Local choirs, Plymouth Brass to sing praises of Beatrice's religious heritage

The voices of four local choirs plus the sounds of the Plymouth Brass will commemorate the religious heritage of Beatrice's first 150 years in a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday at St. John Lutheran Church.

The concert, “Celebrating 150 Years of Faith,” is sponsored by the Beatrice 150 Religion Committee, the Hevelone Foundation and the Beatrice Area Arts Council and will feature choirs from St. John Lutheran Church, Centenary United Methodist Church and Christ Community Church, as well as the Beatrice Community Chorus.

The first half of the concert will consist of selections sung by each choir individually, while the second half will feature the Plymouth Brass of Lincoln. Concluding the program will be a closing anthem based on the hymn, “God of Our Life,” performed by the combined choirs and the Plymouth Brass together.

Kevin Boesiger, Christ Community Church creative arts pastor who arranged the concert finale, said having an estimated 100 voices from various local church choirs sing together should provide a rare treat for Beatrice-area residents.

“There is a certain energy you get from a combined choir of 100 people,” he said. “To get to sing with an ensemble like the Plymouth Brass is special.”

Boesiger said the Rev. Jimmy Shelbourn, First Presbyterian Church pastor and organizer for the Beatrice 150 Religion Committee, earlier asked him to arrange a selection for a massed choir with the Plymouth Brass to end Friday night's program.

Boesiger gladly accepted and went to work trying to find an appropriate piece to fit the occasion. He then found a hymn, “God of Our Life,” written by Hugh T. Kerr in 1916 and performed at the opening ceremony for a Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania.

What attracted Boesiger to the hymn were the lyrics. The first stanza begins with the words, “God of our life,” the second stanza with “God of our past” and the final stanza with “God of the coming years.”

“The hymn encompasses all the things we are celebrating about our religious heritage here in Beatrice,” Boesiger said.

Thanks to funding from the Hevelone Foundation, admission to the event is free. However, tickets may be picked up in advance at Pinnacle Bank, First National Beatrice or First National Omaha-Beatrice Bank.

Doors will open about 6:30 p.m., but those without tickets may not be seated until just before the concert begins.