Reception 5:45 p.m.
Dinner 6:30 p.m.
Meeting after Dinner
This meeting will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Needham
Bithyah Israel | Founder and President City Strings United |
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Rev. Dr. Matthew Rasure | Pastor, First Baptist Church Medford |
Rev. Arthur Gerald | Pastor, Twelth Baptist Church |
Rev. Dr. Mar Imsong | Executive Director, Massachusetts Baptist Multicultural Ministries |
Mr. Frederick Drauschke | Chairman, Committee on Christian Work, Boston Baptist Social Union |
Meeting Agenda | |
Welcome | President, David Collins |
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Song | “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” |
Invocation | Rev. Dr. Matthew Rasure |
Dinner | |
Business | Mr. David Collins |
Introduction of Program | Mr. Frederick Drauschke, Chair Committee on Christian Work |
City Strings | Bithya Israel, Founder, City Strings |
Choral Fellows & Scholars | Rev. Dr. Matthew Rasure |
Benediction | Rev. Dr. Mar Imsong |
The Committee on Christian Work is happy to present two of our Christian Work grantees
City Strings United was founded by Bithya Israel in response to a need she perceived in urban Boston. The program uses space provided by Twelth Baptist Church. The circumstances of the youth in the area reflect those of Bithya's growing up, first in Massachusetts, then in California and Texas. Serendipituously, she was able to take cello lessons at an early age while living in San Diego.
The cello and the people who allowed her to master this instrument changed her life forever. As an adult, she decided to provide these opportunities that meant so much to her personally to youth in Boston's inner city. Thus, City Strings United was born! Starting with a small group of 12 children in 2012, the program has grown to over 20 students with plans for further growth in the next few years.
During these years, City Strings United has enjoyed collaborative performances with respected artists such as Walter Beasley, Professor of Music at Berklee College of Music, and Terri Lynn Carrington, a Grammy Award winning drummer. It has twice been invited by the Museum of Fine Arts to perform at its Community Day Celebration during the Art in Bloom Weekend. City Strings United has opened for the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Community Chamber Concert Series and has participated in the Roxbury StringFest sponsored by the Celebrity Series of Boston's Arts for All program, in which it performed with tabla player, Sandeep Das from Castle of our Skins and the Guy Mendilow Band.
The Choral Fellows & Scholars is a Program sponsored by First Baptist Church of Medford. It is designed to build up a new generation of outstanding musical leaders in service to the Church, providing musical training and cultivating a love of sacred music.
The CFS Program supports the integral work of the parish choir, and at its core it has two components:
Ms. Gina Picerno is the Director of the Choral Fellows & Scholars Program. Curent fellows in the program are Monica Rajon, Mnesoma Ogbuani, Grant Yosenich, and Nicholas Ford.