Author: Texas Gospel

U.S. Congregation cleaning up after third act of vandalism

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JEFF TURNER

A congregation in Kingston, Tennessee has endured broken windows, food marked for feeding the hungry damaged and other destruction of property caused by vandals who targeted their church building three times since May.

The most recent incident at the Church of God Open Arms Fellowship happened August 13. A news release from the Kingston, Tennessee Police Department says, “A person or persons broke into the church and vandalized the building each time. A substantial amount damage was done to the church.”

A church member said the congregation installed surveillance cameras following the first break-in.  Police are now reviewing video from those cameras.

The Chitans’ glistening, heartfelt vocals shine on Shoulder to Shoulder

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SPECIAL: CROSSROADS RECORDS

Arden, North Carolina (August 16, 2022) — Reminding us once again that the sounds of Southern Gospel and the timeless message of salvation they convey know no boundaries, The Chitans return with Shoulder To Shoulder, their second full-length album for Horizon Records. It’s now available for pre-order, add or save ahead of its September 30 release.

The title and opening track lays out the story almost as if it were written to order:

“We are brothers and sisters, we’re part of the family of God
We’ve faced many battles together, God brought us thru every one
Now we don’t always agree, we don’t always see eye to eye
But all of these things will not stop us, for we have made up our mind

Shoulder to shoulder, we will go forward, united together as one
We’ll not be divided, we’ll not be defeated, as a family we’ll keep standing strong
Shoulder to shoulder, we are helping each other make it home”

Set to a soulful, gently swaying rhythm, the song lifts up the entire group — sisters Kaiziah, Kayandra and Karlainah, along with brothers Jesse and Jayden — and sets the tone for the album, which reflects a joyously embrace of the Gospel spirit and the power of God’s love. And while there is room for expansive orchestral arrangements that underline the majesty and power of their message, most of the songs on Shoulder To Shoulder favor more organic sounds to match the simplicity of youthful belief, giving the album a warm, intimate family atmosphere.  

Similarly, while there are a few touchstone songs that listeners may recognize, including “Goodness Of God,” the group’s reworking of Charity Gayle’s take on “New Name Written Down In Glory,” and a nod to the family’s Caribbean origins in “Hush (Don’t Cry),” first recorded by the group Acapella, the bulk of the songs are fresh and new, carefully chosen by the group and their producer, Roger Talley. And though the glistening, heartfelt vocals of Kaiziah and Kayandra are most prominently featured — that’s Kayandra taking the lead on the first single, “God Like That” — there’s plenty of room for all of The Chitans to shine, emphasizing the close-knit feeling of the family as they stand shoulder to shoulder.

“We are so excited to announce the release of our brand new album,” offer The Chitans. “God is so good, and we are so grateful to be able to sing about Him. It was such a fun and enjoyable time working with our producer, Roger Talley, and the folks at Crossroads Studios. There are some awesome songs on this album, songs of encouragement, hope and peace — some songs you may know that you can sing along to, and some brand new ones that will have you singing along in no time. We are so thrilled to be able to share this with you all!”Pre-order, add or save Shoulder to Shoulder HERE.

About The Chitans
Kaiziah, Kayandra, Jesse, Jayden and Karlainah Chitan and their parents, Layne and Karen, travel the world singing wherever they are called upon to do so, to share Jesus’s love with all people, especially the children of the world. 

The family travels the world, serving the communities they stop in through ministering in churches, hospitals, nursing homes, senior homes, community centers, prisons, slums and on the streets (feeding the homeless). The family has sung at religious, cultural, human rights and civic gatherings throughout Canada, the United States — including at The White House and on Capitol Hill —  Kenya (Africa), the United Kingdom, the Caribbean including Bermuda and to heads of state in Jamaica, Grenada, Bermuda and Canada.

In July of 2012, the family received a Congressional Award from the United States of America, for volunteer work done on the streets of Brooklyn, New York.

The Chitans have ministered with Lynda Randle, Woody Wright, The Nelons, The Collingsworth Family, The Talleys, Mark Bishop, Gordon Mote, Guy Penrod, Bobby Jones on Bobby Jones Presents, RussTaff, Wintley Phipps, Bill Gaither and his Homecoming Friends, and have sung at Singing in the Sun, Gatlinburg Gathering, National Quartet Convention and Gaither’s Fall Fest.

3 Heath Brothers release “Into The Deep” music video, win at film festival

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SPECIAL: HORIZON & SONLIGHT RECORDS

Arden, North Carolina (August 15, 2022) — In July, the 3 Heath Brothers released Into The Deep, their second album on Horizon Records, which puts an emphasis on bold, fresh sounds, new songs and lyrics that offer the eternal Gospel of hope, encouragement, worship and faith in contemporary language.

Now, the trio has released a music video for the title track and recently won awards at this year’s Christian Worldview Film Festival for other video projects.

Filmed in Puerto Rico, the “Into The Deep” music video captures the song’s lyrics, “I’m diving in, into the water / I’m swimming out, farther and farther / Where Jesus is calling me into the deep / Now I’m going in with Jesus / I’m going in all the way” as the Brothers dive off a cliff into the ocean.

Nicholas Heath says he and his brothers, twins Clayton and Christian, have been dreaming about making a music video like this for years.

“Puerto Rico is the most beautiful place we’ve ever been and it was perfect for this video. A lot of people think that the underwater shots were photoshopped but if only they knew the hours we filmed underwater. It was the most challenging thing we’ve ever done,” says Nicholas. “It was hours of swimming down to get the right shot, focusing on making the right facial expressions, lip syncing with the music from an underwater speaker, swimming back up for air at the last possible second…and then swimming back down to do it again. The most terrifying part was jumping off a 50-foot cliff into the ocean.”

In the same week, the trio took home honors from the Christian Worldview Film Festival for previously released videos. They won Best Music Video and Best Young Filmmakers awards for the video for “Dream Small” from their album Who We Are; and the video they created for the Kingdom Heirs’“A Good Day Coming On,” a song the Brothers were featured on, was the runner-up for Best Music Video.

“We can’t believe it! It was an honor to not only perform at the Christian Worldview Film Festival but then to take home three different awards!” says Nicholas. “We are so grateful to God for the great things He’s done! We honestly did not expect to walk away with any awards this year.”

Each year, the Christian Worldview Film Festival — started in 2014 by the non-profit ministry Media Talk 101 and sponsored by the Kendrick Brothers — encourages Christian Filmmakers in their Biblical worldview and the craft of filmmaking.

Listen to songs from the 3 Heath Brothers’ latest album, Into The Deep throughout the day on Texas Gospel Canada!

Catholic school in U.S. hit by vandals twice in three days as administrators prepare for new school year

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DAVID INGRAM

UPDATE: Media in the U.S. report an arrest has been made in this case. CLICK HERE for an update from The Washington Post.

ORIGINAL STORY POSTED AUGUST 16, 2022:

A Catholic school in the United States has been targeted by vandals twice in the same week.

The latest vandalism at St. Anthony Catholic School in Washington D.C. was discovered Friday. Police in the U.S. say someone ransacked the principal’s office and stole an amount of cash. Statues at the school were destroyed as well. The same school received damage from Criminals on Sunday who damaged a statue of St. Anthony and shattered a window.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help pay for the damaged caused by the criminals. The organizer described the damage, Our beautiful St. Anthony statue was knocked down and broken, the nearby concrete windowsill was broken, and the statue’s head is missing. Our three playground benches were also pulled out of the ground and damaged. This desecration is a hate-crime and was reported to the police.”

RELATED: Principal calls vandalism at Catholic school in Washington ‘a hate crime’

St. Anthony Catholic School has been a part of its local community since 1922 and is preparing to celebrate its 100th year.

LOCAL MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE VANDALISM

StowTown Records Announces Multiple 2022 GMA Dove Award Nominations

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SPECIAL STOWTOWN RECORDS

Nashville, TN (August 15, 2022) – StowTown Records is thrilled to share their multiple nominations for the 2022 Dove Awards. Label co-founder and producer, Wayne Haun, has garnered five nominations. Haun’s nominations once again include Producer of the Year, as well as four production nominations in various categories including all three of the StowTown album nominations. StowTown artists Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Legacy Five and Sunday Drive are all nominees for the 53rd annual GMA Dove Awards.

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound garnered two nominations this year. Their GRAMMY® nominated album Keeping On received a nod for Southern Gospel Album of the Year, while the song “Overcome” from this same album is up for Southern Gospel Song of the Year. Keeping On was co-produced by Wayne Haun, Kris Crunk and Brian Eads. “Overcome,” the current radio single for EHSS, was written by Sunset Gallery Music songwriters Jeff Bumgardner, Jason Davidson and Aaron Stewart.

Multi-award winning artist Legacy Five‘s 2021 release, Something New, has been nominated for Southern Gospel Album of the Year. Something New was co-produced by award-winning producers Wayne Haun and Gordon Mote and is the group’s first release on the StowTown Records label.

In the Bluegrass/Country/Roots categories, Sunday Drive‘s debut StowTown Records album, garnered nominations for both Album and Song of the Year. Breaking Boundaries is up for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Album of the Year, and the first single from the album, “Grace and Goodness,” has a nomination for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Song of the Year. Breaking Boundaries was co-produced by Haun and Chris Chavez. Sunset Gallery Music songwriters Donna Marie King, Randall Garland and Kevin Winebarger co-wrote “Grace and Goodness.” These are the first two nominations for Sunday Drive.

StowTown Records label CEO and President, Landon Beene, shares, “It has always been the goal of StowTown Records to release a diverse catalog of high quality Christian music. We count it an honor to receive recognition from our industry peers, and our team is grateful to once again be included in this stellar lineup of nominees. Thank you to the GMA for holding our music to such high standards and supporting the creators of this great music!”

The 53rd GMA Dove Awards show will take place live and in-person at the Allen Arena at Nashville’s Lipscomb University on October 18, and will be televised on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) on October 21 at 8 and 10PM (eastern).