Each September, Anderson Seventh-day Adventist Church opens its doors to musicians from around the area for “Melodies & Praises,” an afternoon of music, worship, and fellowship.
This year, musicians and singers from Anderson, Red Bluff, Redding, Palo Cedro, and Shasta Lake churches came together to share what they love to do. Voices, instruments, familiar faces, and new ones filled the church as each participant brought something different to the program.
For Michelle Carillo Jenkins, Anderson Church music coordinator, that is an important part of the gathering. Melodies & Praises gives experienced musicians a place to share their talents while encouraging others to keep learning an instrument, developing their voice, and finding ways to use those gifts in church and ministry.
And the afternoon didn’t end with the last song.
Members of Anderson Church’s Spanish group prepared refreshments and tables, giving everyone a reason to stay awhile. Musicians who may only see each other occasionally had time to visit, families met people from neighboring churches, and new friendships had a chance to begin.
In many ways, that is what has kept Melodies & Praises going each September. People bring what they have—a song, an instrument, some food, a little time—and share it.
The result is more than a concert. It is five church families encouraging one another and reminding each other that the gifts God gives us become especially meaningful when we find a place to share them.
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