Youth sharing hope through musical

July 31, 2012 Filed under News Photos, Youth Posted by TFA Readers

By Riza Fe Afenir

Friday 27th of July, 2012 marked a very special occasion for members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) around the world as they commemorated the 98th anniversary of the church’s establishment.

The celebratory evening for the congregations in Sydney was held at The Hills Centre, Castle Hill.

The auditorium was filled with excited INC members and their families and invited friends, gathered for a study of the scriptures and to watch the much anticipated stage production entitled, “You’re Invited – An Evangelising Musical”.

The musical, performed by the church’s youth members, was the highlight of the evening.

It introduced the audience to three young characters that are wondering about salvation, the bible and religions. They then meet youth members of the INC, starting them off on a journey to find answers.

Scene by scene, one could feel the energy resonating from the stage, from the bright coloured sets and costumes to the bursts of choreography performed within each song number. It was an energy that easily caught on and spread throughout the stage.

Looking around the audience, one would see feet tapping to the rhythm of the jazz or reggae number and little children dancing, imitating the moves of the performers on stage.

It was the moving delivery of the song numbers however that kept the audience at the edge of their seats. Being more than just feel-good songs, they carried messages of encouragement as well as sincere prayers of hope. It was within the lyrics that one could understand the purpose of the musical, which was to encourage people to get to know the church and to keep searching for the truth.

'Something special about the youth...' // This photo: J. Javier [click image to zoom in]

As the performers received a standing ovation from the audience at the end of the musical, one could say there is indeed something special about the performing youth and their counterparts in the audience. Although they were not around to see the beginning of the church nor the challenges that were faced by the generations of members before them, the value they place to being a part of it all is very contagious.

It is also encouraging to see these young people not only having such high regard for their spiritual well being, but also taking the opportunity through such creative projects to share this outlook with those around them.

*** Sydney-based Riza Fe Afenir is taking up post-graduate communications studies specialising in broadcast journalism. She was part of the directorial team of You’re Invited: An Evangelising Musical.