Building Relationships Through Music
Connecting people through diverse musical traditions is an essential at Steele Creek Church. Photo by Nancy Pierce, Principal Exhibit Photographer.
Sometimes I may unknowingly offend someone. But they know my heart, and I know their heart. So even without voicing it, there's just a forgiveness that's there. And we realize that we're both stretching here.
- Gospel leader Dawn Anthony
We have the privilege of enriching the heart music of the [church] body right now. We're giving them appreciation for their Haitian brothers, for their African brothers, for their Hispanic brothers, and that can easily be accomplished with music style. That passes through to the children. To go hear a bunch of little white kids singing gospel songs or learning to sing songs in Spanish. You realize at that point that their heart music is going to be more vast than mine was. I count as a great privilege of what we do is to enrich that.
- Brad Clarkson
Music from Steele Creek Church
At Steele Creek Church, a new congregation in southwest Charlotte, flags from more than 40 countries line the walls. People of all shades mingle in the pews. White, African American, Middle Eastern, Latino, Haitian and African ministers serve the congregation. The music rings with sounds from many cultures.
Steele Creek's musical leaders all grew up with different musical traditions. As they try new songs and sounds, they must learn from each other. Working together requires what they call "stretching." They make plenty of mistakes, musically and otherwise. But because they have come to care deeply about each other another, they can work through rough spots, learn from them, and move on.
