Rainbow Praise - Many People Many Songs

Nelson Cathedral will echo with the harmonies of ethnic choirs and a capacity congregation at the fifth annual Rainbow Praise service on 22 April.

Evey McAuliffe from the Nelson Multicultural Council says the Christian event is a beautiful way for different ethnicities to come together to share their music and the way they worship.

“For the first time, this year we will have three choirs from former refugee communities,” she says. “They are all from Chin state in Myanmar and considering these former refugees were persecuted for their religious beliefs, it’s wonderful they are able to express their faith in public.”

Many of the Pacific Island choirs at Rainbow Praise are made up from seasonal workers who come to the region to help with the fruit harvest. Evey says they enjoyperforming with choirs from Nelson’s resident ethnic communities.

The concept of ‘Rainbow Praise - many people many songs’ is a regular feature on the Nelson calendar and the idea is spreading, with versions of Rainbow Praise now held in Palmerston North and Invercargill.

Dean Nick Kirk will lead the service at Nelson Cathedral, beginning with a mihi in te reo Maori from Archdeacon Harvey Whakaruru.

Cathedral Priest, the Reverend Yvonne McLean, stresses that Rainbow Praise is a church service, not a concert.

“It’s is a way of bringing all people together in worship, from the many ethnicitiesthat make up our Nelson community,” she says. “The Cathedral is a place of peace and gives a wonderful experience of worship for each of them to take home.”

As well as songs from the various ethnic choirs, the programme also includes two hymns for massed singing from the congregation.

As space at the cathedral is limited, and the choirs take much of it up, there is anadmission pass to accommodate the numbers wanting to attend the popular event.

Admission passes are limited and can be picked from the Multicultural Resource Centre at 4 Bridge Street. People are also asked to bring a plate to share at an afternoon tea that will be held in the cathedral grounds after the service.

Rainbow Praise is at Nelson Cathedral at 2pm on Sunday 22 April. It is presented by the Nelson Multicultural Council and the Cathedral.

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