“Finding Peace” Musical Captivates Audiences in Northwest California
Naomi De La Cruz: Welcome back to INC News World.
Though cultural backgrounds and ethnicities vary from person to person, the universal language of music has no boundaries, lending itself to listeners to understand and feel different messages. And in Northwest California, we meet one resident who experienced a musical event meant to entertain audiences but most especially convey meaningful messages introducing them to the true faith. Sophia Trigonis has the details.
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Sophia Trigonis: Enchanting voices, captivating performances, and inspirational passages from the Holy Scriptures were the highlights of tonight’s event, graced by the presence of numerous esteemed guests. And for Linda, a resident in the Bay Area, she was among those who attended through the invitation of her friend, a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo.
Linda Jefferson (Visitor): It was wonderful, I mean they did good and I can see how they were giving their all, they all gave their all individually and as a group, so that’s what I really appreciated.
Sophia Trigonis: The event she attended—a Musical Evangelical Mission in the ecclesiastical district of Northwest California held at the Chabot Performing Arts Center in Hayward, California.
Linda Jefferson (Visitor): I found myself smiling throughout the whole event, even when they were singing some of the sad moods, it was lovely. I was smiling the whole time. That says it all because when you smile, you’re peaceful.
Sophia Trigonis: “Finding Peace”— the title of the event aimed to use music not only to bring joy to attendees but, above all, to introduce to them the true faith. For Steve, the variety of performances created an enjoyable experience.
Steve Allen (Visitor): There was a lot of singing and dancing and stuff, and I liked it. The youth was more interactive with us, so it was cool. I liked it all, I was just enjoying myself most of the time.
Immanuel Fonacier (Doctrinal Instructee Daly City, California): There’s a lot of different talents. I have to say that the singing was great, the rapping was great, and so was the dancing. I can see it was prepared for a long time and they did a great job.
Sophia Trigonis: For Jennifer, whose daughter Allison was invited by her classmate, the message of spoken word performances resonated.
Jennifer Tam (Visitor): My personal favorite performance was the young woman who did the two spoken words.
Sophia Trigonis: Songs about overcoming personal challenges and learning to rely on our Almighty God were sung by performers of all ages.
Jennifer Tam (Visitor): I was impressed with how many young people are involved. That was something that impressed me very much and I think it’s really important for young people to have a way to express themselves that is also positive and God first.
Allison Tam (VISITOR): I’d say what stood out to me the most was I noticed how everyone’s happy when they’re performing. I think that’s really nice. It’s good to know you’re going to be in a good environment and to know that you’re always going to be enjoying and seeing other people being excited and interested in what they do.
Sophia Trigonis: Among the youth in the audience were friends Seoyoung and Mari who were able to cheer on their friend and former classmate Miko performing on stage.
Seoyoung Kim: All of it was so amazing. I do think that the ending really just made me really emotional. It just resonated with me a lot personally and I just thought that seeing so many people also feels the same way in the same room, at the same moment.
Mari Ramos (Guest): I feel very happy, I feel very content. I’m able to experience this kind of community because I’ve never seen anything like it.
Brother Melvin Bayangoan (Minister of the Gospel): We continue to propagate the words of our Lord God through the help and guidance of our beloved Executive Minister Brother Eduardo V. Manalo. That is why we are using various ways in propagating the words of God. Tonight in our activity, we use music in sharing our faith with them.
Nick Morales (Creative Director): Do I see music as an effective means of sharing our faith? Absolutely. After this event, absolutely. Knowing that there’s so many more brethren out there who have this great talent that find value in using it to share their faith.
Bryan Quintin (Musical Director): I know our brethren do music for fun, but nothing can top doing music for God for propagation.
James Santos (Performer, San Pablo, California): I can only hope that, you know, you keep an open heart and an open mind and hopefully that what you find is something that you can take home and be happy with and find peace in.
Brother Eduardo Javier (Supervising Minister, Ecclesiastical District of Northwest California): What we have done today is just part of our preparation for the celebration of the Church’s 109th anniversary, come July 27th, 2023. Many will leave this place uplifted, inspired, and edified after what they were able to witness. This musical evangelical mission is an effective way to reach out to many more people, because as we all know, music is considered as a universal language. It is able to capture the emotions of people from different walks of life. The brethren were able to showcase their talents while giving glory to our Almighty God.
Sophia Trigonis: Sophia Trigonis, reporting for Iglesia ni Cristo News Network, Hayward, California.
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Naomi De La Cruz: Well, that does it for us on INC News World. Tune in every Saturday for new episodes of INC News World on INCMedia.org, our YouTube channel and on streaming platforms. I’m Naomi De La Cruz and thank you for joining us. Stay safe and we’ll see you next time. God bless.
