Jude Brennan Medals in French Competition with Worship Song
“If you had asked me ahead of time how to NOT win a French competition, this would probably have been it,” says Liberty French teacher, Mrs. Jennica Dixon.
Liberty sophomore, Jude Brennan, impressed the judges at the A Vous La Parole speaking competition held at the University of Minnesota earlier this year, with his worship song that he translated from English to French.
Every year, Liberty’s French students participate in the A Vous La Parole speaking competition. We have the opportunity to award one student “Le Prix Renaud” or “The Renaud Prize,” named for Renaud, a longtime University of Minnesota professor of Romance Languages who left an endowment for this competition upon his death.
It is up to the discretion of the French Teacher, in Liberty’s case Mrs. Dixon, to present the award to a student whose presentation was particularly noteworthy. This year’s “Le Prix Renaud” goes to Jude Brennan.
Mrs. Dixon presented the award to Jude on the last day of school's award ceremony. There were a few reasons she picked Jude for this recognition.
- It stood out for the sheer amount of work it took to prepare. Like a true Liberty Lion, Jude didn’t take the easy route. He didn’t take a French poem or song that was already in French and ready to use. Instead, he chose an English song, and made the French translation work WITH music, which is really hard to do. That took EFFORT.
- Jude did it completely alone. He didn’t have the safety of a group around him when he presented this piece. He stood in front of the judges, solo. That took COURAGE.
- But most importantly, Jude was determined to bring not just any song, and not just any song that took a lot of work, but a worship song. He boldly worshiped our God and savior in a little room at the U of M in front of French judges.
“If you had asked me ahead of time how to NOT win a French competition, this would probably have been it. But not only did Jude present with effort and boldness... he medalled. He got the 2nd highest – a red-ribbon medal.
The two judges caught Mrs. Dixon later that day to tell her that his presentation stood out for its authenticity. “You have no idea how refreshing that is for us.” They said it was clear this student had put a lot of work into it, and that he poured his heart into it. She said, “Please tell your student that he ruined my makeup, because I cried.”
We all have the privilege of regularly worshipping with Jude as he helps lead the worship band. But in the spirit of a true Liberty Lion, he didn’t stick to the confines of this building, but brought that heart for worship out into the world. And the world noticed, and loved it. May we all have such boldness of worship.