The Grand Canyon University Worship Arts program has released its eighth album, Canyon Worship 2024, and among those featured is Litchfield Park native Edwin Lopez, on the fifth track, “Home.”

Lopez wrote, performed and recorded the song with another student, Trina Beecher. “Home” is an acoustic song with harmonies that highlight the relationship between the singers and the safety they pull from their religion.

“All creation is astounding, but not as amazing as you,” Lopez and Beecher sing, “you’re my home.”

“Home” follows the structure of a traditional worship song with lyrics building up to a long, repeating chorus that is designed to be learned by the listener before the song ends.

The album features 10 new songs, all of which were written and performed by GCU students and recorded in the University’s recording studio.

Since September 2023, one single off the album has been released each month with the final single being released in July. With the full album released, the Worship Arts program also released chord charts and lyric sheets to make the songs easy to learn and use.  

“There were a lot of collaborations for this year’s songwriting efforts,” said Eric Johnson, GCU recording studio manager. “Students came together to collaborate on these songs, which in turn has produced some of the best songs of the Canyon Worship album catalog yet.”

GCU is a private Christian university in Phoenix. GCU’s website states the university is built on a foundation of Christian ethics and works to integrate them into academics and campus life. The Center for Worship Arts teaches students ministry and performance with curriculum from the College of Theology, to prepare the artists to become worship leaders in familiar environments.

The album is available for streaming on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music.

Visit canyonworship.gcu.edu for more information.