Heart of the Father – What Did People Think?

Gauging from the initial presentation of Heart of the Father, the encore performance on Saturday, April 24th, at Chapel on the Boulevard will be a wonderful night, and we strongly urge you to attend.

The composer’s experience of the Lord’s great love towards her, was at the heart of her inspiration to write the ‘Heart of the Father’. Those who joined her to perform the program were excited to add their own ‘voice’ and tell the story of God’s amazing love and plan for them also. In performing this work, the joy and wonder of being known and loved by God was expressed, and each participant felt the honour of proclaiming this amazing hope. Perhaps this was how a group of amateur choristers and musicians were able to produce the exciting sound that was heard in September.

To measure more of the responses of those who attended the performances, we asked the following questions of numerous attendees who are not from the Chapel congregation. Here are some of their responses.

Q1. What impact did the whole presentation make on you?

• I would come again if I had the chance.
• It was impressive and beautifully produced by a committed community of like-minded Christians. The audience was made to feel welcome. I found the sense of community engendered by the large gathering of people inspiring and second to none.
• I was taken back by how thorough and professional the concert was.
• The presentation made a deep impression. I had to rethink so many things we had not seen or heard before.
• The repeating refrain throughout reminded me of God’s constant presence throughout life.  The message and the music were heartening and encouraging and uplifting to my faith.  It was a pleasant change, hearing the gospel message in song rather than preaching.
• A feeling of great joy and gratitude for the love we have from the Father and the beautiful way this was presented through the music and lyrics.

Q2. What message did you take away with you from Heart of the Father?

• God is constant and His love unchanging.  The message from before time until now was explained in a very biblical based way.
• The underlying message that has stayed with me was the performance of the music by the community was living proof of commitment, faith in action and joy in the Spirit of God.
• The obedience of the Son – if He had not accepted the Father’s will, then things would have been catastrophic for us.
• I took away the great hope we have in our promise of eternal life and the wonderful assurance that we will be raised up to meet Christ with all the other true believers.

Q3. How did you find the orchestra, choir and soloists?

• It was very professional. There was a glow amongst everyone in the orchestra which showed how much fun they were having, which made the event more enjoyable for the audience.
• I expected to see a ‘small church band’ but your group was very professional.
• They gave their all through light and shade. The choir was obviously enjoying it and dedicated.
• I particularly loved the woodwind instruments – they were beautiful.  The music and songs were magnificent and made for a very special evening.

Q4. Was there something you particularly enjoyed about the evening? 

• I appreciated the warmth that was bestowed upon newcomers as if we were a part of a family whom we hadn’t seen for some time. To me it felt obvious that those involved were proud of the part they played, whether they took a role as a car park attendant or part of the orchestra. The talent of those who sang and played in the orchestra blew me away.
• I really enjoyed the impact of the different musical styles from the different songs. I particularly loved ‘Jesus is the Light’, ‘Come into this Fellowship’, and “We have Received this Life’.

Even though these comments are benevolently biased, you can see that this musical makes a real impact.