Rondo Faith Float – July 19

Remember the rhythms of The Shades of Praise Gospel Choir from New Orleans?

Keep those rhythms stirring in your hearts. Join the local churches involved in the Shades of Praise weekend by riding the Faith Float in the 25th annual Rondo Day Parade. Hop aboard, release your spirit, and fly to new heights singing Gospel Hymns under the direction of Rev. Carl Walker. Meet at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church (see directions) at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, 2008. Rev. Walker from Morning Star and Marilyn Campbell, choir director at New Hope, will take us through the songs. Wear a brightly colored t-shirt and bring an umbrella in case of rain or hot sun. The parade begins at 10:00 a.m. and lasts for 45 minutes to an hour. Bring the family--singers and non-singers. This is about having fun as we continue to build the Beloved Community, one song at a time. Call Dick Buggs at 651-222-7222 with any questions.

These are the directions to St. Peter Claver Church for the Faith Float. Float participants will meet at St. Peter Claver Church at about 8:30 AM on July 19th. Look for a large flat bed truck and trailer that will carry the Faith Float participants and instruments through the parade.

St. Peter Claver Catholic Church at 1060 West Central Avenue in St. Paul: the northeast corner of Lexington and 94 intersection behind the BP station.

The Future

The future direction of Raising Our Voices rests on the interests and commitment of those churches and individuals that are involved.
Explore our website to learn more about Raising Our Voices. Better yet, join our effort as we seek to expand and deepen the beloved community in St. Paul. It will depend on those “who show up.” To join the effort or follow our developments, go to blog link at the left or e-mail Rick Heydinger <Rheydinger@gmail.com>.

Currently we are discussing the formation of a “community faith choir,” amongst other activities. If you have interest in this, please contact us using the blog at the left or e-mail Rick Heydinger <Rheydinger@gmail.com>.

We are always open to hearing about ideas that will deepen the connections across the St. Paul Community, in our on-going efforts to build the beloved community.

Shades of Praise Inaugural Weekend- An Unqualified Success!

Raising Our Voices is a new and growing effort, aimed at working across traditional boundaries to develop and grow our beloved community here in St. Paul, MN.

The inaugural activity of Raising Our Voices was to celebrate and support the visit of the Shades of Praise, an interracial gospel choir from New Orleans, the weekend of April 18-20, 2008.

The weekend was a tremendous success accomplishing everything we hoped it would and more. To start the weekend, the Shades appeared at Maxfield and Webster grade schools, engaging the children in the music and playing to gymnasiums full of grade-schoolers. The best compliment we could receive was in this e-mail received from a principal: One of my little kindergarteners said, as the concert was ending, that she felt like she was going to cry, and she didn't want it to end.

Over the weekend the Shades gave concerts at three churches in which the audience joined in with singing, clapping and many ovations for the soloists. Each of these was followed by a dinner or reception that St. Paul churches had come together to host. Discussion questions focused on how to continue to build the beloved community. Over 700 people attended these three events.

The Shades also participated in the 9:30 AM mass at the Basilica in Minneapolis, to accolades there as well.

All of us in St. Paul are deeply indebted to the energy and passion this most unusual group from New Orleans brought to St. Paul and Minneapolis. They have helped launch Raising Our Voices.

Click here to hear Shades of Praise sing.

HELP US MEET THE POHLAD FOUNDATION MATCH

In supporting our inaugural weekend, the Pohlad Family Foundation graciously provided a $10,000 match to support the on-going work of the reconciliation work of the Shades of Praise in New Orleans. To date (4/23) we have raised over $7300 of this match. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution, click on the Donate link on the left. THANKS.