Shirley Erena Murray, of Invercargill, has tied for second place in an international hymnwriting contest run by a Vancouver church.

Her award-winning hymn is "Thank God for Bursting Life."

The first-place winner and recipient of $1000 is the Rev Brian Wren, of New York, for the hymn "If Christ is Risen From the Dead." 

The contest was organised by the St Andrew's-Wesley United Church in downtown Vancouver.

The Rev. Ellen Clark-King from New York was the other second place-getter. Both Ellen and Shirley receive $350 each.

The three winning hymns will be sung in public for the first time at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church’s Easter Day service on April 24.

On Pentecost Sunday Evening (June 12) a grand gala and worship will mark the culmination of the Easter season. The event will celebrate the three winning hymns and their authors.

The New Ways to Sing Praise competition was set up to "encourage hymn writers to create Easter hymn texts that express contemporary attitudes and modern theological outlooks," said the Rev Gary Paterson of St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church.

Caroline Penhale, chairperson of the project, said: “We received entries from three continents and from professional hymnwriters and talented amateurs alike. The quality of the entries was remarkable, displaying deep understanding, beautiful poetics, and progressive theology.”

The final selection was made by a panel of judges from Greater Vancouver: The Rev. Lynne E. McNaughton, an Anglican priest from the parish of St. Clement in North Vancouver; the Rev. Gerald Hobbs, Professor Emeritus of Church History and Music at Vancouver School of Theology; and Susan McCaslin, Professor Emeritus, Douglas College, a prize-winning Canadian poet and educator.