are in their hearts and their heads too.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said her church community has been encouraging and has embraced the opportunity to sing the songs together.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A foundation for more music<\/p>\n
Writing from Scripture has also shaped Skibitzky\u2019s personal faith.<\/p>\n
She said some of her earlier songwriting focused primarily on her own thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Building songs around the Bible has given her a different foundation.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause God\u2019s Word never changes and it\u2019s always true, to then base so much of what I\u2019m doing on His Word \u2026 it really builds up in a very healthy way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The process has encouraged her to spend more time studying Scripture and allowing it to shape what she writes.<\/p>\n
Skibitzky does not consider the project finished. As she continues working through different passages, she expects more songs to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more coming,\u201d she said. \u201cAs we work through different Scripture passages and as God lays stuff on my heart \u2026 there are more coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also hopes the songs will reach beyond her own congregation. People who have heard them have asked whether they can sing them in their own churches.<\/p>\n
Skibitzky welcomes that possibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anybody\u2019s interested in singing these songs in their churches, they\u2019re more than welcome to do so,\u201d she said. \u201cThese songs are for use. If they can be used for God\u2019s kingdom, go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Winnipeg worship leader Katherine Skibitzky, songwriting is a way to keep God\u2019s Word in her heart and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":930171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-930170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=930170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/930171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}