(Double click on pictures to enlarge them).
.
It was the day that wasn't on the calendar, a down-day, the day most of His Voice would have been quietly attending their own churches, wearing ordinary church clothes, sharing cups of cold water between thoughts of the impending summer's heat. But May 31, 2008, wasn't any ordinary day for the Men of His Voice. Those who could, came from the far corners of Riverside and San Diego Counties and donned their singing garb. (We missed you, Bruce, Bob F, Leonard, Nelson, Oscar, Rudy, and Russ!) The men sang and prayed as the brothers they truly are, honoring long-time His Voice Baritone, Ron Harrison at the Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sun City. The pictures above show a silhouette of gratefulness to the Brother of us all, Jesus Christ.
It was the day that wasn't on the calendar, a down-day, the day most of His Voice would have been quietly attending their own churches, wearing ordinary church clothes, sharing cups of cold water between thoughts of the impending summer's heat. But May 31, 2008, wasn't any ordinary day for the Men of His Voice. Those who could, came from the far corners of Riverside and San Diego Counties and donned their singing garb. (We missed you, Bruce, Bob F, Leonard, Nelson, Oscar, Rudy, and Russ!) The men sang and prayed as the brothers they truly are, honoring long-time His Voice Baritone, Ron Harrison at the Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sun City. The pictures above show a silhouette of gratefulness to the Brother of us all, Jesus Christ.
.
The rich sounds of Christian men singing together circled the colorful stain-glass-windowed sanctuary as His Voice sang "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Does Jesus Care" to begin the worship service. Following Pastor Vadim's gripping personal testimony of his own baptism in Russia, the young pastor called up the men and families of His Voice to come bless the departing Mr. Harrison with a live circle of prayer shown above. During the day, three pianists accompanied the men, two being our own Sonja Diaz during the hour of worship and Joyce Leal for the evening vespers concert. His Voice Tenor Rodney Knight's wife, Karen Knight, who is also our concert scheduler, stepped in as a "minute woman" to accompany the chorus at Sun City Gardens senior center two miles down the street from the Valley Church on Bradley.
The rich sounds of Christian men singing together circled the colorful stain-glass-windowed sanctuary as His Voice sang "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Does Jesus Care" to begin the worship service. Following Pastor Vadim's gripping personal testimony of his own baptism in Russia, the young pastor called up the men and families of His Voice to come bless the departing Mr. Harrison with a live circle of prayer shown above. During the day, three pianists accompanied the men, two being our own Sonja Diaz during the hour of worship and Joyce Leal for the evening vespers concert. His Voice Tenor Rodney Knight's wife, Karen Knight, who is also our concert scheduler, stepped in as a "minute woman" to accompany the chorus at Sun City Gardens senior center two miles down the street from the Valley Church on Bradley.
.
Toward the end of the senior center concert, pianist Joyce arrived and relieved Karen Knight on the piano. Later, Joyce shared with us the miracle of avoiding a terrible accident by mere inches on I-15 below Corona as she and His Voice Tenor Bill Leal were driving down to join His Voice for the afternoon and evening concerts. All of us breathed a grateful prayer for God's protection of such a wonderful friend and vital part of this ministry.
.
As the sun began to lower on the horizon, a quiet little Sabbath grew into a collage of blessings as the men gathered to begin the evening vespers concert at the Valley Church. Special features for the evening included inspirational solos by Michael Hunt and Karen Knight. (Notice Karen wearing one of the His Voice Hawaiian shirts above.) We'd love future concerts to include Karen sometimes at piano and/or singing as a featured soloist with His Voice.
.
Of course, the whole day's concerts had been planned for Tennessee-bound Ron Harrison in mind and at the end of the concert, Ron was given an official His Voice Circle of Prayer picture signed by many of Ron's His Voice family. As a last request, Ron asked Director Mike if His Voice could sing one more song, his favorite, and the Spirit of God flowed through the sanctuary as the whole congregation sang the festive Southern Gospel song, "Hallelujah By and By."
.
The evening ended with Director Mike Naluai's wife Debbie and other ladies of the Valley Adventist Church (http://www.valleysda.com/) hosting a delightful evening supper for those who stayed by. Gifts for a new Valley Church baby lined the wall as the family of His Voice said their goodbyes to their brother in Christ.
.
At the beginning of this week this reporter felt tired thinking about the idea of a full concert day two weeks before the June concert in Laguna Niguel, but by the end of the day it was evident that everyone felt blessed, strengthened, and anxious for the next opportunity to be instruments of God's Grace through His Voice.
.
May God bless Ron and all others who come and go in the His Voice family, you will always be in our circle of prayer!
.
Nancy (the Notetaker) Troyer
No comments:
Post a Comment