Patriotic Celebrations and Your Church

May 22, 2018

With just one week until Memorial Day, your church may be planning a special program to honor those who gave their lives for our country. This holiday also marks the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, with another patriotic celebration not far behind – Independence Day.

There are numerous ways churches can engage their community in patriotic events and pay tribute to those who served. Music is a key element in many of these special events. We’ve put together a few ideas as well as some tips as to how to effectively incorporate music into your events.

Patriotic concerts on your campus – work with your musicians, singers and worship team to feature special patriotic tunes in an outdoor venue.

Make military care packages – encourage parishioners to bring items for military care packages to mail to troops serving overseas.

Create a slideshow – set a slideshow to music that features friends and family, living and dead, who have served in the military.

Pray for our country –  Invite community leaders or military servicemen to lead the prayer, pledge, or read Scripture during worship on the Sunday nearest Memorial Day or the 4th of July.

Fireworks viewing — Does your church site offer a great view of local fireworks? Post an outdoor sign inviting neighbors to bring lawn chairs and enjoy the fireworks.

Children’s Parade — Plan a fun, small-town parade for your community.

Patriotic events often slide under the radar when it comes to licensing for music. Here are some important facts to consider:

  • Special holiday events (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Veteran’s Day) are not considered a religious service and therefore do not qualify under the U.S. Copyright Law Religious Service Exemption.
  • Music for Patriotic celebrations often includes secular, or non-Christian songs that are not covered by some blanket licenses.
  • With CCS PERFORMmusic it’s easy to get immediate performance license coverage in place to make sure you can legally play and perform songs like “Born in the USA,” “Only in America,” “Some Gave All,” “Only in America,” and “God Bless the USA.”
  • Your church can have an even greater impact when you share your holiday programs with the world via the Internet. However, it’s important to keep in mind that licensing is required to legally stream Internet song performances of copyrighted music.

Give us a call at 877-394-5566 or log on to chat with one of our copyright experts regarding your patriotic programs.

About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and Christian ministries “do music right.” CCS is an expert on church music copyrights and our primary focus is providing licensing and clear educational resources to churches, as well as representation, administration, and advocacy for copyright owners. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

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