Saturday, December 22, 2007 Libre: Praying and singing By Mel Libre Seriously Now
ON May 16, 2007, my wife and I hosted 13 people in a gathering that discussed the formation of a church choir. After rehearsing some gospel songs and before concluding the activity, I shared with them a dream of creating not just a choir but a ministry with the vision: “Harmony in the world.” The group, by consensus, declared as its mission: “To spread God’s Word through music and other acts of love.”
Today, more than seven months after that meeting, TawagAwit has more than 25 members. It has sung regularly in masses at St Mary’s Church in Nortcote, North Shore City, Auckland, opened the concert of Masculados in Westlake Auditorium in Takapuna, Auckland and visited several homes of Filipinos singing Philippine Christmas carols and other popular Christmas songs.
For the past months, members attended the regular gathering of praying and singing every Wednesday evening in preparation for the Mass offering on the 2nd Sunday of each month at St Mary’s Church. The choir performs all the songs in the regular mass attended mostly by Pakeha (New Zealanders of European descent) and other ethnicities.
Most elating are comments received from members of the congregation that they like the songs we are singing, especially those in Filipino like “Tanging Yaman” and “Sa ‘yo Lamang.” More encouraging is the support of Fr. Craig Dunford, parish priest, who has been receptive to the singing during masses of original English compositions inspired by the Gospel, with such titles as “Jesus, Your Love is Eternal,” “To Be Your Disciple,” “We are the Children of God” and “One Voice.”
On Dec. 23, TawagAwit hopes to see in attendance more than a hundred Filipino migrants (especially those who have arrived recently or have left their spouses or families in the Philippines) in an event called “Open Gathering: Giving, Sharing, Caring.” The affair is inspired by Luke 14:13: “Rather when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.”
Members of TawagAwit will not only perform Christmas songs, but also prepare food and drinks and give away gifts to guests, family and friends.
Support from fellow Filipinos has been overwhelming, with the choir obtaining donations from its caroling activities amounting to NZ $2,500 (P75,000) for the event and other activities. Program hosts Oscar and Miriam Batucan invited the group to sing in their radio program at 104.6 Planet FM to further promote the event.
Other than the Christmas message of Fr. Dunford, two members of TawagAwit will share their testimonies of how their service to the ministry and the power of prayer made a difference in their lives.
Sis Rose Bas hopes to inspire attendees on how she applied for a job in a call center but only got rejection responses. Instead she got her current job as vice president of Citibank Auckland four months after her arrival. Sis Cecil Nacario, who had no experience in songwriting, could not believe that she and her group had written an original spiritual song after fervently praying to the Holy Spirit for melodies.
TawagAwit aims to establish chapter choirs in parishes in other parts of New Zealand. God willing, it may form chapters in other parts of the world, including the Philippines, to fulfill its mission.
One of its founding members, Bro. Sanson Sanchez, believes that the ministry is “Spirit-led.” It is so as its members have committed to and are observant of its declared values: Godliness, Offering, Devotion, Love, Originality, Victory over Sin, Evangelization, Sustainability and Unity, with the acronym, “God Loves U.”
