I’m always amazed and thankful at the number of singers and pickers who are good at what they do and are willing to help me do something to save the unborn. All these singers and musicians are worth paying to hear, but they do what they do without any charge. This year’s concert for the benefit of Life Choices was at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church for the third year. I owe those folks more than I could possibly ever pay. I’m not a member there, but they always give us the use of their facilities without any charge. The concert was Friday, June 2, 2006, and the total offering—which all went to Life Choices—was a little over $1100.00. I will always hope for more the next year, and I remain thankful for what was done and given this year.
Lyndsey Breard-Executive Director of Life Choices Pregnancy Resourse Center.
Nicole Neeley and Lyndsey Breard.
Rick Felkel playing acoustic guitar, and Nicole Neeley playing mandolin and singing.
Stewart Felkel playing bass guitar.
The Mount Vernon Church band. From left to right they are as follows. Rena Brister and LeAnn Simpson--vocals, Doyle Chambers--acoustic guitar, Curtis Brister--electric guitar, and John Ogden--bass guitar.
Ben Aston playing bass guitar for the Mount Vernon Church band.
Colby Rimes playing drums for the Mount Vernon Church band.
Britni Stanley singing with one of the bands.
Sherry Felkel and Nicole Neeley singing "Baby Mine" during the offeratory.
Rev. Welton Wiley playing bass guitar and singing one of his own songs.
Heath Hargrove playing drums for Bro. Wiley's band.
Tommy Carter ended the concert playing keyboard and singing.
In the year 2006, I built an acoustic mandolin like the Elloree mandolin that Caedmon’s Call plays. This was the second year I was able to send the body to Andrew Osenga of Caedmon’s Call. On this mandolin, he was able to get the autographs of Caedmon’s Call & Jars of Clay. I like getting the autographs on the body and then spraying the final stage of the finish. That way the autographs never rub off. It’s my practice to auction the instrument through ebay, since that’s the planetary thing to do. This year, Chris, from Beaumont, Texas, was the high bidder. This is him with his daughter and that mandolin. The date for the Life Choices benefit concert in 2006 is set for June 2nd.
Caedmon's Call was in Joppa, Maryland in September of 2005, and Patrick Fallon was able to catch up with them there. Patrick is the gentleman who was the high bidder on the guitar autographed by Caedmon's Call that I sold for the benefit of Life Choices. I come out of my seclusion twice a year to do something for the folks at Life Choices. I build and auction a guitar and put a concert together.
My intentions are to have a concert every year for the benefit of Life Choices Pregnancy Resource Center. And it’s pretty easy to get the singers and pickers together. I’ve been teaching folks to play the guitar, mandolin, and bass for years now, and most of the folks who are and have been my students are down at their church houses on any given Sunday playing their music. There’s a church outside of West Monroe called Mount Vernon Baptist. They’ve allowed us to have that concert in their church house for two years. Kind of unofficially, we’ve already been invited back for next year. I’m sure a lot of things will change over the years. Bands never stay together. Last year we had the band from Ouachita Baptist, but they’re not together anymore. This year we had Tim and Caleb Mosher, but they’re about to move to Oklahoma. So from one year to the next, I’m not sure who we’ll have. I don’t want to assume that Mount Vernon will extend the same kindness for the rest of my life. But of all the things that are liable to change over the years, there’s one thing I hope will remain the same. It’s my intentions to have this concert take an offering and give absolutely every bit of it to the folks at Life Choices. I remain thankful for all the folks involved who do everything they do without any charge at all. I know some folks are spending their time, others are spending their money, and nobody asks to recover anything. This year we had bands and individual singers from eight different local churches. And this is not a denominational event. We had somebody from a United Methodist church, an independent church, a couple of Southern Baptists, Church of God, and up amongst all that was my black preacher and me. I’m always thankful, but at the same time, always dissatisfied. The offering given this year was something a little over $1100. I know I will always be wishing that more could have been given. I will always be thankful for the folks you are about to see who did what they could to save those not yet born.
Rick Felkel on electric guitar, Reverend Welton Wiley on bass and vocals, & David Littleton on percussion.
Praise Band from New Chapel Hill Baptist Church - Barry Wilhite on bass, Kristin Sills & Sarah Tucker - vocalists, Lindsay Leporati on acoustic guitar, & David Littleton on percussion.
Tommy Carter on piano and vocals.
Praise Band from Mount Vernon Baptist Church. Colby Rimes on drums, Ben Aston on acoustic guitar, Jordan on electric guitar, Samantha Massey on vocals, and Kirk Burnley on bass.
Sherry Felkel on piano & Stewart Felkel on trumpet.
David Littleton on percussion, Stewart Felkel on bass, Caleb Mosher - vocalist, Tim Mosher on acoustic guitar, & Lindsay Leporati on mandolin.
Rick Felkel on acoustic guitar, & Nicole Neeley on mandolin and vocals.
Lyndsey Breard - executive director of Life Choices Pregnancy Resource Center.
