Music Night will have global flair

The Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society will feature songs from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe at its Annual Music Night on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m., at Neffsville Mennonite Church, 2371 Lititz Pike, Lancaster.

“This concert will give the audience a taste for the rich diversity of music that people will experience during worship at the Mennonite World Conference Assembly, which convenes on July 21-26, 2015, at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg,” said Rolando Santiago, director of LMHS.

KaRen from Habecker Mennonite perform traditional music. (Photo provided by LMHS)

Bryan Moyer Suderman, who lives near Toronto, Canada, will serve as lead artist for the evening. He was a member of songleading teams for the MWC Assemblies in Paraguay (2009), Zimbabwe (2003) and Winnipeg (1990). Suderman describes himself by saying, “I live my vocation of building up the body of Christ by creating and sharing songs of faith for small and tall.”

Music styles from Puerto Rico and other Latin American and Caribbean countries will showcase songs frequently heard in Christian churches. Angel R. Sanchez, who attends a Hispanic Pentecostal church, will sing one of his own compositions using the “décima” style, which descends from medieval Spanish ballads. Urban Worshipers, a vibrant worship band from a Mennonite congregation in Brooklyn, New York, will demonstrate contemporary songs popular in churches with styles ranging from Latin to reggae to gospel and more.

African songs in Swahili and French will head up a section of music from Eastern and Central African countries such as Kenya and Congo, respectively. Worship teams from the African Community Church of Lancaster and from the Middletown Evangelical Center for Revival will grace the evening with singing that is rhythmic, invigorating, and lively.

Immigrant groups from Asia, specifically the KaRen from Thailand and Burma, and the Nepali-speaking from Bhutan, will illustrate how song and dance are integrated into Christian worship. A KaRen group that meets at Habecker Mennonite Church will perform a song and a New Year’s dance. Then a song will be performed by the Nepali Bhutanese Church of Lancaster, and young people from that congregation, meeting at West End Mennonite Church, will demonstrate a cultural worship dance.

Traditional Slavic songs will exemplify music from the European continent. The five-member Kravets family will reveal exquisite Slavic harmonies through a cappella singing, a string ensemble, and a brass quintet, prevalent in worship among Christian churches in the Ukraine.

Tickets for the Annual Music Night cost $20 per person, $15 for students with ID, and $15 per person for households of three or more. Tickets may be purchased at lmhs.org or by calling 393-9745.