"A FEW MONTHS AGO, I WAS ASKED to produce a fascinating event for the annual meeting of a major international church," Peter Link blogged on June 14 on his inspirational website "Sparks from the Fire" (see www.sparks.infonetportal.com).
The event, the musical finale for the The Mother Church's Annual Meeting, took Peter on a journey around the world in the months preceding the meeting to record Christian Science congregations in six locations singing the South African hymn "Siyahamba" (Christian Science Hymnal Supplement, No. 460). Peter crisscrossed the US, visiting The Mother Church Sunday School in Boston; the Christian Science Society in San Juan Capistrano, California; First Church of Christ, Scientist, in New York City; and the Christian Science College Organization at Principia College in Illinois. And he went overseas to First Church in São Paulo, Brazil, and Second Church of Christ, Scientist, in Cape Town, South Africa. Each congregation sang a different verse or chorus of the hymn to a track recorded in a musical style in harmony with their culture. The music was then assembled with video and "performed" at the Church's Annual Meeting with "the whole world" singing together in a grand finale.
Below are excerpts of Peter's blog posts from two of the locations—São Paulo and Cape Town (see "Siyahamba-Installments 2 and 3" on his website).
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