Compassionart, a charity based in Littlehampton, England and dedicated to seeing works of art generate income for the poorest of the poor, will host a songwriter's retreat from January 7-11 2008 in Perthshire, Scotland. The retreat will feature internationally recognized songwriters Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Darlene Zschech, Matt and Beth Redman, Tim Hughes and others.

The participants unprecedented goal is to collectively write 10-12 songs that will be given to the world not just to sing, but to raise money for the relief of suffering around the planet.

One hundred percent of the proceeds derived from the songs written at the Compassionart retreat will go directly to charity. One half of the monies will go to the songwriters’ charity of choice, and the other 50% will go to a charitable project agreed upon by all the songwriters involved.

“Over the last few years I have had the privilege of traveling to some of the poorest parts of the world and seeing first hand the plight of humanity,” says Martin Smith, Delirious? frontman and Compassionart founder who is organizing the retreat along with his wife, Anna. “As a song writer 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.” he added in a recent press release.

Remarkably, the songwriters, publishers, managers, copyright institutes and agents involved have all waived their rights and are donating their efforts on this project to Compassionart.,

“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,” continues Smith.

“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.”
-- Michael W. Smith

For more information on the Compassionart songwriter’s retreat, go to www.compassionart.co.uk