Power

There is so much power in your voice.

I am currently working with the Friends of Parkside on their annual health fair.

While the end result of putting on a health fair for over 200 people is absolutely amazing

it is a lot of working getting there. Luckily, I made some progress on getting vendors to

confirm their spots and I am slowly making progress on sponsorship. I am hoping to get

enough sponsors to cover the whole event. *Fingers Crossed* If this is able to occur

it would be the first time in the organization’s history that the health fair is completely

paid for through sponsors.

This week has been completely dedicated to power. How powerful is one organization in

the community? How powerful is one voice or only a few voices? How powerful is your

attitude? Well, to simply answer these questions I would say very powerful. While I believe

that there is  power in numbers (large companies), the Friends of Parkside remind me of

how powerful non-profit organizations are. They relate to the community and their

needs and most of all they provide a space that community members feel comfortable in. I

was especially  able to see the importance of this organization when I watched people line

up to receive food from their food pantry on Wednesday. Or when people called  to inquire

about the  numerous projects that they have going on throughout the week. THIS IS

POWERFUL AND IMPORTANT.

Finally, how does music influence us? As I rode to work today I was able to

hear a song from Chance the Rapper’s Album. This song was titled How Great. As we pulled

out of the parking lot I heard a song that was familiar to me. It was the song that had been

sung in my childhood church and many churches with predominately black congregations

in my area. “How great is our God, sing with me , how great is our God…” I thought it was

strange that we were listening to the song, not because I did not like it but because

I had NEVER heard anyone listen to this song who was not a Christian. After about two

minutes, Chance began to rap and I noticed that it was not the song I originally thought it

was, rather it was a song created from past experience and emotion that reflected a

current state.

 

Who would have thought a song from neighborhood churches would reach

diverse communities across the world through the lyrics of Chance the Rapper?