SPIRITUAL ROYALTIES INITIATIVE

We acknowledge the history and significance of the Negro Spirituals sung in worship. We affirm their artistic and spiritual worth in the life of the world today. With great respect and deep gratitude for the tremendous musical contributions made to American music by Black people, we offer our thanks and praise to God for the creators of the Negro Spiritual and their descendants. We pledge that each time we sing Negro Spirituals in our worship:

We will sing them with holy reverence and open hearts; We will honor the unnamed enslaved people who composed them in our prayers; And we will pay royalties from the funds collected in the offering plate. We understand that the debt owed to Black musicians and artists can never be fully repaid. Through our prayers, our gifts, and our actions, we will keep striving to end systemic racism in America.