Charlestown-Nevis- Internationally renowned Gospel artiste/Evangelist Bridget Blucher, thrilled a sizeable crowd of a few hundred individuals at the Cultural Complex on the evening of Sunday 20th September.
The grand concert which was held under the theme: ‘Peace and Reconciliation,’ was coordinated by the hard working Brown Hill Community Improvement group, under the dynamic presidency of Ms Patricia Bartlette.
According to Ms Bartlette, who opened the concert with a stunning rendition of a song, while accompanying herself on guitar, much to the surprise and pleasure of the receptive audience, the idea of the concert was born out of the reality that the once peaceful Nevis, has undergone some drastic changes where some persons are resolving conflicts with acts of violence. It was in light of this that her group initiated the concert idea with the hope that Nevisians could make a fresh start and resolve to live in peace and harmony with each other and in reverence to God’s will.
First lady, Mrs. Vernali Amory interceded with God on behalf of the people of Nevis, seeking forgiveness of sins and seeking a new life of peace and reconciliation.
Preceding the grand entrance of Bridget Blucher were some well beloved local acts who served to energize and bless the audience, even after a prolonged late start, which was due to some technical difficulties experienced by the organizers.
The Dore brothers: Lanny, Allister and Wrensford thrilled the audience with two of the tracts from their latest album. This was followed by a realistic poem done by Kim Lee-Knight–which was entitled ‘As the wind blows…,’ which spoke to problems being experienced by youths and the misconcepts of some parents, which lead to disastrous circumstances.
A brand new gospel group ‘EXCLUSIVE PRAISE made their debut appearance and warmed the audience with a few renditions. It was obvious from the crowd reception as they exited the stage, that the Nevisian public will be hearing a lot more from this group.
A touching real life story was also delivered by one of the recent victims of crime on Nevis. Mrs. Ruth Powell, an expatriate told of the horrifying ordeal when she and her husband were attacked and robbed in June of this year, at their home. Her husband was viciously knocked out and she was held at gunpoint while money; wallet; phones and keys for their vehicle were removed by the bandits. They were locked in a hallway while the scoundrels made their getaway.
She advised members of the audience that if they ever found themselves in a similar situation to ‘give the bandits whatever they demand, as life is more precious than material things.’ She noted that sometimes the bandits will react out of fear, so the victims need to be careful with what they do and say in response to their demands.’
The dynamic Gospel Flames of Joy band then wowed the audience with several renditions which saw leader of the band Pastor Simeon Prentice, displaying his skills on lead guitar while jumping and dancing all over the stage and his wife Dahlia Prentice demonstrating her usual talent in lead vocals, along with a superb backup vocals crew.
All along, the concert was expertly guided by the talented and humourous MC, Walter Morton who intermittently left the audience in stitches with his funny wisecracks which he referred to as ‘stories’ rather than jokes.
Make way then for the lady of the hour.
Bridget Blucher was introduced with much fanfare and she did not disappoint.
She sang quite of number of songs from her repertoire but even more importantly, the songs were interspersed with messages of hope and love and she boldly proclaimed the name of Jesus and appealed to her audience ‘to make things right’ with God.
She even added a touch of humour of her own as she stated that she will not be boxed up into any particular religion: “ I am a BAPTIST, because I was baptized; I am a SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST because I keep the Sabbath; I am a JEHOVAH WITNESS because I witness for the great Jehovah…….’
Among those included in the audience were Premier Vance Amory; Deputy Premier Mark Brantley and his family; Hon. Alexis Jeffers and Hon. Robelto Hector, along with Pastors and members of the more than sixty-seven churches, estimated on the island.
The concert ended with a circle of prayer as the Ministers of religion; Ministers of Government; concert organizers; artistes and other persons joined hands in united prayer for a peaceful island.