Wheaton College Gospel Choir

New Events! Mark Your Calendars!

2012-02-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

Pre-Order Legacy!

2012-02-11T15:55:00.000-08:00

In celebration of the 25TH Anniversary, we are releasing a new CD, Concert/Documentary DVD and Photo Book. Along with the new CD entitled "Legacy" we are offering special packages to our ministry partners that include these new releases plus admission to their annual Spring Concert and Red Carpet Reception!

http://www.wheatonbooks.com/ePOS?form=shared3/gm/main.html&this_category=448&store=767

An Atmosphere Of Energy And Anointing

2012-01-27T00:11:00.000-08:00

Chelsea Aldridge
Junior @ Wheaton
Gospel Choir President

One thing I know for sure about Gospel Choir is that we are not performers but those who desire to lead Praise and Worship, (which is why I absolute love our concerts!) We don’t just praise God when the concert starts, but moreover by the end of our sound-check we hope to set an atmosphere of energy and anointing; one that our audience will feel invited to join in the praise. There is no doubt that back stage or center stage, GC concerts are Fun from start to finish!
Choir has become a close part of life here at Wheaton and it's not uncommon to see us doing the following: singing, dancing, stepping, rapping, jumping, leaping, shouting, crying, praying, praising, and ministering the Word of God-- truly God is with us through it all! I love the opportunity of being a part of a representation of what heaven will be like. This is demonstrated this unique group of students who are culturally and ethnically diverse, who are all unified by their love for Jesus and music. I thank God for blessing our choir with many opportunities to travel and have concerts in multiple places both nationally and internationally. We’ve also had the privilege to build relationships with professional gospel artists such as Israel Houghton, Marvin Sapp, and Fred Hammond, who have also grown to love our choir.
One of the great blessings in my experience with GC is knowing that during our concerts many people have come to know the Lord for the first time, or have recommitted they're life to Jesus, because they felt encouraged by our ministry. Witnessing such praise reports like this make our concerts that much more humbling and a blessing to usher God's faithfulness!

Enjoy these clips taken from our fall concert last fall and our choir trip to the How Sweet The Sound Choir Competition earlier in the semester. We met some pretty cool people while we were there ;)

Recap: Nation Anthem at McCully Stadium

2012-01-20T22:51:00.000-08:00

Tiffany Egler

Wheaton Alum 11'

Assistant Choir Director

Just a few months ago, we were given the great opportunity to sing the National Anthem at Wheaton's McCulley Stadium for a football game. As a gospel choir, we made sure to put our spin on the song as you'll hear on the video. Practicing for the National Anthem was pretty fast paced because the majority of the students already knew the words and the basic melody. My mother, Director Tanya Egler, often does rearranging in the car while running errands, so I'm pretty positive that's how she came up with the arrangement we sang. She decided to give the song a more upbeat and celebratory feel while maintaining a bit of the traditional delivery of the song with a more choral gospel feel at the end. The beat was a little different, the delivery was a little different, but the essence of the song remains the same. We ended rehearsal before the game a little bit early to give time to walk to the field and get situated. Everyone was excited to sing and show some Wheaton Thunder pride. We had a great time singing and cheering on our team.

As we prepare for each semester musically, we definitely listen for the Lord's leading. We look for music that fits the style of our choir, engages our audiences, and most importantly, glorifies God. We stay updated by singing the latest music in Gospel music such as Israel Houghton's Everywhere that I Go, but we also incorporate traditional songs like Oh Happy Day by Edwin Hawkins to keep our repertoire broad and diverse just like the body of Christ. These songs proclaim God's truth and are just plain fun to sing. GC is all about glorifying the Lord, reaching out to others, and having a great time doing it. It only makes sense that the music we sing would do the same. That's what we aim for every semester.

We're Back and Kickin' 25th Anniversary Shout-out

2012-01-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

Ryan Tolbert
Junior @ Wheaton
Publicity Manager & Choir Member

Hey fam,
Sorry to leave you all hanging for the last 8 months. It's been a long semester of planing, concerts, and preparing for big events coming up on the horizon. As we changed the banner above earlier this year to indicate a new season, were excited to announce that we have existed in 25 years in God's Faithfulness. This year the Choir celebrates it's Silver anniversary!

On that note we promise to keep you guys updated about some of the great events coming up this spring as well as some of our journey from last semester. We've recorded a Cd that will be released in March, sang the national anthem for the Wheaton football team, met some famous Gospel Musicians and experienced many ups and downs along the way! Stay tuned to hear more and tell your friends.

Here's a Forward from our Tour Coordinators: Nikki and Koko

Praise the Lord! GC has reached its 25th Anniversary! We are so excited for what is in store for this years celebration. We have already completed recording our latest CD titled LEGACY which will be coming out in March. The CD features songs written by GC's director Tanya Egler and her family, old favorites and originals written by alumni. It will be debuted during our Release Party also in March. We will be giving God the glory for His faithfulness of 25 years at our Spring Concert on April 28th, 2012, which will be held in Wheaton College's Edman Chapel. GC alumni from the past 25 years are invited to join us as well as family members, supporters, and anyone who wants to sing praises with us. We are also very excited to be hosting our Legacy Ball which will follow the Concert. Special Anniversary packages are available for purchase on the Wheaton Bookstore Website some of which include: tickets to the Concert and Ball, LEGACY CD, Documentary, and more! Thank you so much for supporting and look forward to celebrating with you.

Stay Tuned!

25th Anniversary And Up Coming Events!

2011-10-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since our last post and theres a lot we want to tell you about. Stay tuned for more information. We plan to resume posts soon.

For Now Check out whats next on the forefront...

25th Annual Fall Concert

Friday November 18 2011

Coray Auditorium

421 Chase St, Wheaton IL, 60187

7:30pm

Mark Your Calendars...

Wheaton College Gospel Choir

25th Anniversary Celebration

Saturday April 28th 2012

Edman Chapel

4pm

*Tickets Available on campus in the College Box Office next to the bookstore

Questions?

Email or Call us...

Gospel.Choir@wheaton.edu

630.752.5251

I'm Walkin': Gospel Choir's 24th Annual Concert

2011-04-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

Ryan Tolbert
Sophomore @ Wheaton
Publicity Manager & Choir Member

Yup Yup! Praise with us Next Saturday, bring your friends and family!

First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale Footage

2011-03-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

Ryan T. - Southfield, MI
Sophomore @ Wheaton
Publicity Manager & Choir Member

March 13th we sung at First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale during the end of our spring break tour. This is a video of our performance on youtube... make sure to check it out! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlxPZFrbUSE

Psalm 150

Great times with friends and family

2011-03-19T00:10:00.000-07:00

Haley H. - Williamsport, PA

Sophomore @ Wheaton

Things ended up not working out with our second host families, so Grace, Mimi, Michelle & I stayed with Jocelyn Cox and her family. This little mix-up was the perfect testimony to the control that God has on our lives and the way he works seemingly stressful situations into absolute blessings. Because things did not work out the way I had planned, I was able to spend precious time with amazing ladies from the Gospel Choir, getting to know them better and hearing how God has worked through their lives. On top of that, the hospitality that was shown through Byron and Stacy Cox was incredible, and they made me feel so comfortable and welcome. One night after a long day of leading others in worship with the rest of GC, all of us girls were sitting around the Cox's kitchen table with Mrs. Cox, and she shared her unbelieveable testimony with us- talk about amazing. Later on in our stay I was so blessed by Mimi as we shared our life stories with each other around the Cox's pool after devouring plates of Jamaican chicken, macaroni and cheese, and mashed potatoes, compliments of the wonderful women at Rhema Church. On top of all of this, I was so incredibly blessed by Jenna and Jocelyn's musical talent as they played songs on the piano and guitar and sang beautiful harmonies together. I was also blessed with a night of laughter as Mr. Cox shared all of his stories of the chapel pranks he and the rest of the Wheaton swim team used to try to pull off (unfortunately none of them were ever very successful). Everything about our short stay with Cox family was a gift from God. If I learned anything from this experience it was that God truly is in control of every situation of our lives, and He works everything out for the good of those who love Him.

Hallelujah- God is so good!

One last picture of the whole choir and band outside of First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale before we headed
the airport.

(Left to Right) Haley H, Mimi G, Grace A.

We're Back!

2011-03-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

The view outside our 9pm flight from
Fort Lauderdale to Wheaton.

Ryan T. - Southfield, MI
Sophomore @ Wheaton
Choir Member & Publicity Manager

Whats Up Fam,
Were Back in Wheaton! Thats both good and bad thing. I don't think any of us are to excited about homework stacking up and finishing up post break midterms, however it is nice to be back with the Wheaton community. The last couple of days have been awesome! Wheaton has been rather sunny and the the temperature have reached the low sixties out here, but thats nothing compared to the normative eighty degree weather we experienced in Florida all last week!

Anyway, We just wanted to give a shout out to all the people who have kept in your prayers, and for all the people who helped and blessed us in florida--A Big thank you song in gospel choir tradition to every bus driver, church, host family, pastor, musician, cook, minister, speaker, assistant, community member, and person we came in contact with! God's is Good, and that goodness is soooooooo Deep!

From the Mouth of the publicity manager (I), it has been awesome having the chance to try to put media on this blog, and watch the activity of those who read this. We have views from Singapore, China, Haiti, United Kingdom, Kenya, USA and other places internationally.

Moreover, as time permits as a student im excited about editing the 220 gigs worth of Audio, video and photograph from tour. 220 Gigs! I excited to share it with you all but first i have to edit it, so stay tuned!

Blessings

Live Web Streaming of Gospel Choir at First Baptist of Fort Lauderdale

2011-03-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

Tiffany Egler
St. Charles, IL
Assistant Director

Hey everyone!

I just want you all to know that we'll be part of First Baptist of Fort Lauderdale's morning service; this Sunday at 10:30 AM EST. We are so excited to worship the Lord with them, and the church will be livestreaming the service from fbcnet.com! If you are unable to watch it during that time, it will still be up for a week after the service. Thanks so much for following up with us and supporting us as we journey through the rest of our tour!

FBCFL Main Sanctury

Much love,
Tiff

Wheaton College At Westminister Academy

2011-03-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

Ryan T. - Southfield, Mi
Sophomore @ Wheaton
Choir Member & Publicity Manager

We've been all around Fort Lauderdale Florida over the past few days, preforming at schools, churches, and other facilities. It's has been an awesome experience! God is great, and he has show us many things along the way. I wanted to send a quick video out time at Westminister Academy, for their chapel time. The audio Clips a bit but be be sure to check out the picture in HD!

Gotta Run

Ryan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkYOYV4QXs

An Inside Look: Liz S. & Kaitana A.

2011-03-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

Liz S. - Washington Dc

Senior @ Wheaton

Major: Comm. Media studies

For me, Gospel Choir has been a place of truly worshipping God through musical expression. Coming from a background of musical performance in both church and school choirs, I have been encouraged and challenged in choir not to make perfection the focus, but rather to offer a genuine and excellent sacrifice of praise to our Father God while inviting others to join us. The love that we have for God individually overflows to one another and unifies us as a choir and a community. I really enjoy both the times of deep, contemplative worship and joyful celebration as I lift up my voice with my friends to praise the Lord Jesus! The best part of Gospel Choir is that it is a group of believers surrendered to Christ, humbled by His grace, and excited to exalt the mighty God we serve through beautiful music and a lifestyle of praise.

Kaitana A. - Bolingbrook, IL

Junior @ Wheaton

Choir Member & Choir Secretary

Major: Math education

Gospel Choir has been a place for people to come to be with family. I was first introduced to Gospel Choir my freshmen year at freshman worship. What drew me to them was how diverse it was. It was a beautiful representation of the body of Christ. Being in choir has been a great way for me to know great people on this campus, who have continued to bless me life in a way that I would never want to replace.

Time Lapse of the Catamaran

2011-03-09T01:29:00.000-08:00

Ryan T. - Southfield, Mi
Sophomore @ Wheaton
Choir Member & Publicity Manager

So its ridiculous early right now, and I may or may not have have stayed up until now? :? Today, was one of our off days of tour, here in Florida. Today we spent the day on the ocean riding on a Catamaran! Fun for sure... We spent time hanging out, talking, swimming, and simply just relaxing. Here's a little time lapse Video I made of our experience.. Hope you enjoy.
Today I was supposed to edit video of some of our past performances and experiences but I had a hard time with After Effect and Premiere Pro in the editing process... The documentation of the past few day will be up soon! Promise

Don't for get to tell your people about the blog ;)

In Godspeed
Ryan

Heres the vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGY76PS-2Lw

An Inside Look: Michelle L.

2011-03-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

Michelle L. - Whitinsville Massachusettes

Freshman @ Wheaton

Gospel Choir Member

Hopefully you have been able to hear gospel choir sing “I Am Free.” This one song has been the theme song of my gospel choir experience so far.

What first drew me to gospel choir is the freedom and pure joy I found when I attended a gospel choir worship night at school. The choir did the dance to “Jesu Christo” and “There’s No One Like.” I grew up in a pretty conservative church so dancing while singing worship songs was a new concept to me. But as soon as the crowd got to dance with the gospel choir, I felt so free as I danced! I had never felt so happy singing a worship song and moving my body in a way that was also glorifying to Him.

Once I joined gospel choir I was confronted once more with my conservative roots. I wasn’t sure if I really fit in. But then Tanya prayed something I will never forget. In her prayer she said that we were all coming to Christ just as we were. It hit me so hard that God wasn’t expecting me to be charismatic; He was just expecting me to worship Him with my whole heart, no matter what it looks like. The freedom I felt was so overwhelming, I couldn’t help but cry. I had made expectations for myself that I thought I had to follow, but instead God just wanted me to worship Him just as I am.

This freedom has given me a chance to grow in God. I’m not as worried with how I appear when I’m on stage. Now I’m more focused on worshiping Him alone.

A Quick Video

2011-03-07T00:17:00.000-08:00

Phil C. - Southfield, Michigan
Tenor/BassSecond Year member

There was an air of incredulousness about the choir as we stepped into New Hope this afternoon to find a vast plethora of goodies ranging from Hot Dogs and Burgers to Spaghetti salad and about 15 different casserole dishes. I was full because it was about 4 o clock and I had already eaten roughly about 3-4 meals already, but nevertheless I decided to delve into the food once again. On the short trip from the door to the line I was lavished with the Churches positive affirmations and general spirit of good will. By the time I had my food I was in a fantastic mood and found myself in the most comfortable of spirits. Eventually Service began and we began to sing, it was our first official concert and I was eager to regain the vigor from tour last year but I had to focus on the right now. The right now at the time so happened to be a short background story about a younger member of the congregation who was terminally ill battling with cancer. We were told that he would come on stage and we would sing for him. I was a lil shook up because Several members of the choir including myself have had some upsetting experiences with people they knew passing from cancer. Tears were shed on that stage by some members and I unexpectedly began to connect with not just the kid who we were introduced to, but with the entire church and my fellow choir members who I am getting to know better day after day. I took that emotion and I threw it into my worship and while the crowd was at times quite passive from a kinesthetic point of view, They were not shy in their praise afterwards going so far as to invite us out to go to Haiti and visit their ministry and sing in the future! I didn't realize till later how much that affected me till I heard the sermon that the pastor had preached and when I saw the love with which he talked about their ministry in Haiti I was honored that he would think us worthy to help plant and grow the seed of Christ in the children that were over there suffering.

After the Concert we went back to the house, (After a pit stop at Mcdonalds where we got tricked into singing, and a Walmart run soon after that) and hung out with our host family who we love and adore already even at this point of the trip and I consciously made the decision to let this tour stand in its own spotlight and not compare it. Because I realized that each tour has a special way that it works through its participants and I would be a fool to restrict its impact to just being as good as last years. I honestly can't believe that this is just the first day of tour and I am literally BEYOND excited for not only the impact that I can have on others but also the impact that others will have on me. I don't know a lot of the newer members of choir but already I sense the attitude and heart throughout the entire Choir. However all my talking really can't express the feelings I have as well as the video below does so watch, enjoy, and revel in the lords grace like I do every time I hear our choir sing this song. :-)

Phillip Charles Carr III

When I think about the Lord Snippet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb8hN3TAWlc

Finally Arrived! Tour 2011

2011-03-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

Jerard W. - Chicago, Illinois
Junior @ Wheaton College
President & Pianist of WCGC
Third Year member

(Left to right) Jerard, Phil, and Daniel wait for the 9am flight
with along with fellow GC peers.

The Wheaton College Gospel Choir has finally touched down in the beautiful state of Florida. After an early morning trip from Wheaton, 58 of us are here in Ft. Lauderdale and ready to get this tour started, and it already has. After arriving at our host church, New Hope Community Church, we disbursed into our host homes, but a small portion of the choir went to be a part of a birthday celebration at Rhema Word International Ministries. Through step ministry, gospel rap, and some awesome jams from the band, we were able to celebrate with them and eat some really good food at the same time. Tomorrow we will return to Rhema Word for their morning service, from which we will also be doing an evening concert at New Hope. This is just beginning, and now that we are all rested up, we are ready to give God the praise He deserves, minister to His people here in Florida, and have a little fun too.

Goodnight everybody!

Palm Trees, Green Grass, and sitting on the curb.
Florida.

Jerard reaches for the sky as the weather in Fort

Lauderdale is surely a change up from Wheaton.

It was 31 this morning in Wheaton and snowing,

Fort Lauderdale was in the mid-70s today.

An Inside Look: Haley H.

2011-03-05T20:48:00.000-08:00

Haley H. - Williamsport, PA

Sophomore @ Wheaton

There are days when I feel like I'm the only one who's struggling, days when I'm completely surrounded by people, but still feel so alone. The level of intimacy and trust that I've found within gospel choir has been a constant source of affirmation in my life that, depsite all of the lies that get thrown at me on a daily basis by other people, the media, and even my own messed up head, has assured me time and time again that I am never alone. The willingness that I've found within other members of gospel choir to expose their own insecurities, tear down the fronts that they build up, and lay their deepest struggles on the line in front of everyone has been such a blessing and has helped me stay grounded on what is real and what is truly important, especially in a place where there is a constant pressure to appear to have it all together. Coming in as a sophomore transfer has made it especially hard to find a little niche for myself within the Wheaton College community, but joining the gospel choir has provided a place for me to fill. Every member of the choir is vital and needed, and what a blessing it is to belong.

An Inside Look: Jim Hudson D. T

2011-03-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

Jim Hudson D. T - Lewisville, North Carolina

Sophomore @ Wheaton

Second Year Choir Member

It's been difficult to be in Gospel Choir sometimes, especially when I first started. There's no music so everything is learned by ear, which has been difficult - I sometimes still don't know whether I'm singing the right words for some songs, I never know if I'm singing the right notes, and as a tenor there's a lot of high notes, too much and too high. Gospel Choir also requires commitment, a lot of commitment. Practice is twice a week for two hours, and we do a good number of concerts at churches, schools - wherever they want us to go and it can be draining. Now onto the style of worship itself. I've always liked the genre, how it sounds, the rhythm, and movement of the songs, but Gospel music - I discovered - was more than that. It required more of me, of each individual - up on stage and those in the audience. It wasn't a forceful "requirement" (although sometimes I definitely felt like I was being forced to pull on something inside me that I felt wasn't there), but the nature of worship itself, regardless of style, pulls from you something more than just an emotional or mental response. It's easy to worship God inside my head because that's how I grew up and it's also going to be easy worshiping God with my body if that's the way I grew up. Culture affects how we worship and in what contexts we are comfortable in. Thus, worship - in spirit and in truth - is influenced by our culture, but it also transcends it. Singing and dancing can easily happen in our heads or with our bodies, and yet it isn't worship, even if we are singing the right words - "These people honor me with their lips, but their heart if far from Me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commands of men." (Isaiah 29:13) Worship comes through something else, from the heart, or, in the original Hebrew, from our levav - our thoughts, emotions, and something even deeper and bigger than that, our life.. It is more than just singing, moving, dancing, and the right combination of words. That's what God has taught me in my time with Gospel Choir. And with worship everything else (all my complaints) get put in its proper place and seen through the right lenses. "There's no music and so everything is learned by ear" and so everything is taught by ear too - PRAISE THE LORD for Miss Tanya, Tiffany, and Jerard, for the genius that lies within them! Gospel Choir requires a lot of commitment - to worship! We are called to live as living sacrifices of praise. It is the purpose of our bodies, minds, and souls. And the hours on the bus, in soundcheck, and waiting to get on stage really builds community. There's a sense of family that grows each time.This is Wheaton College Gospel Choir through the lens of one guy in it; someone favored with the opportunity to worship God twice a week, as a follower of Christ, and as a part of the body of Christ.

Photo Stream Launched!

2011-03-03T00:58:00.000-08:00

Ryan T. - Michigan
Sophomore @ Wheaton
Choir Member & Publicity Manager

Hey Fam, Its been a while... We plan to hit you with more content really Soon. The Past semester has been great and the start of this one has been great as well. We leave for tour in less than 48hrs!

Anyway, We just wanted to let you know that the Photo Stream has been launched on Flickr. Just a photographic taste of the past Concerts, hangouts and such. Be sure to check it out! :D

Check it here:

GOD shows up at GC Fall Concert

2010-11-22T18:22:00.000-08:00

Koko T. - Illinois

Nikki T. - Illinois

Sophomore Students @ WC

Choir Members & Tour Coordinators

Choir, you all did awesome and God really blessed it all! Thank you to all our Leaders, helpers and GC prayer partners! Uncle Jeff and the Band, you guys are the best! So blessed to be a part of this family

Love you guys

Fall Concert - Lord You're Mighty

2010-10-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

Ryan T.
Sophomore Student @ WC
Choir Member & Publicity Manager

Whats Up Family? How Are you Doing?

The Choir is doing well, as we continuing to balance the responsibilities of being a student. Just a Couple weeks ago, was the midpoint of the semester, which concluded quad class and also entailed midterms for full semester classes. So we back to the normal flow of school, work, friends, and everything else thats apart of the college experience.

Anyway on a less boring note, we wanted to announce our fall concert is coming up November 13! Mark you're Calendars its going to be a great time of Worship, Praise, and Diversity in Christ! The Concert Will be held at 7:30 (doors open at 7pm) in Coray Gym, 421 Chase Street, Wheaton Il, 60187. Tickets are $3 for our Wheaton Community ($5 at the door), $7 off Campus tickets, $5/person of groups of ten or more, and everyone under 10 is free.

Tell Your friends, and family! We have a lot of cool surprises planned so stay tuned!

And the TOUR Location is...

2010-10-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

Nikki T. - Illinois
Koko T. - Illinois
Sophomore Students @ WC
Choir Members & Tour Coordinators

After a lot of prayer, God has truly showed us that our destination for the 2011 Gospel Choir, Spring Break Tour will be taking place in South FLORIDA!!!!!!

We will be touring churches in primarily the Naples and Ft. Lauderdale area. We are looking forward to visiting with GC family and doing a ministry project. We are also excited and can't wait to see how God is going to act throughout this tour. He has already blessed us so much.

Car Wash Fundraiser

2010-10-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

Holly M. - South Carolina
Junior Student @ WC

Choir Member & Fundraising Coordinator

Rain. The worst thing to happen on the day of a car wash. I woke up with great expectations, but by time we started shuttling people over to our location, the dark line of clouds forming in the morning sky was a bad sign. Rain came down in torrents and the event I had been planning and stressing over for weeks was in an instant cancelled. Best laid plans, right? But God had a plan - He always does. I needed to give this event over to him, along with my apprehensions and worries about it.

Rescheduling. Two weeks later, a new day, a new sign-up sheet, and new participants. And sun! Praise God for clear weather this past Saturday, October the 2nd. Although it was a bit chilly, the choir members helping were such good sports and were so enthusiastic about the event. About 30 members of the choir participated in the event during both a morning shift and an afternoon shift. Jobs included washing and drying cars, using the hose to sweep away the soapy suds, holding signs in the Jewel Osco parking lot as advertisement, and directing traffic towards our event. Many cars were washed, and an off-duty emergency vehicle even stopped by for a quick wash! There was signing, and laughing, and good fellowship between the choir, and we were shown multiple kindnesses by members of the community. Our first customer even returned later in the day with a different car for us to wash, which really blessed and impacted me that day. Our first fundraiser of the year was a success thanks to so many members of the cabinet and choir, with special thanks to the Wheaton College Physical Plant for the use of hoses, and Jewel Osco for use of their parking lot. I am so proud of this choir, and the things we can accomplish when we work together!

Back and Fired up! Gospel Choir Retreat 2010

2010-09-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

Ryan T - Michigan

Sophomore student @ WC

Choir Member & Publicity Manager

The 24th anniversary of the Wheaton College Gospel Choir has already come and we're already six weeks into the year! Orientation busyness is over, Choir Auditions have passed, and just this passed weekend we completed our annual fall retreat. This past weekend was filled with hours of singing, learning new songs, fellowshipping, and praising God with Gladness and joy.

Leaving Wheaton approximately 6pm friday, fifty-plus students left on a bus to travel out 45 minutes away to Glenwood School, where we'd be staying for the duration of the retreat. Glenwood is a school where boys and girls live sunday night till friday after noon; we arrived to their campus just hours after the children went home for the weekend. Tanya Egler, the Choir director used to be a house parent at Glenwood as thus through her we had the connection to use their facilities during the off ours of the weekend.

Friday Night We spent time in worship and practice of the songs we learned previously in practice. We also welcomed our long time friend Uncle Jeff! Uncle Jeff is Tanya's brother and Tiffany's uncle. We Call him Uncle Jeff be cause he's like our Uncle too! :D Uncle Jeff was the guest director for the weekend and as always he teaches songs with his signature passion, involving vigorous hand and body motions to conduct us "how to sing." With out fail he teaches all four parts of the harmony, singing soprano, alto, tenor and bass! One of the things he always stresses is, " sing like you mean it," therefore, project your voice. He also emphasizes opening your mouth wide for better diction, and most importantly sing the gospel like it is the Good news, that it is--it's all about the message of Jesus Christ! Not only does Uncle Jeff direct the choir he also teaches the ministry of step, which is similar to dancing, but it's origins come from Africa and slavery as a means of expression. During retreat some of the choir members learned a whole routine, filled with choreographed steps, claps, and stops, as well as biblical chants that flow with the rhythm.

Saturday we woke up, ate and began another day of practice and learning new songs. Later in the evening we had a family meeting in which we talked about our goal for choir as a whole as well as participated in some team building games, in that time we learned and shared some pretty cool ideas about community and the idea of using the choir as a tool for the kingdom of God. Following dinner that night we spent another time in worship and prayer, as well a time of communion with our prayer warriors--friends of gospel choir who pray for us through out the year. After Saturday's events we're refreshed and ready for the church service ahead of us.

Sunday we woke up bright and early, packed up and left to go to Batavia United Methodist Church of Illinois, to minister a selection of songs we had learned on the retreat. This is an annual event as it is the Church that Rodney Sisco (the director of the Office of Multicultural development) belongs to. We sung both services, and performed the step ministry in the second service. It was a great time! Both Tanya and Uncle Jeff pulled the best out of us and we all collectively enjoyed praising God though this rejoicing sound. After the service the church invited us the basement for lunch and afterward we loaded up to go back to Wheaton, in which we arrived around 3pm to follow a night of homework. ;)

Singing At Batavia

Uncle Jeff

Step Ministry Practice in Glenwood Gym