Voices of Praise back from
successful Kuching tour

By JOHN ANG

THE Voices of Praise choir has returned to Singapore after a highly successful concert tour in Kuching.


The tour was planned about a year ago as an evangelistic and praise event to share the love of God with Christians and non-Christians in this East Malaysian town.
A full concert programme was planned under the title "Declaring His Love, Our Mission In Life". This comprises pieces from different musical periods and includes compositions by Palestrina, J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Rossini, Schubert and contemporary Christian song writers like Tom Fettke, Don Marsh, Gloria Roe and Emilia Wong in collaboration with Chin Chiew Wei.


The opening concert was held on Nov 23, 2003 at the Arts Centre of Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) with John Ang and Goh Say Meng conducting. The Kuching concert tour took place between Nov 28 Dec and 2.


Voices of Praise, comprising largely of members from various Methodist churches, with several from other churches as well, was formed in 2000 following the "Messiah" concert which raised almost $43,000 for the Sengkang Methodist Church building fund.


It is a tightly woven fellowship of joyful Christians with songs of praise in their hearts. Attend one of the weekly rehearsals and you will be captivated by the enthusiasm with which members work to build their repertoire.


For many of the choir members, Kuching was a faith experience. Several of them were still recovering from cough and sore throat and had to depend on much prayer. There was also the concern about safety. The choir organised nightly prayers and members took turns to encourage each other with the Word of God.


On the last concert night, the sisters who were preparing to sing Schubert's "The Lord Is My Shepherd" huddled together for a tender moment of prayer as they realized that their throats were tight and sore and they needed the Lord's enabling to see them through that demanding piece. When the moment of reckoning came, the Lord sustained them and their voices soared upwards ever so beautifully in their best heartfelt rendition yet.


In all, two very successful concerts were held at Faith Methodist Church, Kuching, on Saturday and Sunday evenings with the Rev Khoo Cheng Hoot, President of the Chinese Annual Conference, preaching on the theme of "What a Friend We Have In Jesus". In addition, the choir sang at both Trinity Methodist and Faith Methodist churches during their Sunday service.


The choir has spread the message of God's love. I am sure that God will work in the hearts of those who heard our message, as He will, in our hearts, a transformation that will result in our living the faith that we profess.

John Ang is the Chairman of the Methodist School of Music.