Take advantage of our special group coupon for the holiday:
GROUPS OF 4 OR MORE GET IN FOR $7.00 PER PERSON. Visit www.rufusharris.com press 
and print out our Group Coupon. Bring Your Out-of-town Family and Friends!
Come one, come all... Join us this Friday, May 28th, Memorial Day Weekend!
Take advantage of our special group coupon for the holiday:
GROUPS OF 4 OR MORE GET IN FOR $7.00 PER PERSON. Visit www.rufusharris.com press and print out our Group Coupon. Bring Your Out-of-town Family and Friends!
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Oddly enough last month the staff at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center inadvertently scheduled us in their beautiful and very large theatre rather than in Studio A. One wouldn't think that would pose a problem but: the theatre holds over a thousand people; and although our shows have grown in size, it could be very disconcerting to even have our largest audience in the theatre even if they were only confined to a small area of it. Besides it would defeat the intimacy 4thFridays shows' provide. It would be... kind of pitiful - somewhat depressing. We questioned, "What on earth were we going to do with this huge room? How can we create a cozy close feel in such a large space?" Well so there would be no other surprises, we did a site survey of the theatre.
We saw that the stage of the theatre was nearly as large as Studio A itself! That gave us the idea, if we put a few round tables in place and worked in some chairs auditorium-style on the stage everything could work out fine. With the help of the Ford Center and 4thFridays staffs, the idea came together successfully. As a matter of fact, it came together great!
The performers were positioned basically at the edge of orchestra pit so their backs were toward the theatre seats. Obviously, this meant the audience was seated on the stage proper facing the performers. With the theatre dimly lit from the audiences' perspective, the backdrop behind the performers was an immense space - almost a void. It was perfect. The lighting and acoustical possibilities made both our lighting and sound engineers Mike Brewer and Rod Sledge, respectively, feel as if they were in a candy store. The night was both pleasing to the eyes and the acoustically phenomenal.
We started off the evening with The Poet's Corner. From the stage left president's box,
Tracy Price read a selection from Billy Graham's Book - Hope for Each Day. It was entitled "I Am the Truth" and dealt with the question of absolute truth. Here is an excerpt:
Many say there is no such thing as absolute truth. But Jesus Christ is absolute truth. Dozens of times He declares, "I tell you the truth". In one of His boldest and most uncompromising statements He affirmed, "I am the way, the truth, and the life". The writer of the Gospel of John stated, "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ". James said that God "chose to give us birth through the word of truth". Do not be misled by the moral and spiritual relativity of our age. God has revealed His truth to us in His written Word, the Bible, and in the living Word, Jesus Christ. And because Jesus is absolute truth, you can depend on Him absolutely.
Great message especially in an age where truth is considered relative.
rufus harris followed with the 4thFridays opening tune - and then led into the band's first set with a song list that included: Risen, How Do You Read It? Face to Face, My Life, Not Black or White.
Elreta Dodds author of Is God a Chauvinist? was back with us again. Her book takes a thorough look at the role of women in the Bible. Dodds discussed some of the great women of the
Bible; what the word "submission" means; and how the role of women has been misunderstood and misinterpreted.
Also from the Poet's Corner - Lawrence Strong read an excerpt from CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters. It dealt with the "patient" befriending a rich intellectual couple with whom his faith is in direct opposition. "Screwtape" suggests encourages 
the patient to refrain from sharing his ideas and opinions of God and faith with the couple - convincing him that such thinking in their practical minds would seem foolish. Here is an excerpt:
"I gather that the middle-aged married couple who called at his office are just the sort of people we want him to know - rich, smart, superficially intellectual, and brightly skeptical about everything in the world. I gather they are even vaguely pacifist, not on moral grounds but from an ingrained habit of belittling anything that concerns the great mass of their fellowman. This is excellent. And you seem to have made good use of all his social, sexual, and intellectual vanity. Tell me more. Did he commit himself deeply? I don't mean in words. There is a subtle play of looks and tones and laughs by which a mortal can imply that he is of the same party as those to whom he is speaking. That is the kind of betrayal you should specially encourage, because the man does not fully realize it himself; and by the time he does you will have made withdrawal difficult. No doubt he must very soon realize that his own faith is in direct opposition to the assumptions on which all the conversation of his new friends is based."
Can we relate to situations such as these where there is a tendency to keep our thoughts of faith to ourselves while the world freely shares with us every type of perversion? Hmmm...something to think about.
Brothers Union - Then came Gospel Blues Band - Brothers Union - one of our favorite
4thFridays' artists. These guys were an absolute delight - nice vocals, great musicianship, along with the wonderful message of the Gospel. They shared tunes from their latest release - Still Climbing.
Brothers Union has created a unique following of Gospel Blues fans. And we hope to have them back again. They are currently in the studio finishing up their new project. We'll keep you posted.
Then rh closed the show with Believe and 2BPraised...
it was another great evening of
Good Music, Good Coffee and Good Company!
Here's a look at what's coming up on May 28th:
Pop Artist Rachanee - has been compared to "Michelle Branch [and] Christian artist Jennifer Knapp, [with] a voice that can sound like Natalie Merchant" (Noise, Oct. 2003). Her music has a guitar-driven folk/rock feel; her heartfelt lyrics appeal to audiences everywhere. She has played in many cities across the state of Michigan, including the Temple Club in Lansing, the Avenue and Cornerstone College in Grand Rapids, and Club 5529 in Clarkston. She has also opened for national acts such as Warren Barfield, former Caedmon's Call member Derek Webb, and Paul Wright. She has been able to share her life and love for God through her music - playing for the homeless, high school youth groups, college students, and families. We're happy to have her at our venue this month. She'll share songs from her new album Ordinary Girl this Friday. Gospel Artist - Sonnie Day - Captivating and enchanting are some of the words used to
describe Sonnie Day's voice. She was born and raised in Detroit and is undoubtedly another tremendous voice in Gospel.
Sonnie has worked behind the scenes promoting many of gospel's greats like Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, and Vickie Winans. She believes in spreading the Gospel through a music genre she calls "U3": Undefined, Uncategorized yet Universal inspirational music. She's sure to brighten your day with her passionate sound. Check her out this Friday.
rufus harris will also share some great tunes on Friday so come on down and enjoy an evening of Good Music, Good Coffee and Good Company.
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Bring some folks with you!
