United Methodist music video gives hope to Haitians
A UMNS Report
By Susan Hogan
UPDATED 12:30 PM EST | Jan. 19, 2010
"We will rise once again,
From the place that we're in.
Hand in hand with faith we will stand
And with God as our guide, side by side
Together we will rise.”
--“We Will Rise”
Stefan Youngblood wanted to
give hope to Haiti.
First, he donated money. Now he's donating a song.
“We Will Rise," a song he composed, is being used in a music video to
raise funds for Haiti through the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
"It's a song that's meant to inspire people in the midst of all the
hopelessness and despair," said Youngblood, 48, of Raleigh, N.C. He
leads music for The Gathering, a contemporary service at Edenton Street
United Methodist Church.
On Monday, the downtown church of 4,200 members was bustling with
dozens of volunteers putting together health kits for Haitians.
Youngsters colored pictures to send to Haitian children.
"People are putting to use the gifts that God gave them in any way
they can to help the people of Haiti," said the Rev. Ned Hill, the
church pastor.
Music often brings comfort to people in a way that words can't, Hill
said. Youngblood's song, combined with images from Haiti, make a
powerful video, he added.
"This is music that will lift up anyone who is suffering and being
challenged by life," said Rozlyn Sorrell of Garner, N.C., a classically
trained vocalist who participated in the recording.
Youngblood is answering phone calls from across the country - and
even Canada - about the song. A caller from Haiti was interested in
recording the song in Creole.
"People seem surprised that I'm giving out the sheet music and the
choir tracks," Youngblood said. "Everything is free. This is what I can
do."
UMCOR hopes video watchers will be inspired to donate to its Haitian
relief effort.
Youngblood wrote the song after Hurricane Marilyn slammed into the
Virgin Islands in 1995. He lived in St. Croix at the time.
"On the day before the hurricane, people were boarding up windows and
buying up candles," he said. "I bought a piano."
He wrote the song by candlelight with his children in tow. He rounded
up a couple of dozen children from the island for the first recording.
The song resurfaced after a cyclone devastated Myanmar in 2008.
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The version being used by UMCOR was recorded using North Carolina
talent after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Youngblood tapped college
students, high school students, professional singers and children from
various churches to sing.
He said his sister, a former producer for Oprah Winfrey, put together
the music video after Haiti's earthquake last week using photographs
from the scene.
Another singer -- Janice Fletcher, 45, of Rolesville, N.C. -- said
that people in Haiti are facing a tragedy beyond what most people can
comprehend.
"We want them to know that they are not forgotten," she said. "We
want them to know that we are rallying behind them."
*Hogan is a freelance writer based in Chicago.
News media contact: David Briggs, Nashville, Tenn.,
(615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Related Video
“We Will Rise”
Downloadable
video resources from UMNS and UMTV
slideshow
Photos from team in Haiti
Related Articles
Worshippers remember Haiti in prayer, song, gifts
Survivor: UMCOR trio kept faith in Haiti ruins
Haiti quake survivor vows return following her ordeal
Hope in God supplants grief in Haitian congregation
Resources
Edenton
Street United Methodist Church
Earthquake in Haiti: The Church Responds
God, Why? Small Group Study
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