Campus Choir Celebrates 50 Years of Ministry
Lee’s longest running choral ensemble, Campus Choir, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year during Homecoming weekend. With festivities starting Thursday evening, November 1, the current members are welcoming all alumni of the group to celebrate a “Legacy of Worship.”
The festivities will culminate in a mass worship service at North Cleveland Church of God, Saturday, November 3, which will feature both alumni and current members.
Friday night, the choir will host a banquet at the T.L. Lowery Ministry Center on Paul Huff Parkway. The banquet will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will include skits, speeches from alumni about the impact of the choir on their lives, and, most importantly, Mrs. Virginia Horton will speak in honor of her late husband, Dr. David Horton, the director of Campus Choir for 25 years who passed away unexpectedly in 2006 while on a ministry tour with the choir.
“This year’s anniversary celebration will be the biggest event that Campus Choir has put on and participated in without Dr. Horton. Most of this anniversary had already been outlined by him, so a big focus of the weekend is going to be honoring him, his work that was put into the choir, and carrying on his legacy,” said Lee University junior and Alumni Coordinator for Campus Choir, Christian Taivalkoski.
Since the passing of Dr. Horton, Campus Choir has had two directors, Dr. Mark Bailey and this semester, has welcomed Jimmy Phillips.
“He is a wonderful director. He has a heart for worship and ministry, and he leads us well. The greatest thing about Dr. Bailey and Pastor Phillips is that they didn’t try to change the vision of Campus Choir, but rather took what was already there and continued,” said Taivalkoski.
Consisting of 90 voices, Campus Choir focuses on worship and ministry. In their 50 years, the group has performed worship concerts with Phil Driscoll in Bulgaria, and with Alvin Slaughter in Jamaica.
In addition, Campus Choir and Power Unlimited have had the opportunity to sing at some of the leading churches in America. These churches include Times Square Church, Brooklyn Tabernacle, National Church of God, Mt. Paran Church of God, Christ Church, North Cleveland Church of God, Abba’s House, and Carpenter’s Home Church.
Campus Choir enjoyed a summer tour of Israel in the summer of 1999, and traveled the European countries of Ireland, England, and Wales in the summer of 2002. The choir has also recently become involved with the Inspiration Networks and Trinity Broadcasting Network.
To register for Lee University Homecoming 2007, please call 1-800-LEE-9930 or visit www.leeuniversity.edu/events/homecoming. For more information on Campus Choir, please visit www.campuschoir.com.
