“It was just an unbelievable experience,” says pastor M. Randolph Thompson. “We actually had to turn people away.” The sanctuary seats 425.
The congregation normally does separate events for Christmas and New Year’s Day, but because both fell on a Sunday, the church decided to try a one-evening event, which was held December 28.
The Dartmouth choir made the trip from Hanover, New Hampshire, to Calumet City, south of Chicago, because the congregation’s music director is an adjunct faculty member at the school. In addition to directing the church choir, he has connections with the Chicago-based musical group “One Accord,” which also performed.
The Dartmouth choir practiced for several weeks on its own and then joined the rest of the group a week before the event, Thompson says.
Most of the drama was written by Alton Hughes, who attends the local high school. “He did an amazing job,” says Thompson. “Amazing.”
Thompson said he was especially proud that the event at the predominantly African American church was not only ethnically diverse, but also spanned generations as well. “We had classic drama and music as well as modern drama and music, including rap.”
The event lasted three hours, which Thompson joked was a “brief” event for African American churches. He added that the success of the evening probably will lead the congregation to make it an annual event.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
