Logan faith groups rally around “A Night of Sacred Music”
On Sunday evening the Logan Young Single Adult 6th Stake will host “A Night of Sacred Music” at the Logan Tabernacle. The event, the first of its kind, will include the participation of a wide spectrum of faith groups and performers.
Luke Maddox, the music chairman for the Logan YSA 6th Stake and the event coordinator, said he was inspired by what he saw on his mission in Los Angeles, when the LDS ward he was serving in and a nearby Baptist church would often interact and perform at one another’s services.
“Initially, we just thought it would kind of just be a stake thing,” Maddox said. “But then we just kept getting people that kept saying, ‘yes, we’ll participate.’ Really good people, really quality good groups and people. And so then we thought, ‘why don’t we invite everyone that we can?’”
The Westminster Bell Choir, led by Cathy Ferrand Bullock, was one of the groups invited to participate. Initially, the choir were invited by Dr. Craig Jessop, the dean of the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University and the high councilor over music in the Logan YSA 6th stake. Bullock said the group was on board with the event from the start, especially because the bell choir, though sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church, is an interfaith collaboration.
“We are interfaith and proud of it,” Bullock said. “Actually, we have more LDS ringers than we do Presbyterian ringers, which is kind of cool. One ringer comes from her ward in Brigham City to ring with us, and one comes down from Smithfield. We have a Lutheran ringer, and in the past we’ve had Catholic ringers. They come from all over the valley.”
The night, though centered around music, will also feature thoughts by Scott Thalacker, the pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, and Elder Bryan R. Larsen, the area seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Additionally, attendees will be led through a meditation by Buddhist practitioner Joshua Hill and a call to prayer by members of the Logan Islamic Center.
“By gathering and sharing our faith, we can better understand each other,” said Adam Alrowaiti, committee president of the Logan Islamic Center. “We can better understand our lives. We can better understand how we can work toward the future, how we can make our future better.”
The evening will feature several soloists, an organist, a cellist, several choirs and a bagpiper.
Chase Anderson, the assistant music director for the Logan YSA 6th Stake, worked alongside Maddox to orchestrate “A Night of Sacred Music”.
“The most rewarding aspect has been inviting others from different faiths and hearing them say how excited they are to participate,” Anderson said. “It's been very fulfilling to me to visit other faiths in the process of inviting them and having the chance to learn from them.”
Maddox said that because of the high level of interest from both performers and the community, organizers made the decision to open the event to the public.
Ashlee Doonan, a student at Utah State University, heard about the event on Facebook.
“I’m just hoping to get a night to listen to music and feel the spirit,” Doonan said.
The evening has garnered the attention of students, community members and church goers alike.
“I think it’s fantastic, and I hope to attend,” said Bonnie Glass-Coffin, a professor at Utah State University and founder of the Interfaith Initiative. “Any time we can facilitate or support events that build capacity and appreciation for understanding religious difference in our community and for building bridges across divides, that’s a positive thing.”
The event will begin at 7 p.m. Additional details can be found on the official Facebook event page.