2025 Iona Abbey Song Writing Week

We are pleased to be partnering with the Iona Community of Scotland to lead a week of song writing on the Island in 2025. For full details and to register for the program, please use the Iona Community’s website:

https://iona.org.uk/event/song-writing-to-change-the-world/

Explore how singing together shapes faith, heals brokenness, transforms lives, and renews peace. This unique and inspirational week will be led by The Hymn Society in the US and Canada.

This is a creative songwriting week for beginner or intermediate level folks who wish to develop their craft as text writers, tune composers, or both. You will be guided by a dynamic team of experts including Adam Tice, Sally Ann Morris, Brian Hehn and others. You will also have the opportunity to join in and contribute to morning and evening worship each day at Iona Abbey.  

Folks who simply love to sing or listen are also welcome on this week. 

Programme leaders

Adam M. L. Tice is a widely-published hymn writer. He served as text editor for the 2020 USA/Canada Mennonite hymnal, Voices Together, and works for GIA Publications as Editor for Congregational Song. He curates GIA’s “Unbound” service, offering an ever-growing selection of new hymns and songs for individual download. In 2024, Adam was named a Fellow of The Hymn Society in the US and Canada, and also received Goshen College’s Culture for Service award. In his free time Adam enjoys rock climbing: a pursuit severely limited by living in the midwest state of Indiana–-so he mostly climbs on plastic rocks indoors.

Brian Hehn is the Director of The Center for Congregational Song for The Hymn Society in the US and Canada while also serving as Director of Liturgical Worship at St. John’s Lutheran Church Sweet Air in Phoenix, MD. He is a graduate of Wingate University and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He is a published author and composer in the field of church music.

Sally Ann Morris is a composer of over 200 published hymn and congregational song tunes. Some of these are found in denominational hymnals in the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and Japan, including the Church of Scotland Church Hymnary and supplement God Welcomes All. Sally’s musical styles range from classically traditional influences to lyric melodies, jazz, folk, pop, and short form chant. In 2021, Sally was named a Fellow of The Hymn Society in the US and Canada in recognition of her contributions to new congregational song as a composer and as a worship leader, song enlivener, and mentor to emerging writers.

Other Programme Details