Choir members from a number of churches in Estevan and area will come together on Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. at St. Paul鈥檚 United Church to sing, celebrate and raise funds to help put an end to global hunger.
Heather Vermeersch, who is a member of St. Paul鈥檚 United Church, said the performance is through an initiative named Common Vision, which will bring concerts across the country this year. The choir also features members of Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Giles Anglican Church and St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, with more possibly to sign up.
Information has gone out to all of the churches in Estevan, she said. The choir has had a few rehearsals already, but it is still accepting new members.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about coming together as a community for an afternoon of great music and to support a great cause,鈥� stated a press release for the event. 鈥淲e鈥檇 like to invite members of the community to come out to our concert and join us in celebrating God鈥檚 good earth and the food it provides.鈥�
Approximately 40 people have attended the practices so far, and it鈥檚 believed that 50 to 60 people could be involved. Judy Pratt and Anita Kuntz are heading up the music end of things, Vermeersch said.
Vermeersch expects it will be a wonderful concert that will last about an hour.
The concert is free to attend, but donations will be accepted at the door.聽
Funds raised will be donated to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a Christian organization that provides a response to hunger. That money will be used to help respond to hunger emergencies in places like Ethiopia and Syria.
Vermeersch said the choir wanted to be part of Common Vision because they want to draw attention to issues related to hunger in the community. She noted it鈥檚 an issue locally as well, with St. Paul鈥檚 partnering with the Salvation Army to host the Warm Welcome Kitchen program twice a week.
鈥淭here is an issue around people not having food to eat, and I think churches in general are aware that world hunger continues to occur when there is devastation in some of these communities with earthquakes, floods and more,鈥� said Vermeersch. 鈥淗unger becomes an issue, and there isn鈥檛 the food that people need, so there are a lot of people who are hungry.鈥�
The concert is one of about 70 Common Vision concerts in communities across Canada, and will be a follow-up to last year鈥檚 Spring Into Song concert series that also raised funds for the Foodgrains Bank.
All donations made during the concert will be eligible for a matching contribution from the Government of Canada, through the partnership between Canadian Foodgrains Bank and Global Affairs Canada.
Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies. In the 2015-16 fiscal year, the Foodgrains Bank provided over $43 million of assistance for over one million people in 40 countries. Canadian Foodgrains Bank projects are undertaken with matching support from the federal government.
