The Son’s Rays choir will offer a 40th anniversary reunion concert the Sunday of Fisherman’s Picnic, August 7, at 9:30 a.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.
To be celebrating 40 years since the inception of the Son’s Rays choir seems impossible to Dode Stoskopf, the director of this group, and it seems impossible to anyone who was in the Rays!
No one knew the group that began with six scared seventhgrade girls gathered around the baptismal font in the back of Bethlehem Lutheran Church would be getting together 40 years later to enjoy one another and to praise their God with the songs that spoke to so many for so long. The 40th reunion concert is entitled “In Pursuit of Peace” and will be held Sunday, August 7 at 9:30 p.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.
The women who are able to return will have a gathering and practice on Saturday, and after the Sunday concert, those who want to march with their families in the Fisherman’s Picnic Parade will set off down the street at 1:00.
The choir now has moms and grandmas who live in every direction, from Grand Marais and beyond to places like Israel and China.
Son’s Rays met every Wednesday night with almost no exception. It became a safe haven for prayers and concerns, tears and laughter, and most of the time, a song or two. There were no tryouts, no one took notice of lesser-quality voices, belonging to a particular religious group was not a requirement. As a prayer of Saint Theresa states, “May you be confident knowing you are a child of God, and let this presence settle into your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love!” That was part of Son’s Rays’ mission statement.
The extensive traveling made the group work long and hard for funds. Families each played a part in working to finish projects and make concert appearances. That is the reason the group thanks the entire community and every family for such wonderful support.
The Rays invite all of you back to the Sunday event. Rays who were not contacted need to be found and this message shared with them. If possible, join us all on August 7. It will be a good time for praise to ring out in Grand Marais and the entire length of Cook County.
More details of the weekend’s Son’s Rays activities can be found in the advertisement below.
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