wfn.org | Worship, Multicultural Music Focus of ELCA Festival

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 17, 2002

WORSHIP, MULTICULTURAL MUSIC FOCUS OF ELCA FESTIVAL
02-165-AW*

    ST. PAUL, MINN. (ELCA) -- A Multicultural Music Festival with the
theme "One Voice, Many Cultures," focused on ways to incorporate music
from different cultures into congregational worship.  The festival,
hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was June
27-30 at Concordia University, St. Paul, Minn.
    The festival was organized by the ELCA Commission for
Multicultural Ministries (CMM).  It was the first event of its kind on a
national level, said Rosemary Dyson, CMM associate executive director.
About 230 people attended the festival, said Olinda Fink, CMM festival
registrar.
    The festival, geared for children and for adults, offered a series
of workshops and concerts that reflected diversity in culture and music.
The workshops included a hands-on blues history session hosted by singer
Katherine Davis, where participants received a harmonica and performed
on stage with Davis during her concert.  Another workshop was an African
drumming session, where participants learned how to play the drum and
recognize its significance in African culture.
    Two culture-specific worship services were held each day,
including African, Alaska Native, American Indian, Arab, Asian and
Latino services.  Parts of the services were held in the culture's
native languages, and music was performed in the traditional cultural
style.  During the Latino service, the Rev. J.A. "Tony" Machado, Iglesia
Luterana El Milagro, Minneapolis, led the group with music from a
Spanish hymnal accompanied by maracas and guitars.
    "The diversity of the music really appealed to me," said
participant Barton Beglo, Ottawa, Ontario. "We talk about accepting
others, but, when you can actually be here and hear others' music, it's
great."
    The festival's nightly concerts drew the largest crowds.  A Nube-
Andean music group, led by multimedia artists Nicolas Carter and Renato
Lombardi, performed a mix of Latin American art, theater and music.
Davis performed a blues and jazz concert.  A salsa band played while
participants danced.  The Kompani Jazz Gospel Group of Atlanta, Ga.,
performed contemporary Christian music.
    "It's a gorgeous event.  The concerts were my favorite," said
participant Erlene Wiltshire, Brooklyn, New York.  "You can get into
it no matter what age you are.  It's great to come here and worship."
    "Music is one of the most effective ways to bring all ethnic
communities together," said Dyson.
    The Multicultural Music Festival was made possible through a grant
from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Appleton, Wis.  It is a fraternal
benefit society that provides insurance coverage, financial products and
services, and fraternal benefits to its members.
-- --  --
 A video news release on the Multicultural Music Festival is
available at http://www.elca.org/co/news/video.index.html on the Web.

*Amy Wineinger is a junior at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa.  This
summer she is an intern with ELCA News and Media Production.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html