Spiritual songs attract crowds to Amish community concert
Karen Peterson photo
“We want to make this world a better place through song.” Orlie Troyer
Karen Peterson photo
More than 300 people from all walks of life attended the Amish community concert, held to bring people together “to socialize on a level that builds them up,” organizer Ed Beachy said.
Karen Peterson photo
he St. Ignatius Amish community sings spiritual songs of hope to a packed crowd Friday evening
Karen Peterson photo
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Fifty people in the Amish Community invited folks from all over the valley to hear the spiritual messages in their songs on Friday evening.
“If people listen to the music, they’ll hear something good and edifying,” group organizer Ed Beachy said. “We wanted to bring people together to socialize on a level that builds them up.”
More than 300 people packed into the Amish Community Center on Foothill Road, which is the biggest turnout for the event since it started six years ago.
“We’ve opened this to the public in the past, but this is the first time we’ve advertised it,” he said as the reason for the large crowd.
The event is held just before spring gets really busy.
“We started this to give the youth something to do in the winter,” Beachy said.
Jonathan Borntrager, 25, joined the group about three years ago.
“We started practicing for this after the holidays,” he said. “But we sing all the time.”
Folks in the Amish community don’t watch television or listen to the radio; instead, they use spiritual singing as a way of entertainment.
“Singing is inspiring in a spiritual sense,” he said. “We are Christians and we believe in the Bible. Singing is a way we express praise to God.”
The group sang sixteen songs in harmony without instruments during the event.
“We always sing in groups,” Luke Schlabach, 19, said. “The solo brings too much attention to the individual.”
Orlie Troyer closed the event with a prayer.
“We want to make this world a better place through song,” he said.
