11 Texas churches join the chorus
of support for orphan shoes project
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___Three hundred people from 11 Texas Baptist churches will join forces Sept. 24 to sing for the souls and soles of orphan children.
___The combined choirs of the 11 North Texas churches will present a concert at Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas to benefit the Shoes for Orphan Souls program of
Buckner Orphan Care International.
___Participating churches are First Baptist Church, Cedar Heights Baptist Church and Colonial Hills Baptist Church of Cedar Hill; Hampton Road Baptist Church and Southwest Baptist Church of DeSoto; First Baptist Church and The Oaks Baptist Church of Duncanville; First Baptist churches of Lancaster and Midlothian; and Ferris Avenue and First Baptist churches of Waxahachie.
___In addition to the 300-voice choir, the program will feature vocalist Marvin Matthews and a 35-piece orchestra directed by Steve Holcomb of Dallas Baptist University. Scott Sams, news anchor for WFAA-TV, will emcee the event.
___Funds raised by ticket sales at the event will provide a nice boost to an already successful program, said Mike Douris, a Buckner vice president.
___"It's going to help us provide shoes for children in 15 countries around the world, he said. "Shoes are one of their primary needs. And the basic premise of the ministry is that we not only provide shoes, but also hope and a very tangible way of showing these children that there are people who care for them."
___Shoes for Orphan Souls focuses not only on new soles but on transforming souls, Douris added.
___"One of the things we do is put tracts in with the shoes," he explained. "We weren't really sure what kind of impact those tracts were having until one of the directors told us how much the children enjoyed them. They are something they can read, and they don't have very many things to read. They are laid out in a comic book format, and that makes them even more enjoyable."
___The opportunity to use the talents they have been given to make a difference around the world is the whole motivation for doing the event, said Jonathan Aragon, minister of music at First Baptist Church in Duncanville and organizer of the fund-raiser.
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MUSICIANS from North Texas churches will present a concert at Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas to benefit the Shoes for Orphan Souls program
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__Planning began last August, and the choirs have been rehearsing the music since January. The eclectic selections the choir will sing include spirituals, Southern gospel and modern arrangements of classical pieces.
___Preparation for the concert has been an asset to each individual choir as well, Aragon said.
___"It's been a major boon to our choir programs," he said. "Our numbers have grown a bit, and they are singing well because they are working hard to prepare for this concert. Everybody has really bought into it."
___While about half the expenses of putting on the concert have been raised through corporate and individual donations, about $6,000 still is needed to cover all the expenses.
___"We can take the money out of the ticket sales, but our hope is to give every bit of that money to Buckner," Aragon said. "We just need to find a couple more donors to underwrite the expenses."
___Aragon hopes the event will grow to become an annual or biennial fund-raiser for the Buckner program.
___Tickets, which range in price from $7 to $30, may be secured by calling (817) 335-9000.
___For more information about the concert, call Aragon at (972) 298-1435.
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