Singing Praises to Thee: Multi-Faith Tongan Choirs Come Together to Celebrate Christ
Anna Zenk and Lui Sanft
To celebrate the Savior, three Tongan congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Hurst area joined Tongan members of other faiths to host an Easter Musical Devotional to sing praises focused on the Savior earlier this year.
The church building in Euless, where the devotional took place, was packed with people of multi-faiths who shared the special and impactful musical experience. The congregation listened to adult choirs, children’s choirs from two congregations, a children’s duet and a few solos. Members from other faiths participated in these performances too. Each piece was focused on the Savior and His loving relationship with all of God’s children.
Community Tongan Outreach Committee. Image courtesy of Ana Ita’aehau.
A Seventh-day Adventist pastor who was in attendance said, “The Spirit was so strong when your congregation sang.” President Collins of the Hurst Stake echoed the pastor’s response by saying, “It was uplifting, and the spirit was so strong.”
With the goal of inviting all to come unto Christ, the event encouraged attendees to offer their whole souls to the Lord through musical worship.
“No matter their religious background, I wanted people to come and feel through music, the love of the Savior for them. I wanted the music to take them back to the beginning of Christ’s life all the way to the resurrection,” said Ana Ita’aehau, head of the Community Tongan Outreach Committee for the Hurst Stake. “I invited everyone at the very beginning [of the meeting] to listen to the words of the music because that would be the message for the night. And I hoped that when they went home, they would have a very personal, special love for the Savior.”
To attend Sunday services in Tongan please see the schedule for the Euless Church building here.
