The Gospel Music Association of Canada or GMA Canada (formerly known as the CGMA) is a not for profit association, founded in 1974, whose purpose is to promote

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aroun ...

in Canada.

History

GMA Canada is created in 1974 in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

with

Covenant Awards The Covenant Awards are awarded to the Canadian gospel music industry by GMA Canada, the Gospel Music Association of Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the growth and ministry of Christian music in C ...

. At the beginning, it was mostly for

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is co ...

. Over the years, all styles of

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Christi ...

have been included. In 2008 the association released a special three-CD collection to commemorate its 30th anniversary, the '' GMA Canada presents 30th Anniversary Collection''.

Mission

GMA Canada works to raise the profile and interaction of Christian artists, songwriters, producers, promoters and others working in Christian music with media, retailers, distributors and church leadership.

Management

The business of the association is conducted by a board of advisors drawn from its membership. The current board consists of Gregory J. Strom (president), Gordie Cochran, Jaylene Johnson, Melayne Shenkel, and Clarence Giesbrecht. GMA Canada is loosely associated with the

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...

in the United States.

Awards

GMA Canada is the presenter of the annual

, Canada’s national awards for the Canadian gospel music industry. The 2012 awards were presented November 7 as part of GMA Canada Week in Burlington, Ontario. Awards were handed out in 50 categories, including the GMA Canada Lifetime Achievement Award and the newly created Scott's Parable Canadian Gospel Music Song Hall Of Fame.GMA Canada
COVENANT AWARDS
, Official Website, Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2017

GMA Canada Song Hall of Fame

* "The

Huron Carol The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote t ...

" (2012) Written in 1643 by Jesuit Missionary

Jean de Brébeuf Jean de Brébeuf () (25 March 1593 16 March 1649) was a French Jesuit missionary who travelled to New France (Canada) in 1625. There he worked primarily with the Huron (Wyandot people) for the rest of his life, except for a few years in Franc ...

The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") was admitted to GMA Canada Song Hall of Fame in 2012 as part of its inaugural year. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people under the original name of "Jesous Ahatonhia" ("Jesus, He Is Born"). The melody came from the traditional French folk song "Une Jeune Pucelle" ("A Young Maid"). The English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton. They became public domain in 2011. The song has been recorded by many Canadian artists including Lianna Klassen, Cheryl Bear,

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, p ...

, Crash Test Dummies and

Tom Jackson Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

. * "Come, Now Is the Time to Worship" (2012) Written by

Brian Doerksen Brian Robert Doerksen is a Canadian Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader from Abbotsford, British Columbia. Early life Doerksen was a member at a local Mennonite Brethren church in British Columbia and graduated from the Mennonite Ed ...

in 1998. Doerksen, was born in Abbotsford,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

in 1965 and is an internationally recognized worship leader and songwriter known globally for a string of well known modern worship songs including "Refiner's Fire" (1990), "Faithful One" (1998), "Hope of the Nations" (2003), "Holy God" (2006), and "Today (As For Me and My House)" (2004). He was recognized by the Gospel Music Association in the United States in 2003 with a special Dove Award for International Artist of the Year (only the second Canadian to be recognized), and has won a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

and multiple GMA Canada

. "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship" became his most recognized song, being sung in churches around the world. It has been recorded by

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was chang ...

, Phillips, Craig and Dean,

VeggieTales ''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retell ...

and many others. * "

My Jesus I Love Thee My Jesus I Love Thee is a poem written by William Ralph Featherston in 1864 when he was 16 years old, although one source says he could have been just 12 years old. The first two lines of this poem are nearly the same as a hymn wr ...

" (2012) The hymn "My Jesus I Love Thee" was written as a poem by

William Ralph Featherston William Ralph Featherston (1848–1875) was a Christian hymnwriter who wrote the poem My Jesus I Love Thee. He is believed to have written the poem at the age of either 12 or 16 years. In 1876 Adoniram Gordon used the poem as lyrics for a hymn ...

in 1864 when he was 16 years old. Featherston was from Montreal, Quebec and was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

(later renamed St. James Methodist Church, then St. James United Church). He died in 1873. Music was added to the poem after Featherton's death in 1876 by Adoniram Gordon. The song has been recorded by hundreds of artists including The Wiebes,

Paul Baloche Paul Joseph Baloche Work ID No. 884337863 ISWC No. T9126089325 ( ; born on June 4, 1962) is an American Christian music artist, worship leader, and singer-songwriter. A native of Maple Shade Township, New Jersey,Price, Deborah Evans. "Higher Grou ...

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

, Capstone and

Selah (; hbo, סֶלָה, selā) is a word used 74 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its etymology and precise meaning are unknown, though various interpretations are given. It is probably either a liturgical-musical mark or an instruction on the reading ...

GMA Canada Covenant Hits Compilations

* ''

27th Annual Covenant Hits 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...

'' (CMC, 2006) * ''

28th Annual Covenant Hits 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of ...

'' (CMC, 2007) * '' GMA Canada presents 30th Anniversary Collection'' (CMC, 2008)

References

External links

* {{Official website, 1=http://www.gmacanada.ca Gospel music associations Music organizations based in Canada